amenities Archives

Why Great Wi-Fi in Your Short-term Rental is Essential

Posted on 24 February 2022 - 12:00 pm

When we go on holiday, we all have expectations. If those expectations aren’t reached, then disappointment shortly follows. Guests who stay at your short-term rental will have a clear sense of what they wish to see and have during their stay.

As a host, you’ll be offering the essentials and more to your guests. While essentials of course mean things like a clean environment, comfy beds, as well as the right equipment and utensils in the kitchen, there’s one thing that can go a long way if you provide it: great Wi-Fi.

Everyone offers it nowadays: cafes, restaurants, hotels, places of education and even trains will offer Wi-Fi for free. After all, we live in a world that is connected digitally, so internet access for your guests is now an essential.

Here are some reasons why getting great quality Wi-Fi in your short-term rental is worth the investment:

Profit

In addition to drawing in more visitors in search of a steady internet connection, offering WiFi allows you the option of adding it as an extra charge.

When your guests are paying for their stay at your rental, you should specify the expected costs of using Wi-Fi in adjunction to your nightly rate. As your guests enjoy the bargain you created for them, you’ll happily take in any extra costs from their stay. It’s basically a win-win situation!

Read Now: How to Impress Your Airbnb Guests

Competition

Whether you’re a large or small business, the biggest hurdle you’ll come across is competition.

When guests are looking for a place to stay, they’ll be keeping a close eye on the amenities you have to offer and will be making comparisons. It’s a great idea to emphasise what sets you apart from the competition. Listing Wi-Fi access and fast internet speeds could be the deciding factor between you and a similar nearby rental.

Read Now: Why Monitoring Other Airbnb Hosts is Important

TV Access Without an Aerial

Wi-Fi also provides the advantage that you won’t necessarily need to set up an aerial with the TV.

Some TVs – most notably smart TVs – don’t need an aerial at all. You don’t even need to subscribe to a provider. All they need is a stable internet connection, and all TV programmes and films are at your disposal. In fact, smart TVs also allow you to browse the web, just like on any small portable devices you and your guests may possess.

Even if the TV stops working or experiences a fault during the guests’ stay, that doesn’t mean they can’t continue watching a film or an episode of a TV series on a device they own. Granted, you will obviously want to provide a TV as well, but this is an additional backup and benefit of having Wi-Fi at your rental as you go about fixing the issue.

More Than Just Holiday Renters

Normally, when it comes to allowing others to use your rental, you immediately think of people who want to go away on holiday. While there’s no denying that you’ll most certainly be earning quite a bit of money during such a time, that shouldn’t stop you from having guests rent your property throughout the year.

Not only can you expect business from off-season holiday-goers, but some people may need to rent your property for business purposes. Instead of them looking for a hotel to book, they might look for an Airbnb they can reside at for as long as they need.

They’ll most certainly be interested in staying at your rental if you specify you have free Wi-Fi on offer, as their job may require a constant line of digital communication no matter where they are.

This was just a small number of reasons why great Wi-Fi is essential in your short-term rental. If you’d like more advice on this topic, or perhaps another one altogether, don’t be afraid to contact us today at Keey.

4 Features That Elevate Your Airbnb Experience

Posted on 16 September 2021 - 12:00 pm

One of the first and most important things about being an Airbnb host is creating a memorable guest experience. Airbnb claims that “travellers want to live like a local”, and an Airbnb experience provides this through a more personal way to experience a city or area. You want your property to provide a stay that is better than the average hotel. Guests want something unique and memorable. This can be easily achieved with a little attention to detail!

According to statistics provided by Airbnb, about 70% of guests leave reviews. You want these reviews to be as good as possible to draw return business. So don’t be afraid to read these reviews and put yourself in your guests’ shoes. What would make your stay the best it could be? Here are a list of four things you can include to elevate the Airbnb experience you offer.

1. Good WIFI

In this day and age, just having WIFI isn’t enough. We’re at a point where everyone needs an internet connection. It is used for everything from online banking, communication, or even entertainment. The need for online connectivity is one of the things that is universally required by guests.

Therefore, it is important to ensure that you have a good WIFI connection in your property. One of the biggest complaints is often about a dropped or weak connection during a stay. Good WIFI also helps in terms of social integration into the local space. It allows people to easily read reviews of local restaurants or look up maps to nearby attractions. It may seem like a little thing, but it can really impact the quality of a guests visit. It can restrict them in ways we usually take for granted.

Paying for fibre optic broadband or generally faster WIFI may seem like an unnecessary expense, especially if your current WIFI roughly gets the job done. But keep in mind that it will definitely pay off in both great reviews and return bookings.

However, you must be smart and ensure your own safety when implementing stronger WIFI! Remember to only give the password to guests after they’ve confirmed the reservation. Airbnb recommends that you create an encrypted (ex: WPA2) guest network, for both you and your guests safety. Make sure to change the password often, to limit unwanted connections or people sharing the password without your knowledge.

2. Offer a Welcome Basket

For guests staying longer than one night, you can offer a great welcome basket to surprise them on arrival. This is definitely not something you want to go overboard with! It’s just a little something to make your property memorable.

Here are a couple of ideas you could include:

A smaller welcome basket, like a bottle of wine and a handwritten thank you card to show your appreciation.
You can make a snack basket. Add some nice chocolates (like Lindt or Ferrero Roche), bottles of water, and some crisps or popcorn.
For those with a longer stay or for special guests, create something a little more luxurious. This could be something like providing a gift card to a local restaurant, a more expensive champagne with some luxury chocolates, or even a personalised item.

Tailor your welcome basket to the guests you know are coming. Are there children? Are your guests on your honeymoon? Are they travelling alone? This will help create a personalised welcome gift that will endear you to your guests.

Include this together with your guidebook and welcome letter, to create a perfect introduction to your Airbnb and elevate your guests stay from the beginning.

While it may seem like an additional expense, it’s a thoughtful act that can really boost your ratings. It makes people feel cared for and comfortable and does what it says on the tin. It makes people feel welcome and can really kick off their stay the right way!

3. Provide Entertainment

Entertainment is important to consider for a stay. You don’t need to create an itinerary for your guests, however making sure you’re providing for the possibility that people will want to stay inside adds a little touch to show you’ve considered your guests needs. Some easy entertainment ideas include:

Including books. This could be books about the area or a couple of bestsellers. You could add a couple of magazines covering a range of different interests or topics. If you get a lot of travellers from overseas, you could even include books about the English language or with basic English phrases to help them out with communication.

Providing board games. Board games or jigsaw puzzles are a great inclusion for any family-friendly Airbnb. They can also be a great inclusion for a property that hosts many group getaways or even for couples. They are a cheap thing to add for hours of fun on a rainy day!

Allowing access to streaming services. Sign into Netflix on your TV for the guests! It’s cheaper and neater than having a bunch of DVDs laying around, has a larger library and it won’t have to be replaced or have any fear of breakage.

Considerations like these aren’t necessary, and you don’t even have to provide all of them at once. But it can really change the game for people. It elevates your property from just somewhere to lay your head at night to somewhere you can really enjoy yourself. Your Airbnb is transformed to a home away from home, and a real haven of relaxation!

4. Include Complimentary Amenities

You’ll (hopefully) already be stocked with the basic amenities in your Airbnb, such as towels, toiletries, and toilet paper. However, by adding other little things for your guests, you can really elevate their stay.

You could add toiletries that are not as necessary. Things such as make up wipes, a sewing kit, or moisturiser are great additions. For longer-term occupancy, you can even provide full-size versions of things like shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel. This means there is one less thing for your guests to worry about and they can often be reused between stays.

It’s even possible to make your property a little more luxurious! Try incorporating the addition of item such as a dressing gown and slippers. You can even add some bubble bath or bath bombs for a calming spa-stay feel.

These can be even things as little as salt and pepper or cooking oil in the kitchen space. They ensure that you’re not footing the bill for the occupant’s grocery list, but you are providing cheap necessities that would be otherwise thoughtless at home. You can reuse these for multiple stays, and no one has to interrupt their romantic getaway dinner to grab salt from the store! Check out our guides to learn of what to include in your Airbnb kitchen.

Conclusion

Remember, guest experiences are a result of the creativity of the hosts when accommodating for their guests, going well beyond their needs and expectations. Whenever you are adding or improving anything, you should have the guests in mind first and foremost. This will allow you to think outside the box and curate a unique experience that only you can provide!

For more helpful ideas and advice from our professionals here at Keey, don’t hesitate to contact us!

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