Airbnb - Selling & Giving Away Food

San Diego, California
General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Airbnb - Selling & Giving Away Food

David Siegel
San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 12 votes

I am Airbnb'ing out a full studio ADU with brand new kitchen and appliances. So the guest has their own full, nice kitchen.

Would it be kosher to buy boxes of frozen costco pizza and leave them in the freezer. Put my venmo code somewhere and say if you need a pizza, pay me $5 or whatever.

At the same time I plan on making other costco snacks available for free. Bottles of water, whatever prepackaged stuff I can supply, sun chips, whatever.

What kinds of liabilities should I be concerned with when I'm selling/giving away food in my Airbnb?


Thanks for your replies!

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
4y

No liability, but you can expect people will eat the pizza and not pay.

A lot of hosts will leave some spaghetti noodles and a can of sauce for a quick meal, only costs a few bucks. Little snacks and water is also pretty common. I would keep it small, under $10. Two 8oz bottles of water, a 3oz trail mix, a 1oz bag of sun chips, and a pizza. You can buy them in bulk so your cost is $8 or less.

I think it's important. People show up and they're thirsty and hungry from the road or too tired to run to the grocery store that first night. Just avoid spending too much and try to get foods that appeal to the masses.

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    4y

    No liability, but you can expect people will eat the pizza and not pay.

    A lot of hosts will leave some spaghetti noodles and a can of sauce for a quick meal, only costs a few bucks. Little snacks and water is also pretty common. I would keep it small, under $10. Two 8oz bottles of water, a 3oz trail mix, a 1oz bag of sun chips, and a pizza. You can buy them in bulk so your cost is $8 or less.

    I think it's important. People show up and they're thirsty and hungry from the road or too tired to run to the grocery store that first night. Just avoid spending too much and try to get foods that appeal to the masses.

    The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Scott E.
    Contractor · Scottsdale, AZ · Member since 2010 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    4y

    Creative idea and leaving food, water, spices, wine, etc will potentially improve the guest experience and lead to more 5 star reviews. I don't think you should charge for it though.

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  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    4y

    @David Siegel I never leave any food or condiments in the fridge. I have been to AirBNB, where there is all sorts of nasty questionable stuff left in the fridge. Even half used ketchup bottles or butter is disgusting in my opinion. We leave the fridge completely empty and completely clean. 

    I don't see an issue with leaving bottles of water or packs of chips, but I wouldn't leave anything spoilable. We provide a selection of coffee and tea, sugar, salt, pepper, cooking oil and that is basically it. 

    I wouldn't get into the business of selling food. It is just too much effort for minimal benefit. People don't expect food and it is not going to help your host reviews. Focus on providing a perfectly clean unit as your highest priority. 

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  • Craig Clinton
    Investor · Nutley, NJ · Member since 2017 · 72 posts · 56 votes
    4y

    I'm closing on my first air bnb in a few weeks so I don't have any firsthand experience yet, but iIn my humble opinion, charging for food with leave a bad taste in their mouth (no pun intended).  

    Also, coming from someone with kids that have food allergies, you might want to have some kind of verbiage on air bnb or a big sign on the counter for guests that they should read the labels on the food and that you are not responsible for any adverse reactions.

    With that said, I plan on having coffee and tea k cups in my air bnb

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