06 Dec Airbnb Marketing | 2 Creative Ways to Upsell During Low Season

If you are a new host or a Superhost then this blog will speak to you! Low seasons are inevitable regardless of where you are. The year is typically divided into 3 seasons: low season, shoulder season, and peak season.

If you are a host in Europe, then your low season is defined as November through March. If you’re a host in America, then it’d depend on which coast you reside in. I live on the West Coast and have my properties in Silicon Valley, which is predominately known for its tech boom. My low season starts in November and ends in early February.

I already bear the brunt of the burden from my business travelers during November and December is looking pretty weak at the moment… While the common strategy to get more bookings is to slash prices, but there are certainly more creative ways to increase your revenue during low season.

Airbnb Marketing | My Creative Ways to Increase Revenue During Low Season

Airbnb Marketing #1 – Upsell Late checkouts

This is probably the easiest to upsell your existing guests. Guests that do not want to pay will check out at the standard time and guests that do will pay up to 40%-60% of your daily rate.

I had a business traveler that wanted a late checkout because his flight was at 8 pm and standard check out time was at 11 am. So, this does happen more often than not.

If you’re wondering about my process to turn my unit around, here it is.

1. Standard checkout time is at 11 am.
2. Guest can request a late checkout up to 2 pm for 20 dollars per hour.
3. My cleaning crew comes and cleans my place at 2 pm.
4. I turn it around for check-in at 4 pm.

If you think the turnaround is too tight, experiment by bringing forward your check-out time to allow more of a buffer. Experimenting is the key here.

Airbnb Marketing #2 – Setting Up a Mini-Bar

You see them at hotels, so why not have one at your own property? The trick is to set up a payment system.

An honor mini-bar is simple to set up – you can buy many consumables in bulk, for a reduced price – and guests are happy to pay a little extra for the convenience they provide. I actually bought one of these mini-bars from Amazon –Magic Chef MCWC6B 6 Bottle Countertop Wine Cooler (Cost: $65 and 4-stars).

I buy my wines in bulk from Costco or a discount liquor store like Bevmo if you live on the West Coast. Here are some quick buying tips:

• The key is to choose desirable items with high potential profit margins; craft beers and wine, luxury chocolates, local produce.
• Don’t just focus on things that guests need, offer things they want – you could put together a list of affordable gifts, for them to take back to their families.

The next step is to figure out how to set up your payment system. I printed out a pricing sheet with the pricing of each bottle so guests know how much to pay and my maid does a quick inventory each time she cleans. She tallies up the bottle or bottles and I request the money via Airbnb.

Another way to do this is to set up an honesty jar, but I don’t think this method is safe because you’re handling cash. It is up to you on how you want to do this.

 There you go!

What do you do to upsell? Please feel free to share it below.

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