Airbnb business travelers, what's the minimum you expect?

Question

Hi,

My friend is planning to rent out unused rooms in their single family home in Ventura county (Moorpark / Westlake village area) near Los Angeles. It's a new house, so right now there's really no furniture in it. They are targeting business travelers / professionals (it's their first time doing this, so who the ideal market is for them is up for debate - but the idea is to attract quiet people who can afford it).

Here are the amenities they are currently thinking of providing to travelers:

• Shared refrigerator space
• Shared dishes / dinnerware
• Complementary Keurig coffee
• Complementary breakfast cereal (possibly eggs)
• Shower towels w/complementary soap + shampoo
• High speed internet
• A table with the capacity for 5 to 8 chairs so business traveler guests can do some work in the house if they need to (there's not enough room in the bedrooms for individual desks unless)

Is there anything you would omit or add to the above list?

What else should they provide in terms of a "minimum viable" guest experience that would lead to good reviews as they work to spin up their ranking?

Here are the things they don't have but are currently thinking of adding:

• Couch in the living room with pull out bed
• Complementary desktop computer workstation with printer? (do they need a workstation w/printer?)
• Big screen TV with some kind of streaming service (there's no TV currently in the house)

My friend lives in a town where things like grocery stores and Office Max stores (where travelers could print/copy documents) are 10 minutes away maximum. Just trying to tap into the experience of this forum.

Cassi Justiz · Answer

Basically all of the items on the top list are things of these items are things I would expect any airbnb to have with the exception of the cereal, toiletries and coffee.

The better airbnbs that I have stayed in recently have provided toiletries and coffee. Most don't provide breakfast items, but snacks and/or breakfast items are always a nice touch.

Here are a few thoughts.

-Most travelers are going to want some type of TV, even if it's just streaming services. It's not really appealing to sit in an empty house/room at night without being able to have some entertainment.

-If someone is legitimately traveling for business, they probably don't want to sit around a table with strangers while trying to get work done. Similar situation with TV. I would try to find a way to do some sort of desk and TV in each room so that they have the choice to work in their room or work in a communal space. If I'm traveling for business, I'm going to stay somewhere that I can get work done in my without someone trying to talk to me.

I would say the biggest thing here is to know your market. Look at the airbnb listings that are in that area for similar price points. You can see what kind of amenities they offer and how often they are booked.

Bruce P. · Answer

Thank you, those are great thoughts @Jean Haisch.

Good point @Lynnette E., the bedrooms have locks for privacy ... but the bathroom has to be shared between 3 bedrooms assuming my friend is going for 100% airbnb occupancy (it's a single family home)

@Marian Smith - another good point, I don't think they've checked Homeaway but they have looked around at Airbnb.

Marian Smith · Answer

@Bruce Park have they looked to see what else is available in the area? On Homeaway or wherever? And their availability? Because likely the competition (as well as a hotel if in same price range) will dictate minimums. If the competition is not booked then probably amenities plays a part all else being equal.

Lynnette E. · Answer

No normal person will rent a couch in the living room of a shared occupant house. Couches in the living room are only rentable to normal people if they are renting the whole house...and have a bunch of kids. Others that rent them will be more in the near homeless class.

Also normal people renting the bedrooms will be very uncomfortable with someone renting a place in the living room.

Can the rooms have private bathrooms? Or state how many share each bath and how the baths are maintained between people. e.g. towels left on floor from first person is gross for second person. Say large laundry basket for used towels in bathroom, or whatever the plan is.

Lockable doors on the bedrooms.

Laundry.

Some sort of tv, workstation in the room, even of the workstation is a comfortable chair and maybe a computer cooling station that they can put their computer on and place on their lap. But a little table one could also use for eating would be nicer.

Most business people will want to chill after work, not socialize with the strangers.

Jean H. · Answer

@Bruce Park I don’t think business travelers would want to be in a shared space type of environment. I’m assuming your friend is catering more to the type of business person who will be working on their computer in their room the whole time, rather than someone who is, say, a traveling nurse or blue collar worker.

If the former, that type of person will want privacy. They will want quiet for themselves so they can work, but the ability to make call without having to worry about disturbing others. You say there isn’t even a place for a desk in their room. That means when they go to then bathroom, they have to take their laptop with them or worry about someone stealing it.

I would rethink who you are catering to. Shared spaces like what you are describing is better for people who will be away from the house most of the day and are just coming back to sleep.

Bruce P. · Answer

Thank you @Cassi Justiz, your suggestion that includes context you can't necessarily get from a Google search is the type of answer I was looking for. That's a good idea to look at amenities in other listings in the market area.

Cody Bacon · Answer

The things that I would want are basically everything that you can get at any Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express or similar place. You should be able to search it on the internet.

Airbnb business travelers, what's the minimum you expect?

Airbnb business travelers, what's the minimum you expect?

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