If you have Airbnb, you know how painful it is when a subpar review tanks your ranking and scares off future guests. If you're trying to build financial freedom through your short term rental business, every single review matters!
That's exactly why tuning in to Episode 112 of the Host Coach Airbnb Investing Podcast is so important. Today, we're breaking down the psychology behind 'surprise and delight items' that we have honed over our 5,000 Airbnb guest stays.
Read on to learn how simple, $5 guest gifts can dramatically boost your reviews, increase forgiveness for small issues, and create the kind of emotional connection that leads to repeat bookings and glowing 5-star reviews that grow your business!
Topics discussed in this episode:
- The science behind why surprise and delight works on Airbnb guests
- Surprise and delight parameters you need to know before you buy
- The 3 core Airbnb categories of gifts that consistently deliver
- Practical guidelines on what surprise and delight items to avoid
- How to choose the item that will give you the highest ROI (match your avatar)
- Our model for determining price point so your margins stay healthy
- The #1 thing NOT to do with Airbnb surprise and delight
Host Coach Airbnb Podcast Episode 112 Show Notes:
What Is Airbnb Surprise & Delight and Why Does It Work?
You might be wondering what is surprise and delight? While they can be more expensive... in a nutshell, a delight item is $5 gift that you give your guests to elevate the experience and trigger the five-star Airbnb review.
Let's talk about the psychology behind why this works. Surprise is a powerful emotional catalyst for reciprocity, forgiveness, and emotional connection. Reciprocity means guests feeling compelled to reciprocate the positive gesture with a good review. Also there's a forgiveness factor. Small surprises build goodwill, making guests more forgiving of the minor operational cleanliness issues. Third, it creates an emotional connection. It makes guests feel valued and creates a strong memory, encouraging them to repeat bookings and referrals.
Delight often stems from exceeding expectations, which we love to do. When guests find thoughtful extras, they feel taken care of. Your thoughtful details make guests feel valued. Turning an ordinary stay into a cherished experience. And once again, you know that equals five star reviews and repeat bookings.
Okay, so some parameters to keep in mind. First up is shelf stableness. Don't put out items that can spoil or may attract pests. If guests don't use the surprise and delight item, they can be given to another guest if it's properly packaged. Also consider size. Do you have the room in your storage closet for a month's worth of these items? So avoid purchasing anything too, too big. Also think about reorder friction. Do you live nearby? Then local items can be easily stocked. Otherwise, choose items that can be shipped from Amazon directly to your housekeepers to store and replenish as needed.
3 Airbnb Surprise & Delight Categories
Nourishing Surprise and Delight
There's three main surprise and delight categories. The first is my favorite. It's nourishing surprise. Your guests have been driving all night or all afternoon. Maybe there's kids in the car and they show up and maybe they're hungry and there's a snack basket there. They can grab some quick pretzels or chips, pop some popcorn for the kids and sit down by the fire. Maybe they're also a little stressed out.
A bottle of wine is something that we put out in some of our places. We don't do it all the time at every place. We tend to start with wine in a new property and really lubricate those first dozen reviews. We'll also keep a sparkling bottle of wine in the cleaning closet just for guests' special occasions. Particularly when I traveled in Europe, there would always be a bottle of white wine in the fridge, and it was just so nice after a long day to be able to relax and enjoy a glass if you hadn't stopped along the way.
Also, little things like chocolates and caramels or again one of my other favorites is we like to put out biscotti on our coffee bar. And the nice thing about biscotti is it's a little bit fancy. It's not something most people have day to day, it's shelf stable, and not everyone likes it. So you're not going through cases of biscotti. Someone will have it like me and think this is the best thing ever. And a lot of people will see it and be like, "that's super cute. What a thoughtful gesture." And not use it at all.
Sensory Suprise and Delight
The second type of surprise and delight are sensory items. These are the things that have aromatherapy qualities. Think about bath salts. I put them in little bags on this little reading nook on our clawfoot bathtub, and guests absolutely love them. Another item is shower steamers. If you don't know what that is, it's a small disc, and again, it has aromatherapy. So when the water from the shower hits it and creates steam, it creates a spa-like experience for your guest. We actually had a lady on the Host Coach Podcast who ties fresh eucalyptus to the shower heads for her guests, and that's pretty fancy, but she lives nearby. Good for her. It's something to consider. Another thing in the sensory category would be a small scented candle if you don't rent to people with small children, because then it's a fire hazard.
Pro Tip: As you're selecting bath salts and steamers, don't choose ones that have little bits of flower petals or botanicals in them. They look beautiful and very earthy, but those little particles stick and dries to your bathtub and shower and make your housekeeper's job an absolute nightmare.
Local Surprise and Delight
The third category to consider when you're talking about surprise and delight is local items. Guests absolutely adore things that were made locally, and besides that, it's really great for local artisans and small businesses. Things to think about in this category include a small bag of a local coffee blend - if you know a shop down the lane, artisan, soap, honey from a local farm or jam or apples from a local orchard, those are slightly less shelf stable than prepackaged items. Applec can be repurposed for the next guests - especially if that bowl is in the refrigerator.
If you have a relationship with a local winery, you may be able to get a discount on cases and then they would get more traffic from your property. So it's a win-win situation.
Free Things That Please Airbnb Guests
A bonus freebie that we just ran across is a printed list of your favorite nearby area restaurants in the property, and maybe even some sample menus. We polled some of our friends to find out what some of their favorite surprise and delight offerings were, and this came up way more than we would've thought. And it's absolutely free!
Pro Tip: If you have particular things you like to order at a restaurant - share them with your guets. I do this. It's one extra layer. If you go to this restaurant order the duck fat fries with the local peach spicy ketchup. How could you pass that up once you've heard about it?
Another free item to consider are notes welcoming guests. I guess that's nearly free. You have to buy the note card or notes congratulating them on anniversaries, birthdays, and special occasions. You can pre-write these generically or have your housekeeper write them depending on your relationship and if they wanna do that or not.
Our Curated Airbnb Surprise and Delight Item List
We know you're really busy. If surprise and delight sounds awesome to you, but feel overwhelmed by the idea of researching all the right items, don't. We made in curated list of our favorite surprise and delight items that consistently triggered five star reviews. Click on this link to access our list👉 Airbnb Surprise and Delight
Wondering how to decide which surprise and delight items to invest in for your guests? Aim to please your main guest avatar. That's the majority of individuals who rent your space. Do you mainly host couples or girls trips, business travelers or families or hikers or guests with pets? Think about what particular avatar would most enjoy - and invest in that! Hikers may not want the scented candle that the girls group would love, and the girls group may not be as thrilled about the trail mix and the hiking guides.
Airbnb Pet Suprise and Delight
Guests traveling with pets are a huge avatar to surprise and delight. About 1.5 million pets were booked in Airbnb stays in the first half of 2023. Just in the U.S! Yeah, and I'm sure that number's much higher now.
How do you have a surprise and delight item for dogs? It's actually incredibly easy. Our number one item is a customized little dog blanket. We get rave reviews about them, and all we do is just roll them up and tuck them into a little basket and it has a sign. Does your furry friend need a blanket? In this scenario, everyone wins. They put the blanket on the furniture so it's not damaged, and the guest feels like you are totally looking out for their beloved pet.
Another thing you can put out is a small toy, particularly if you buy these in bulk. It's one more cute thing to put out. And if the guests' dog is chewing on that, they're not chewing on your furniture. We also have a client who marks her cleaning calendar if there's going to be pets. This way housekeepers know to put out pet surprise and delight items for those guests, but not for ones who don't. Why? Because not everyone loves the idea of staying in a pet-friendly Airbnb. If you're interested in knowing how your pet policy impacts your bookings, tune into Episode 20 of our Host Coach podcast. We did a deep dive into all things Airbnb related to pets, and it was really surprising.
Choosing the Right Items for Your Guest Avatar
Another guest avatar is families traveling with children. In this case, we want to think about fruit snacks, goldfish cracker packets, and then the fun things like stuffed animals, books, lots and lots of games. The more games the better and maybe even nightlights so the kiddos can see the way around in the evening.
Pro Tip: Skip the crayons and the paints and the glitters to save your space and your housekeeper a hassle. 100% spoken like a true Dad.
When it comes to surprise and delight, personalization and presentation go a long way in amplifying the delight of guests. If you put out fuzzy socks for guests, tie on a small note that says "Wishing you a cozy stay!" That way the guest knows the intention for the socks and that they're not random ones left by a previous guest. We just bought fuzzy socks! We also print custom labels for the wine we put out for our guests. They match our cabin design palette and encourage guests to unwind and enjoy. Putting that wine bottle on the counter with two glasses out lets guests know that it's intended for them as a treat... and just gives that little wow factor when they walk in the front door.
What NOT to Use for Airbnb Suprise and Delight
Alright, so what not to use as surprise and delight items. Unless you have an Airbnb that rents for a week at a time and consistently gets repeat guests, it's not too wise to overspend on cutomized takeaway items like shopping bags and fridge magnets and travel mugs. We know how proud you are of your place, but it's typically not worth that high investment to spend all that on the branded materials.
We have a coaching client who puts custom stickers on those shower steamers. This is a really economical way to promote her brand. She has several units in the building and presents herself like a boutique hotel. Use your nightly rate to determine how much to spend. If you're charging $89 a night, you probably shouldn't be buying bottles of French champagne for guests. You can get a lot more bang outta your buck for $5 per stay.
For an example, I was talking to a friend of mine just a few days ago, and he told me when they started out, they were putting out a complete s'mores kit for every guest. It was costing him $15 per stay and was really eating into his nightly rate, so he discontinued doing that. They provide firewood for the fire pit, which is a great amenity with a lot less friction. They're not constantly buying boxes of graham crackers and having their housekeeper assembled the board - so they pulled back to something that's still very helpful and a surprise, but not something that's expensive and time consuming.
On the flip side, if you have a high nightly rate, you can be more generous with your surprise and delight items. If you have a large house that rents for thousands of dollars, you should absolutely put sparkling wine in the refrigerator. This came up several times as a favorite with the travelers we polled and they knew it was because they were staying somewhere incredibly fancy and they were spending top dollar. It wasn't an expectation, but it was lovely to receive!
Buying in Bulk & Seasonal Tips
Buying in bulk will decrease your costs. Continuing with my fuzzy sock example from before, you can currently buy 60 pairs of fuzzy socks on Amazon for $53. And the best part is you can pick the colors to match your Airbnb decor! I'm now thinking that we need to split the 60 between our cabins this winter. How cute would that be?
Pro Tip: Don't forget that these delights are supposed to be a surprise. Don't photograph them or mention them in your listing. The great thing about the surprise is that you won't get dinged if you're missing something and you can change it up over time. Great example of this, somebody we know has a beautiful cabin and they put in their listing that they always have the waffle iron with waffle mix. And I do not know what happened, but for some reason, the waffle mix was not put out and they were absolutely flamed in their reviews. They were getting one star reviews because they didn't have waffle mix, which is ridiculous. So listen to what Culin said. It's for real. Do not tell about your surprise in your Airbnb listing or guest messaging!
So there you have it. You now know the science behind why surprise and delight works and the three core categories of gifts to consistently deliver. We also learned the practical guidelines on what to avoid, how to choose the right items for your guest avatar, and how to stay on budget so your margins stay healthy.
Keep listening to the Host Coach show. We're here every Tuesday, sharing actionable expert advice systems and software to help you fast track the success of your Airbnb and maximize your cash flow so you can live a life of financial freedom.
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