Overview

YourWelcome is a really cool tablet/app for hosts looking to provide their guests with an exceptional accommodation experience, while also adding a new revenue stream to your Airbnb short-term rental. Airbnb tools like this one add a lot of value to your listing.

There is a lot you can do as an Airbnb host to improve your revenue. Fine-tuning your listing, delivering outstanding guest experiences and optimising your prices for example.

But at some point you reach a point where you have reached the maximum potential of your Airbnb business.

Once you've reached that situation, the only way to earn more revenue is to offer additional services to your guest. These services could be things that you may have been providing to your guests for free, such as early check-ins, late check-outs and luggage storage.

Or they could be services that aren't typically included in an Airbnb offering, such as airport pickups, bike rentals or tickets for tourist activities.

The first category of services don't incur a direct additional cost to the host and therefore they can be offered at no extra expense to the guest. It's a way to improve the guest experience, which will lead to better ratings and reviews.

However, if you're already getting five star reviews across the board, you could consider charging if your goal is to maximise revenues.

The second category are services that typically do incur an additional expense and your guests won't be expecting to be offered them for free. In other words, charging won't hurt the guest experience. In fact, it improves the experience by saving the guest time and effort.

Different ways to receive payment from your Airbnb guests

If you decide to offer services to your guests, the question then becomes: how do you receive payment? The goal is to make the transaction as smooth as possible and not to put any extra burden on the guests.

There are a number of options out there:

1. Take cash. This is not a great option. First of all, your guests may not be carrying any cash, or they may not have the right amount, in which case they'll have to go to a cash machine first.

2. Add the extra amount to the Airbnb reservation. This is a feasible option, although it has it's drawbacks. The guest will have to login to Airbnb and approve the change. Secondly, Airbnb will charge a service fee of up to 12% on the extra amount.

3. Bank wire. Probably the worst choice, incurs a lot of expenses and effort.

4. Online payment systems. Paypal is the most well known. This is only an option if both the guests and you have an account. The fees tend to be quite high though.

None of the above options are ideal, and that's where YourWelcome comes in by offering a smooth and effortless way to sell services to your Airbnb guests and receive payment.

How Does YourWelcome Work

YourWelcome is a tablet that you provide to your guests at your Airbnb property. It really serves three purposes:

1. Providing information to your guests

2. Selling additional services like late check-outs

3. Selling on-demand third party services like food delivery and concert tickets

Providing information to your guests

Your guests can use the tablet to access information about your listing and local recommendations. Essentially it's like a digital guidebook or house manual that you can update remotely at any time. 

You can obviously use words and pictures to provide the information, but what's much cooler is to add videos. You can get really creative with this, do a walking tour around your neighbourhood or show your guests how the coffee machine works. 

You can add a city guide, a map with recommendations and anything else you think it useful for your guests. A really cool feature is that the information is automatically translated in Spanish, Italian, German, French and English. Japanese, Russian, Portuguese and Polish will be added soon.

Selling additional services

The YourWelcome tablet can be used to sell services to your guests. You can manage these services through a web portal. On your dashboard you can configure the services remotely, setting prices, summary of services and the conditions. 

Your guests will be able to purchase these services through the tablet using their credit/debit card or by Paypal. YourWelcome will process the transaction and pay you 90% of the total amount, minus the transaction fees. 

Some services, like late-check out, will require your approval, as this type of service won't be always available.

Selling third party services

This is where YourWelcome can really add value to the Airbnb hosting business. The tablet comes pre-installed with a number of on-demand services catered to tourists, such as concert tickets, food delivery and taxi services. 

If your guests uses a service, YourWelcome receives an affiliate commission, typically between 0 and 20%. You are then paid 20% of this commission. 

At first glance, that doesn't sound like much. If the average commission that YourWelcome receives is 10% and you get 20% of that, you're left with 2% of the total value. Over time that could add up though, and it requires zero effort or costs on your part. It's like an extra bonus. 

But it's not just about the money. If your guests would have used these services anyway, you're actually saving them time. In other words, you're improving your Airbnb hosting experience AND you're making a few extra bucks.

What Features Are Included

• Improved guest communication
• Access to local services
• Multi language guides
• Guest rating management

IMPROVED GUEST COMMUNICATION

MULTI LANGUAGE GUIDES

ACCESS TO LOCAL SERVICES

GUEST RATING MANAGEMENT

IMPROVED GUEST COMMUNICATION AND MULTI LANGUAGE GUIDES

YourWelcome tablet really makes it simple to communicate important information to your guests upon arrival.  The video guide feature, allows you to pre-record any message such as a welcome message, instructions on how to use the tablet, information about your property and the surrounding area in a more personalised way.

Your property guides can be offered in multiple languages so that all guests can access key property information.

You can manage the content on your tablet remotely via the YourWelcome web portal, so all of your guides are current.

ACCESS TO LOCAL SERVICES

Guests are often looking for the best of what your city has to offer, and likely looking to book events or order local cuisine for delivery.  You can help your guests save money when they book events, tours and attractions they plan to visit through the tablet, which is especially helpful for families and groups.

As an added benefit, the tablet enables hosts to make a percentage of the sales, creating a whole new revenue stream.

GUEST RATING MANAGEMENT

The tablet is a great way to manage and improve guest reviews.  YourWelcome offers an instant feedback survey, asking guests to rate your rental on arrival.  You will be sent a notification if a rating below 4 is received, so any issues that may come up can be resolved quickly instead of waiting until after check out to hear of negative experiences.

Guest purchase and search behaviour patterns are analysed by the tablet giving you great insight into what your guests want and the ability to tailor their experiences.

SUMMARY & PRICING

You can choose between the standard $119,99 a year plan or the $199,99 a year Pro plan. For the extra $80 you get a few additional features, like analytics, a white label design and the option to add your own third party services.

My guess is you'll easily make back this money, probably just from the commissions on the third party services.

My conclusion is that YourWelcome offers a way for Airbnb hosts to improve their offering and increase their income at the same time. That's pretty awesome, because normally those two don't go together.

Get started with YourWelcome now and use coupon code sc20 to save 20% on the yearly subscription price.

For more info on YourWelcome, listen to the interview I did with Henry Bennett, Co-founder and CEO of YourWelcome.

Easy to use

for both guests and hosts and significantly improves guest communication

Add a new

revenue stream through events, tours, and attractions ticket sales

Improve

your guest rating with instant feedback and guest behaviour data analytics