Improving Airbnb amenities creates a better guest experience
In a previous analysis, we saw that the more amenities a listing provides, the higher the overall rating is on average. Improving Airbnb amenities is great way to improve the guest experience, which translates to better ratings and reviews.
Defining the impact of individual amenities on ratings and reviews is complicated. When guests rate a stay, they consider many factors (both tangible and intangible). It’s unlikely any one amenity alone will sway it positively or negatively.
However, it can still be instructive. Comparing the overall and category ratings of spaces with and without given amenities can point to their impact. In data analytics, where there’s smoke there’s usually fire!
How amenities impact the overall rating on Airbnb
Airbnb does a good job of parsing out the individual factors behind the guest experience. Using regression modeling, we can say 75% of the overall score is explained by the 6 category ratings that guests score in addition to the overall rating. In other words, the accuracy of the listing, cleanliness, value, ease of check-in, communication with host, and location largely dictate the overall experience and rating.
Having said that, there’s still 25% that’s left unexplained by those categories. This amount is the intangible qualities that go into a stay. Improving Airbnb amenities is a great way to win over guests on that last 25%.
Introduction to the analysis
For the analysis we’ll use a dataset of 250k listings from the US in April 2020. Data was sourced from Inside Airbnb, an activist project with the objective to provide data that quantifies the impact of short-term rentals on housing and residential communities.
For every amenity analyzed, we’ll first look at the percentage of all listings that included that amenity. Next, we’ll compare the average ratings of listings that included the amenity to those that did not. Finally we’ll look at the difference between the two to see what can be learned. For presentation, these differences have been color coded. Green indicates a positive impact on ratings (>0.02). Yellow indicates minimal impact on ratings (between 0.02 and -0.02). Red indicates a negative impact on ratings (< -0.02).
The differences observed are small. But remember ratings on Airbnb skew high and have a tight distribution. This makes small differences important. For all amenities, all rating categories are shown for the sake of presentation. However, not all categories will be relevant to all amenities. For example, whether a listing offers shampoo has little bearing on communication.
How to improve Airbnb amenities
Improving Airbnb amenities can mostly be done simply by adding amenities to your listing. Anything that will make a guest feel like your listing is a home away from home will improve their experience.
Below is a list of amenities analyzed. Note that for the most part, listings with these amenities included have higher overall ratings than those that don’t. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Below we’ll also see that some “amenities” that impact cleanliness and value can actually have a negative impact on the guest experience.
1. Wifi
Wifi is the most commonly offered amenity in the US. It is even more common than essentials. So many listings offer wifi (98%) that there are very few without it to compare. Having that said, the difference in offering it is huge. Listings with wifi have much higher ratings overall and across all categories. From this we can say that wifi is critical to the guest experience.
2. Essentials
Essentials as defined by Airbnb are the basic items that a guest expects to have a comfortable stay. They include toilet paper, soap, towels, pillow, and linens. Essentials are almost as common as wifi. They appear in 95% of all listings. The difference between listings with and without essentials, like wifi, is significant. Listings without essentials have lower ratings on average across all categories and overall. Guests have come to expect essentials as part of their Airbnb experience.
3. Shampoo
It is common for hosts to include shampoo in their listing. 79% of listings analyzed included shampoo. Some hosts provide individual shampoo bottles. While this can cost more, it can be a nice touch for guests and simulate the hotel experience. Hosts looking to be economical will provide a dispenser or big bottle. Regardless, listings with shampoo have higher ratings across the board that those that don’t.
4. Kitchen
90% of listings in the US include a kitchen. It’s one of the primary benefits for many guests of choosing Airbnb over a hotel. Listings with and without a kitchen have similar ratings overall and across most categories except for cleanliness. This points to the kitchen as an area that requires extra attention in ensuring its kept clean.
5. Coffee Maker
The next few amenities speak to how attention to detail can really impact the overall experience. They also all happen to be kitchen amenities. While the kitchen itself does not have a positive impact on reviews, individual kitchen amenities do. This points to the benefit of listing everything that comes with a kitchen if one is listed.
Including these amenities can be inexpensive and/or easy for the host but can go a long with guests. The first is a coffee maker. A coffee maker appears as an amenity in 52% of all listings. Listings with a coffee maker have higher ratings than those that don’t.
6. Cooking Basics
Airbnb defines cooking basics as post and pans, oil, salt and pepper. Cooking basics can also include spices, measuring cups, spatulas or anything else commonly used in the kitchen. 46% of hosts have cooking basics identified in their listing. Just like having a coffee maker, these little things can go along towards improving the guest experience. Listings that provide cooking basics have higher ratings on average across all categories than those that don’t.
7. Dishes and Silverware
Finally, as with a coffee maker and cooking basics, providing dishes and silverware can go along way with guests. Most listings include a kitchen. The kitchen can be a reason for guests to choose Airbnb over other accommodations like hotels. However, any guest using the kitchen will need dishes and silverware. Including these can improve the guest experience, and this is reflected in the ratings.
8. Laptop Friendly Workspace
72% of listings include a laptop friendly workspace. It’s hard to imagine this having an impact, yet laptop friendly listings tend to have better ratings. Perhaps this is a case of who the amenity caters to rather than the amenity itself.
This amenity appeals to the digital nomad and business traveler type who travel often and frequently use Airbnbs. As such they have better calibrated standards. They are more likely to better understand the Airbnb rating system than casual users. This in turn could be the reason these listings score higher.
9. Pets Allowed
On average, allowing pets seems to have a negative impact on ratings. 15% of listings in the US allow pets. Those that do score lower overall than those that don’t. They also score lower on cleanliness than those that don’t. Given how important cleanliness is to the overall rating, this could be what is bringing it down. Hosts that allow pets should be extra diligent in cleaning pet hair when turning over their space.
10. Family/Kid Friendly
32% of listings are billed as family friendly. This indicates that the space is suitable for children. In other words, it’s been child-proofed or otherwise considers that children may be present. Interestingly, this doesn’t seem to have much of an impact, positive or negative on a listing.
11. Smoking Allowed
Most listings in the US don’t allow smoking. Only 4% of listings allow smoking and those listings score lower in all categories. As a host if you don’t smoke yourself, consider not allowing smoking. It seems to do more harm than good to ratings.
12. Free Parking
The last two amenities we’ll look at are paid and free parking. One major reason guests choose Airbnb over conventional options like hotels is for the value Airbnb provides. Offering free parking can be part of that expectation of value. In fact, listings with free parking (either on site or off premise) have higher ratings on average in all categories other than location compared to listings with paid parking.
13. Paid Parking
Conversely, listings with paid parking have lower ratings on average than listings with free parking. The big difference in the value category further supports that parking has a big impact on the guests expectation of value.
Key Takeaways
- Individual amenities, on their own, are unlikely to have a significant impact on ratings and reviews
- However, comparing listings that provide a given amenity to those that don’t can still provide some directional insight on the importance of those amenities.
