Are you wondering how to easily surprise your guests and win their loyalty? Providing welcoming gifts can ensure your guests feel appreciated. This can also make a great first impression. From including several items to making a whole gift basket, welcome gift ideas vary in their sizes, types, and shapes. In today’s post, we gathered 30 of the best welcome gifts to help decide what fits your Airbnb or hotel better and how to craft such a gift properly to impress your guests.
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Why Provide Hotel Guests with Welcome Gifts
Welcoming gifts is a thoughtful way to start your guest’s stay on the right note.
However, it can also be a useful step towards elevating your reputation. From online reviews to comments on Facebook and Reddit, hotel clients are often eager to share their experiences, even if your hotel welcome basket provides essentials or local produce.
Both international hotel chains and Airbnb hosts value the importance of welcome gifts for guests. While their contents certainly differ, any gift is a worthy addition to your guest’s expected service. Here are some examples:
- Marriott-Bonvoy: Hotel chain brands are well-known for exquisite welcoming gift ideas. For example, in Marriott Bonvoy hotels, the Titanium Elite members receive an extensive welcome gift that includes a cheese platter, a bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne, cookies & fruits for the kids, and some milk.
- Ritz-Carlton: While some well-known hotels provide an extensive variety of welcome gift ideas, others go for something simple yet unique. For example, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Istanbul provides their guests with a sweet welcome gift – an iron-shaped cake.
- Mandarin Oriental Hotel: Many hotels provide DIY cocktails alongside local flavors as a part of their best welcome gifts. They allow guests to relax after a tiresome hotel transfer or a lengthy flight. Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has a perfect example of such a gift for their guests.
- Concorde Hotels & Resorts: Families that stay at hotels often travel with kids and appreciate personalized welcome gifts. This includes something kids may enjoy, such as coloring pencils & books or plushies. You can find similar items as a part of a welcome basket at Concorde.
Tips for Crafting the Ideal Welcome Gift
Providing diverse and personalized welcome gift ideas will make your guest’s stay a memorable experience. But how do you create a gift that is impressive by itself? With increased expectations due to instant information availability, your guests will expect certain welcome gifts alongside a proper level of service. Because of that, hotel owners & short-term rental hosts try to do their best to impress their guests as it also influences how guests perceive your accommodation services. Still, even with increased competition and certain expectations, there are some recommendations to follow when crafting a memorable hotel welcome basket:
- Personalization is key: A good welcome gift reflects your guest’s interests. Take some time to gather the preferences of your clients – from allergies and dietary restrictions to the purpose of their visit and favorite food & beverages. This information can be collected during the booking process in a simple form. If your guests travel alone, the welcome gift option will differ from one for those who travel with their kids or family members. Even small details matter and can have a great impact on your client’s first impression.
- Stay creative: Creativity is also an important tool in making your welcome gift ideas outstanding. For example, you can provide multiple variations of gift packages that include local snacks, sightseeing guides, or artisan souvenirs for those guests who love exploration rather than just enjoying what your hotel has to offer. Making sure your welcome basket reflects the interests of your guests and their travel goals is a key to success.
- Include useful items: While snacks and beverages may be a great addition to your gifts, don’t forget about those welcome gift ideas for hotel guests that are universal & useful. This includes shampoos, hand sanitizers, beach bags, bathrobes, and other items that are essential for anyone.
- Don’t forget about the gift budget: Surprising your visitors with luxury items may be a good idea if it correlates with your hotel’s brand image but even Airbnb welcome gift ideas on a budget will be appreciated. Define your financial plan for gifts in advance to prepare everything in time before your guest arrives without harming other spheres of your hotel service.
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Best Welcome Gift Ideas for Hotel Guests
As you see, welcome gift ideas can be diverse and depend on your guest’s interests and your budget. Any gift package can be used to display that you care about your guests. Providing any type of welcome basket allows you to establish long-lasting relationships with your guests, increase their loyalty, and even get positive reviews. Furthermore, using your guest basket ideas to create a memorable gift is a nice addition to the whole range of services you provide as it increases your connection with your clients. Here are some of the best welcome gifts you can easily add to impress your guests:
- Welcome letter: A personal note for all your guests is a must-have for any welcome gift. First of all, it is a nice way to greet your new visitors and tell them more about the hotel to property they’re staying at. It is recommended to include a handwritten signature & the individual guest names to make the welcome letter more personalized.
- Welcome book: As we mentioned in one of our previous posts, having a welcome book is an important element of greeting your guests. This is true not just for Airbnb properties but also for modern hotels. Any hotel resident wants to know more about both the hotel they are staying at and what it has to offer. To avoid unnecessary questions from guests and guide them towards an unforgettable experience, include a pre-written welcome book that features local activities, a hotel amenity list, places of interest, etc.
- Local products and flavors: Needless to say many guests enjoy snacks as a part of a welcome gift for visitors. Instead of providing munchies that can be bought anywhere, we recommend adding what your town is known for. Locally made snacks are wonderful welcome gift ideas and can often make a guest return to your hotel.
- Sanitizers & masks: These are the essentials required for any welcome gift. As COVID-19 is still present globally, face masks and hand sanitizers remain highly asked for. Providing your guests some protection and committing to a clean and safe stay can mean a lot to your visitors. However, don’t forget to include other items, too.
- Bathroom essentials: Branded bathrobes, shampoos, soaps, spa kits, and other essential items can help your guests relax. In addition to that, some guests highly appreciate organic & herbal bathroom products, especially if they are locally or custom-made for your guests. This adds to the unique accommodation experience and makes your visitors’ stay memorable.
- First aid kit: Health accidents can be an unwanted occasion when staying at a hotel, even if your guests aren’t engaged in any risky activities. Still, it is recommended to have it as a part of a hotel welcome basket to ensure your guests’ safety and help them avoid headaches, cuts, scrapes, and various minor injuries.
- Coffee & tea: These two items are often mentioned as guest welcome basket ideas and it’s easy to see why. Coffee and tea are some of the most popular non-alcoholic drinks. They vary in taste and shape and can be enjoyed by any guest, from kids to adults. Before adding certain tea or coffee products to your welcome gift pack, make sure they are fresh and of high quality. If the drink reflects a local flavor, it will help your gift stand out more and maybe even increase your room bookings.
- Personalized keychain: A handmade & personalized keychain is a memorable souvenir and one of the distinctive welcome gift ideas. It will create a long-lasting memory of staying at your hotel. Try gifting a keychain that contains images or logos of your hotel yet also matches your guest’s preferences or depicts local landmarks. It will not only be memorable to your visitor but also a useful addition to your guest’s souvenir collection.
Small Welcome Gift Ideas
Welcome basket ideas for hotel guests may vary and don’t always have to be costly. If you run a small hotel, you can always go for budget-friendly options. Also, with easy-to-manage gifts, your guests won’t need lots of space to take every gift item back home. These affordable and thoughtful surprise gifts for hotel guests will be a nice touch if you don’t want to spend too much on them but also want to surprise your guests.
- Blanket: Blankets are one of thoughtful and comfy small welcome gift ideas. When customized, these items can create precious memories for guests staying at your hotel. Moreover, it’s just a comfy accessory that every visitor will appreciate, especially when staying at a hotel during the winter holiday.
- Beach supplies: If your hotel regularly welcomes travelers on a summer vacation, adding beach supplies to your guest basket ideas can be a nice gesture, too. From sunglasses to flip flops, sunscreen, and a multitude of other beach-related items, the range of beach supplies you can add is almost unlimited.
- Gift cards: It is widely known that you can’t go wrong with a gift card. Depending on your client’s preferences, providing a gift card to local shops, beauty salons, spas, gyms, and other places of interest is guaranteed to deliver a positive experience and surprise your guests.
- Kid-friendly options: If your visitors mention staying with their kids, consider making welcome baskets for guests that suit them. One of the best hotel welcome gift basket ideas includes creating a customized gift pack for adults with kids. It may also be a good idea to have a separate welcome basket for kids with toys, sweets, coloring books, etc.
- Handmade souvenirs: Finally, one of the best small welcome gift ideas is handmade souvenirs. We’ve already suggested a personalized keychain as an element of a welcome gift basket. You can go even further and provide handmade souvenirs from local artisans. Unique & original souvenirs, especially if they’re custom-made for your hotel guests are one of the best welcome basket ideas for hotel guests to make their stay memorable.
Welcome Basket Ideas Guests Will Love
Modern welcome gifts are quite flexible allowing you to combine multiple items at once or provide ready-made kits for any occasion. Depending on the preferences of your guests and available budget, providing any of the welcome gift ideas listed below will perfectly complement the list of your hotel welcome gift basket ideas.
- Bottled water: Water is one of the essentials when it comes to welcome gifts for vacation rental guests. Adding reusable water bottles is recommended as a practical gift that promotes hydration and helps your guests stay fresh and drink more water, especially in hot seasons.
- Feminine products: One of the guest welcome basket ideas is connected to adding feminine care products. A high-quality kit of such products can serve as one of suitable welcoming gift ideas and show your female guests that you care about their health and comfort. Besides, it is a versatile gift item that can be tailored to meet your guests’ preferences and interests.
- Cocktail kit: A hotel welcome basket must also include something tasty and creative. This is why a cocktail kit is often mentioned as one of the best welcome basket ideas for hotel guests. By handing your clients the tools to prepare their favorite cocktail or a signature drink of your area that features local spirits, guests may be motivated to try these and similar cocktails from your hotel’s bar during their stay.
- Sweets: This welcome gift for visitors is a fitting choice for adults and kids. They allow for an incredible variety of tastes, making it possible for you to create unique gift packs almost every time. Furthermore, you can add your guests’ favorite sweet flavors to surprise them. This way you’ll enhance the experience of your visitors and create a lasting positive impression that may cause your guests to schedule a booking at your hotel next time.
- Amenity kit: If you don’t want to manually include every useful item in your guest room welcome basket, you may try adding an amenity kit to it. It consists of diverse useful items and is a perfect addition to any gift pack. With a variety of included welcome gift ideas, an amenity kit serves multiple purposes, allowing you to increase your guest’s comfort, wellness, and relaxation thanks to:
- toiletries;
- face masks & sanitizers;
- local specialties;
- bath salts & pillow sprays;
- personal care items.
- Hangover cures: Being another complex item and one of the popular welcome ideas for guests, hangover cures may be also included in your welcome gift. If your hotel is located in an area rich in nightclubs and party venues, offering your guests a combination of pain medicine, eye shades, bottled water, snacks, earplugs, and other items for partygoers may be a thoughtful gesture among hotel gifts for guests.
- Eye masks: Do you want to provide your guests with distraction-free sleep? Then consider adding an eye mask to your hospitality basket. If made from soft material, a quality eye mask will increase your guest’s relaxation, benefit their well-being, and even be one of the personalized & memorable welcome basket ideas for house guests.
Delightful Welcome Gifts for Vacation Rental Guests
In case you would like to surprise your guests and provide something memorable and useful, some welcome gift ideas can surprise any guest. By providing something unique and catchy, your guests will remember your hotel and the guest room welcome basket. This will provide a proper impression and motivate them to return to you next time.
- Branded wine bottles: A wine bottle with the logo of your hotel is one of the common yet highly appreciated welcome basket ideas. Once again, it is a fitting way to highlight local produce that can also vary in its taste. You can also include extra products to match the wine you are offering as a gift (for example, cheese).
- Artisan goods: If you want to extend the variety of local flavors you include as welcome ideas for guests, we recommend adding some artisan goods. It can be some products from your favorite local bakery or some preserved goods local farmers provide. Still, you don’t need to limit your gift pack just with edibles. Do some research and partner with local artisans to provide your guests with unique and exclusive products. This will attract their attention to your hotel and also motivate them to explore the local area.
- Skincare products: Needless to say skincare & cosmetics are widely used categories of items when it comes to preparing a welcome gift. Organic skincare solutions become increasingly popular and are also nice welcome basket ideas for hotel guests. Be it body lotions, hand creams, or lip balms, gifting something that helps your guests stay healthy and taken care of increases the possibility of positive impressions and better reviews.
- Cheese board: We’ve already mentioned cheese as one of the welcome gift ideas. You can go even further and combine provided food products with a cheese board. It is a perfect food-serving accessory that will be useful even after your guests check out of the hotel.
Airbnb Welcome Gift Ideas
Greeting your guests with welcoming gifts is also a suitable idea for bed and breakfast hotels. If you want your visitors to feel special and know that you care about providing the best experience, even adding something small but useful can be some of the fitting welcome gift ideas for Airbnb guests. Take a look at the list below to learn more about what to put in a welcome basket for your first-time and regular guests.
- Flowers: Known as a perfect gift for any special occasion, flowers are often among welcome basket ideas for house guests. If your guest celebrates a birthday, wedding, or any other type of special event, providing fresh flowers can make any gift basket quite memorable. We also recommend adding a written note to congratulate your guests on their important day.
- Seasonal treats: When you’re welcoming guests to your vacation rental property on certain seasons or holidays, such as Halloween or Christmas, it is advised to provide seasonal treats and snacks as welcome gifts. From gingerbread cookies to pumpkin pies and holiday desserts, there’s a wide range of snacks and food products you can offer your visitors on their arrival.
- Travel guides and magazines: In addition to the welcome book mentioned above, providing a travel guide and some popular local magazines may be one of the Airbnb welcome gift ideas your guests will appreciate. This is especially so if your visitors like reading and exploring the local area. Providing them with a travel guide will help in finding interesting event & entertainment venues and will allow them to learn more about the region your hotel is located in.
- Board games: If you are wondering what to put in a welcome basket, board games can also be a nice pick. Both kids and adults enjoy playing this type of game as they don’t require an Internet connection or any subscriptions. Moreover, gifting a board game with your hotel logo or local attractions will create a lasting memory of staying at your hotel and will provide an unforgettable gaming experience.
- Films and TV: One of the most suggested welcome gifts for vacation rental guests is a collection of movies & TV series. Thanks to the global availability of Netflix, Prime Video, and other movie streaming services, you can just include a gift certificate to any of these services and surprise your guest with it.
- Alcoholic beverages: Lastly, one of the popular welcome gift ideas for Airbnb guests is alcoholic beverages. They can make a great gift addition for adult guests of your hotel. As welcome gift ideas for hotel guests, they are generally well-received and can become a memorable part of your guests’ stay especially if you offer unique beverages not available anywhere else. A good way to make such a gift memorable is to provide something locally sourced or even exclusive to your hotel.
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Conclusion
We hope this overview of welcome gift ideas for your hotel helped select the right option for your hospitality or vacation rental business. Whether you’re aiming for something essential or diverse, remember that even a small gift is always a nice gesture. But when taken care of and prepared correctly, such a gift can create a long-lasting impression. When combined with great customer service, these welcome gifts for guests will positively influence your guest’s experience and make them return to your hotel in the future. Here are other benefits that well-prepared welcome baskets for guests provide:
- Higher customer loyalty: It’s no secret that welcome gifts directly influence the loyalty level of your guests. Making sure that your customer is satisfied with their stay starts at the hotel door and even small welcome gift ideas can positively impact the whole hospitality experience and increase your vacation rental bookings in the future.
- Personalization: If you want to impress your guests even more, we recommend personalizing your gifts. Depending on your guest’s preferences, a guest room welcome basket can be completely customized to offer more snacks or wine, for example. This way you’ll show that you care about your guests and their comfort.
- Market differentiation: One of the ways to differentiate from your competitors is to provide a top-notch welcome gift. This will not only make your guests’ stay a memorable experience, it will also serve as a reason to choose your hotel during their next visit and will also be positively reflected in your reputation.
- Positive reviews: Obviously, welcoming gifts also impact your hotel reviews. Preparing a thoughtful hospitality basket is a great way to motivate your guests to share their experiences online. Besides, it will also improve your reputation on social media.
