15 years
How many of those items do not really cost you a lot of money?
Do not "nickel and dime" your guests.
Ways to benefit the guests
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Here's a list of things I'm considering selling at my hostel. Add to the list if you have any ideas and any comments about this list are appreciated.
a.Drinks: 20 ounce size water bottles, San Pellegrino sodas and mineral water, Coke, Beer.
b.Pad Locks
c.Tampons for the ladies
d.Universal plug adapeters for all countries
e.Ear plugs
f. bar soap
- Comments
15 years
These are things all guests need and I imagine would be please not have to go search for. Do you not think it's a good idea to provide these items at a reasonable cost?
15 years
I do think it is a good idea to sell such items -- at normal shop prices is OK. I would add: Local maps, especially if you're in a hiking area.
If you have a self-catering kitchen, a few food staples with a long shelf life would be welcome, eg cans of soup, meat and fish, crispbread, pasta.
15 years
Here's a list of things I'm considering selling at my hostel. Add to the list if you have any ideas and any comments about this list are appreciated.
a.Drinks: 20 ounce size water bottles, San Pellegrino sodas and mineral water, Coke, Beer.
b.Pad Locks
c.Tampons for the ladies
d.Universal plug adapeters for all countries
e.Ear plugs
f. bar soap
You could add disposable razor blades and mini toobrushes and toothpaste. These do not cost much and you can make a small profit on each item sold.
15 years
Anything that they can return to you (eg adapters and padlocks) I'd lend for free and if you have a problem with theft take a desposit. The other basics I'd try to sell at a reasonable price - i.e. not with the markups that tourist places have. I'd add AA (LR6) size batteries to the list of essentials - plenty of digital cameras use them still, just make sure that you get decent alkalines - no-one will want cheapo zinc-chloride batteries.
15 years
These are all great ideas! Has anyone ever tried offering some type of free transportation from the airport/train station?
15 years
These are all great ideas! Has anyone ever tried offering some type of free transportation from the airport/train station?
Yeah -- a free airport shuttle timed to catch people flying in on international flights from countries that tend to have a lot of backpackers. The shuttle driver(s) would wait by the international arrivals terminal with a big sign...
People who weren't leaving at that time could use the regular shuttle which was ~$10.
15 years
Anything that they can return to you (eg adapters and padlocks) I'd lend for free and if you have a problem with theft take a desposit.
We provide padlocks for guests if they want. We charge $10 for the lock, if the guest wants to return it to us we give them a $6 refund. i.e. $4 rental.
The locks are good quality, admittedly the $10 buy price is a little high. That's to encourage the return of the lock so we can rent it again :). People are generally happy with the $4 rental.
Most people use their own locks, and that's fine with us
Yeah -- a free airport shuttle timed to catch people flying in on international flights from countries that tend to have a lot of backpackers. The shuttle driver(s) would wait by the international arrivals terminal with a big sign...
You need to be careful with this one. I know some cities have anti-tout laws. Like where I am in Sydney :)
You could add disposable razor blades and mini toobrushes and toothpaste. These do not cost much and you can make a small profit on each item sold.
A place I used to work had items such as these in the snack vending machine. It worked pretty well...
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