When setting up your Airbnb or short-term rental, you want an idea of what kind of guests to expect.
While there’s a lot of different types of guests, like: families, workers, pets and couples, they can be loosely fitted into these two categories: business guests and leisure guests.
So, which one is more profitable and why?
Let’s take a look at the differences between them:
Your Business Guests
Traditionally, business guests would opt for a hotel, however, as Airbnb and short-term rentals are becoming increasingly popular, workers are beginning to look at the advantages that Airbnb has to offer compared to a hotel.
- Your Location
Business guests will rent primarily because of work commitments. They most likely will have booked your accommodation based on its location. They are quite possibly looking for a space close to their meetings, events and other work-related appointments.
If you’re in a good central location, perhaps in a city, then be sure to know that your listing should be a great hit for business travelers.
Your location alone can determine your nightly price. Be competitive and look around your area when conducting your pricing strategy, don’t forget to add hotel prices into the equation too.
- Booking Loyalty
If your guest enjoys their stay with you, they are more likely to book again if they travel a lot for work and don’t always have time to shop around for a new place to stay.
Business guests usually tend to stay with the same accommodation time after time if it suits their need and meets their expectations. Whereas, leisure guests often have the extra time to look for alternative accommodation for their next stay.
Hosting a positive stay for your business guest will benefit you in the long-term as you’ll have encouraged repeat business for your listing.
- All Inclusive
Business travelers don’t necessarily have time to factor in making their own lunch or buying their own supplies from the supermarket. They want a hassle free and easy solution such as an all-inclusive breakfast, coffee dispenser and fully functional amenities like an iron and an ironing board.
When making your Airbnb all-inclusive, you can charge extra on top as an additional service for your business guests.
You can offer services such as, minibar and refills, laundry services, airport drop off and pick up services, cooked meals as well as coupons for food delivery services.
Find out more on what amenities you should include in your guests stay.
Your Leisure Guests
- Budget conscious
Unlike business guests, leisure guests seem to have a lot more time to find the best deal and location for their budget.
Business guests tend to spend more money on their stay to avoid hassle, whereas, leisure guests typically want to spend less money on their stay.
Your bookings ultimately depend on the pricing of your Airbnb but will be the first thing leisure guests look at. To attract leisure guests, you first have to have competitive pricing.
Take a look at our article to find out more about creating the perfect pricing strategy for your Airbnb!
- Longer stays
Leisure guests are less time restricted and often are booking to stay with you at their own leisure whether that be a long weekend away or over whole week’s holiday.
Business guests can be assumed to be corporate-styled busy-bodies and aren’t in the area for a calm holiday. Usually, there’s a higher turnover rate and shorter stays for business guests due to work demands.
The longer your guests stay with you, the more income you will be receiving per stay.
- Packages and Extras
Leisure guests will be hugely attracted to any packages and deals you have to offer, as they are likely visiting for the nearby attractions and ongoing events.
You should offer your packages and extras as an additional charge to your guests, however, as we said before, your leisure guests are more likely to be budget conscious, so be sure to offer them a great deal because chances are, they’ve already done a lot of research beforehand.
- Reviews
Leisure guests seem to rely on recommendations and reviews for their booking choice and having bad reviews will affect your income ultimately. So, it’s important to offer your best to your guests and deal with negative reviews professionally.
Read our articles for more information on how to deal with negative reviews.
That being said, your leisure guests should hopefully be receiving the most out of their stay with you and therefore leading them to leave positive reviews and tell their friends and family, hopefully creating a better credibility for your listing, in turn, generating more profits.
The Verdict
Your business guests are likely to spend freely by adding on extra services for their stay. If your stay meets their expectations for their work commitments, they are likely to stay again. The downside to Business guests is that they tend to stay for shorter periods of time, as well as, they’re less likely to leave a review for future guests to see.
On the other hand, if your listing offers the right location at the right price, your rental has a high potential to earn further with leisure guests by making money on top of tickets and discounts you can offer them. Not to mention, their likely to stay for longer and recommend your listing to further audiences.
Both business and Leisure guests add high value to your listing’s earning potential, each for their own reasons. You may also have guests that float between these categories and the style of their stay isn’t always as rigid as mentioned above.
Becoming a flexible short-term rental would be best advised, so that you can be versatile with your types of guests and you can maximise your revenue.
Read now: How to Maximise your Profits on Airbnb
Unsure how to cater your space to different types of guests? Need professional understanding on how to help your short-term rental thrive? Speak to an advisor today at Keey.