470. Hosting Hotline: Are You Leaving Money on the Table by Not Offering Gap Nights?
Thanks For Visiting
Airbnb Superhosts Annette Grant & Sarah Karakaian
4.9 • 589 Ratings
🗓️ 10 June 2025
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on Hosting Hotline, we’re answering a question from Joanna—a host in Central Virginia—who’s working to increase bookings by upselling gap nights before or after a guest’s stay.
Also known as adjacent nights or half-day stays, these nights are often overlooked revenue opportunities. But the truth is, guests are more willing than you think to arrive early or stay late—if you offer it the right way and at the right time.
In this episode, we cover:
– What “gap nights” really are (and why guests say yes)
– The 3 best times to offer a gap night
– Why “half-day stay” might sell better than “early check-in”
– The importance of testing and tracking guest responses
– How to automate these offers without sacrificing conversions
– A reminder that your core upsell is your core product: the stay!
Whether you’re managing a single unit or scaling a portfolio, don’t miss this conversation about one of the easiest ways to boost your revenue without increasing your workload.
Want to get your questions answered on the show? Visiting HostingHotline.com.
RESOURCES:
– Hostfully | PMS with automated messaging tools
– Breezeway | Smart guest messaging & turnover management
– Get the Hosting Handbook | New host? Start here
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Thanks for Visiting Podcast. |
| 0:08.4 | We believe hosting with Heart is at the core of every short-term rental. |
| 0:12.5 | With Annette's background in business operation. |
| 0:15.1 | And Sarah's extensive hospitality management and interior design experience, |
| 0:19.1 | we have welcomed thousands of guests from over |
| 0:21.9 | 30 countries earning us over a million dollars and garnering us thousands of five-star reviews. |
| 0:28.4 | We love sharing creative ways for your listing to stand out, serve your guests, and be profitable. |
| 0:34.9 | Each episode, we will have knowledgeable guests who bring value to the short-term rental industry. |
| 0:39.4 | Or we will share our stories of our own experiences so you can implement actual improvements to your rentals. |
| 0:46.4 | Whether you're experienced, new, or nervous to start your own short-term rental, |
| 0:51.2 | we promise you'll feel right at home. |
| 1:05.0 | Thank you. your own short-term rental, we promise you'll feel right at home. Hello, welcome back to another great episode. |
| 1:07.3 | My name is Sarah Caracan. |
| 1:09.2 | I'm Annette Grant, and together we are. Thanks for visiting and this is the |
| 1:12.7 | hosting hotline. If you want to get your questions answered here on the hosting hotline, all you have to do is go to |
| 1:18.5 | hosting hotline.com, ask your question and get it answered here on the podcast every Tuesday. These episodes |
| 1:24.8 | are so fun and today we have a question from Joanna. Hi, Sarah and Annanette. This is Joanna. I've been trying to follow through on your |
| 1:31.5 | suggestions to upsell additional get nights before and after a guest stays. I'm curious if you |
| 1:36.7 | figured out the optimal timing for this. Is it soon after a reservation is made or seven days |
| 1:41.4 | before check-in during this day? when do you recommend I set up those |
| 1:46.3 | automated messages to go out? I'm in a rural drive-to market in central Virginia, which is |
| 1:51.5 | primarily a weekend destination outside of the summer months, and we're really trying to get |
... |
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