Edit 2020: This content has been labeled out of date. Unfortunately, Honortab stopped providing their service.
There is an awkward gap in AirBnB hosting, where hosts want to make some extra money by providing items for their guests to purchase, but at the same time are not trying to make their guests feel like they are being nickeled- and-dimed for every little thing. Usually, hosts will provide some form of bottled-water in their refrigerator and some coffee available to use, but for most seasoned AirBnB guests, there really isn’t that expectation of receiving a luxury experience, especially if renting out the entire place.
There have been ideas such as donation-boxes, and combination locks on mini-fridges to try and solve the problem but they don’t really work. A donation box isn’t feasible for the host that stays away from home traveling and has cleaning services in and out of their place; there’s the worry of the money being left there and going long intervals without being able to collect it. A combination lock doesn’t work well either because it seems disrespectful and unprofessional to guests already being invited into someone’s home. AirBnB is based on a sharing economy, so for a guest to encounter a combination lock in order to access premium services seems anti-sharing and leaves a bad taste in their mouth.
HonorTab solves this problem by creating an awesome user experience for both the guest and the host. Because of HonorTab’s features, ease of use, and overall convenience, guests will feel less like they are being bent over and more like they are being treated to a luxury stay. HonorTab relies on the principles of the sharing economy: trust and respect.
HonorTab has three main components that make it easy to provide extra items to your guest: the Pantry, the HonorTabs, and Coupons.
1) The Pantry is like your master inventory list. You add items to your pantry with a corresponding price. Items from the Pantry can then be added to an HonorTab. This makes it simple whether you have one or many locations to manage.
2) Each HonorTab that you create has a corresponding alpha-numeric code that can be used by your guest to access your HonorTab. You can have multiple HonorTab’s that have different items in them. HonorTab is designed to work well for Hosts with multiple properties as well as those with only one. Getting started is very easy. Hosts simply stock their Pantry (master inventory list), and add the Pantry items to a unique Tab that a Host can create for each property. This allows for variable pricing and availability of items between properties.
3) Coupons are one of HonorTab’s most powerful features. Hosts have the ability to create coupons for their guest to use at any time. Especially during the early stages of introducing HonorTab to new users, this is a great way to get guests interested. HonorTab lets you create coupons that require a minimum purchase. So for instance, if I have an HonorTab setup and a guest is staying today, first I’ll create an HonorTab coupon for $5 with a minimum spending of $10, I’ll then message the guest with the coupon code, letting them know that they are receiving $5 off of their HonorTab. This simple act will help shape the perception of HonorTab by your guest from nickel-and-diming to a luxury convenience.
HonorTab has an awesome feature called QuickPay that enables users to save their payment information. When they check out using QuickPay, a text-message with a security pin is sent to their phone which is used to complete the transaction. This feature is cool because it allows users to easily purchase items repeatedly, and from any host, without having to go through the bother of entering payment information each time.
HonorTab offers free HonorTab fridge magnets, stickers, and labels to get you started. Create an account today and click “Request Swag” to receive awesome tools that will help your guests find your HonorTab. Like this fridge magnet:
Pro Tips
HonorTab isn’t just limited to food goods. Your imagination is the limit on what can be placed on an HonorTab. Items like moped usage time, international sim cards, tickets bought in advance to a festival, can all be placed on an HonorTab. HonorTab lets you make your guest’s stay at your home become an awesome stay where they immediately have access to the best your city has to offer through goods and services that you can provide.
For instance one HonorTab Host has a basket setup in each room of her house providing different relevant items. In her bathroom she has a cosmetic/toiletry basket setup with common everyday items that travelers can often forget to bring such as: toothbrushes, shampoo, feminine hygene products and other necessities. This is a genius way to implement HonorTab because it emphasizes the convenience that it provides rather than make it seem like you are trying to nickel-and-dime your guests.
Make it very obvious from the beginning that you are providing a HonorTab as a convenience to your guest. Before your guest even arrives it is a good idea to send a Coupon to your guest so that they get used to the idea of purchasing items from you. You should definitely request HonorTab labels and magnets so that you can identify items that are available. The handy fridge magnet (see below) lets the guest know immediately to look for purchasable items as well as giving them all the information they need to access your HonorTab.
If you are using HonorTab for primarily food items, don’t charge for basic things like bottled water. One recommendation is to keep free items all clustered together so that the guest doesn’t have a hard time distinguishing which items are for available to purchase and which are not. If your refrigerator has a door then put the free items in the fridge door, that way it creates a clear visual separator between what is available and what’s not. Stickers are included as part of the swag package that you can request be sent you, which prove very useful in identifying what’s available to guests for purchase and what’s not.
HonorTab is a game changer. It’s the first service of its type that provides a great experience for both hosts and guests. By utilizing the “Honor” principle, HonorTab taps directly into the heart of the sharing economy and creates a service that lets Host provide awesome amenities to their guests in such a way that their guests honor their tab.
Special offer: Sign-up for Honortab now and receive free HonorTab fridge magnets, stickers, and labels to get you started.