Sound Familiar?
Pesky Problem
Your Airbnb guests aren’t listening to any music.
Even though they could. You’ve got great wifi and a bluetooth speaker set up, and your guests have practically every song ever made on the phone in their pocket. Music in the background would be such a lovely addition as your guests unpack, make dinner, or kick back with a bottle of wine in the evening. Like an audible change of pace to get folks into full vacation mode. (After all, what good party, however small, has no music?) And yet, stay after stay, your place remains silent.
Friction is a funny thing. A little bit goes a long way. The potential technical glitches of connecting to a new speaker (an amenity many of your guests have overlooked completely) are just enough of a hurdle to prevent most guests from setting it up. After all, they think, I’m just here for two nights. Plus, then they’d have to decide what to play. The signature 21st century paralysis sets in: Out of all the songs ever made, which one do I want to listen to right now? Never mind. Silence is just fine.
Let's Try This
Bite-Size Solution
Set up a record player with a great album ready to play.
Enter the record player. This comeback kid solves all of these problems for your guests. It’s substantial, which means it never gets overlooked. Your Airbnb’s perfect music has already been picked out. (More on this in your first step below.) Dropping the needle takes a matter of seconds. And there’s the emotional draw. Record players invoke happy nostalgia for your older guests and hipster novelty for your younger guests, making them practically irresistible.
Here’s the truth. Nearly every Airbnb we visit has some sort of speaker we could hook up to our music app. Full transparency: to date, we’ve used this amenity exactly once. In contrast, every single Airbnb we’ve visited with a record player has been a music filled stay from our arrival to our departure. It’s just so darn easy to enjoy.
5 Minutes
Here's Your First Step
Start by picking out the perfect soundtrack for your Airbnb.
On to the fun part. If you could pick one album to be playing as your guests arrive and explore your space, what would it be? What’s the ideal soundtrack for your Airbnb? Sure, you’ll likely have several albums for guests to choose from during their stay. But what will be waiting for them on the record player? Choice architecture comes into play here. Remember, most folks go with the flow and opt for the default choice.
Here’s an example to get you started. We recently arrived at this phenomenal Airbnb (full featured stay coming soon!) to find Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours waiting for us on the record player. The album cover was even displayed on the wall above the record player to ensure we saw it. That album was the perfect musical compliment to the stunning Scandinavian inspired design paired with 1970s flair. And we listened to that record multiple times each day.
On the way home, I popped into a gas station as one of the album’s songs happened to come on the radio. I was immediately flooded with happy memories from our trip. Music is a powerful thing. If one song could transport your guests back to their stay with you, what would it be?
INSPIRED BY you
This week’s Big Heart Hosting post was inspired by Angie, an Airbnb Superhost in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. Just click here to explore the full listing.
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