All Forum Posts by: Garrett Brown

Quote from @Danae Pitcher:

Great ideas @Garrett Brown!  I bet you were floored when the person ordered every package you had to offer!! Lol.  I would imagine things that are skewed towards whatever holiday is coming up would be big sellers too.  For instance - Easter baskets, Halloween candy, fun craft beers for St Patty’s Day, tons of options for Valentine’s Day, small tree and decor set up for Christmas, etc.  Endless options for sure.  

I didn't even think about the Easter/Halloween-specific ones! What a great idea. The options are truly endless. I tested out a lot before I landed on my favorite 4 for profitability and ease of putting together. I tried things like charcuterie boards from a local company, but there were too many variables. 

Quote from @Zachary Cain Humphrey:

This an awesome idea. I have heard of cabin / mountain market STR operators doing some kind of hiking package, or way to connect a guest to a private tour guide for an "upcharge" which gives the hike tour guide an income and the STR operator a nice upcharge too.

 Exactly! Anything to up your guest experience. Airbnb themselves are going all in on this and there is a reason for it. We connected with a jet ski and boat rental company near our lake for a discount and commission per booking at one property. 

Hey @Alex Withorn ! Finding one can be tough, especially with the balance of the owner not hoping to have to use them much and the handyperson wanting more work. I have found my best ones in two different ways: local Facebook groups and Thumbtack. Sometimes, your cleaners know a person, and that relationship helps to make them willing to help. It is a tough find, though, especially the smaller the town you are in. My full-time handyman just got in one area just got a full-time job in a different field so somethings are just out of your control

Great question @Shannon Strickland! Do you have a direct booking website? If so, you can add package upsells automatically through your property management software (e.g. Hospitable). For something like Airbnb only, I would just simply message the guest when they book that you are excited to have them and that you offer xyz packages if they are interested. I also sent another message 7 days before, just reminding them that we offer different packages if they haven't already gotten one. You can have the package list as a note on your phone or PMS and send it to them easily if they ask what is included. Nothing wrong with it in your guidebook as well though for a small page or section! 

Those are great ideas @Andrew Steffens. Your operations are always spot on. I haven't heard of Noshable but seems like a massive win-win all around. 

Thank you @James R. ! I have become almost obsessed with figuring out how to maximize the properties I do have currently before I keep adding even more. I'm really hoping to up my local partnerships with companies in 2025 to bring even more value. I just put Goat Yoga options as a new one at my bigger house properties with some land to try out with a local company lol. 

@Gabe Chase haha we are just the Spiderman meme now at this point! For brainstorming ideas, Miro is a good one. Not essential but I've used it for other things and it's really cool when you are building out a new process, design, or work flow with your team as well. 

@Trent Reeve completely agree, but I'm hoping this helps some operators start thinking about what they could offer additionally to keep boosting their revenue. If it's a family cabin, we still sell our Breakfast Package (all things not cooked) and Birthday Package quite a lot. Nothing in the STR space is one size fits all, but the ideas can help others see the potential in their property.

Do you use Slack for your whole team? It's a game changer once you have a few employees and operate that many so everyone stays on the same page. I also use OpenPhone for my phone systems, and I love it. I love Notion for my marketing and media tasks! 

@Sara Schrader sounds great! I'm happy to answer anything I can help with, and good luck on your journey! Starting it and developing your vision is one of my favorite parts (probably my favorite actually lol).