Extra services in short-term rentals: which to offer, which to avoid, and where the line is

The difference between a place to stay and a hospitality experience lies in the services. The catch is that in short-term rentals services are also the most delicate legal boundary: some you can offer freely, others can trigger classification as a hospitality or business activity. Knowing the map pays off twice over — to avoid risk, and to understand how much hospitality you can still offer while remaining a private host. Rules vary by country and city, so always check your local regulations.

Services you can offer without any problem

• Initial and final cleaning of the stay, and providing linen on arrival
• Utilities, Wi-Fi, air conditioning: these are part of enjoying the property, not personal services
• Welcome kit: water, coffee, local products, a bottle of wine — a cost of a few euros that reviews always pay back
• Self check-in organised properly, with real-time identity verification where required (check your local guest-ID rules)
• Assistance during the stay: replying, solving, advising — being available isn't a hospitality service, it's common sense

The services that turn you into a business

The underlying principle: when you add systematic personal services on top of the space itself, the rental stops being a rental and becomes a hospitality activity. In practice, these fall outside what a private host can offer: breakfast (even just left out in the kitchen each morning), daily cleaning or tidying during the stay, systematic mid-week linen changes, and personal services run in-house like transfers and tours. Anyone who wants to offer them has to do it under the right form — a registered hospitality or business set-up, with the licences, VAT/tax number and tax regime this entails. The exact rules and categories vary by country and region, so check locally before you commit.

The legitimate trick: a third party provides the services

There is, however, a widely used and perfectly legitimate middle way: the extra services are provided by a third-party operator, who invoices the guest directly. You don't organise the transfer: you pass on the contact of a partner private-hire driver. You don't make breakfast: you have an arrangement with the café downstairs that offers your guests a discount. You don't run the tour: you put the guest in touch with a local guide. A digital guest guide with local partners is the most elegant way to offer 'hotel-style' hospitality without stepping outside the boundaries of a short-term rental — and partners often grant a preferential rate that improves the offer for both sides.

The services that raise revenue and reviews

• Paid early check-in and late check-out: 15-30 EUR on request, almost no operational cost if the calendar allows it
• Luggage storage on arrival/departure day: it solves travelling guests' number-one problem
• Family kit (cot, high chair) and pet-friendly options with a small surcharge: they widen your audience and beat the platforms' search filters
• Bikes, beach towels, beach gear in seaside spots: a one-off cost, very high perceived value
• Local experiences through partners (here the operators for events and guest packages): tastings, private chefs, welcome aperitifs

Who manages them, in practice

Every extra service is also an extra piece of operational work: coordination, timing, the unexpected. That's why the market for short-term-rental services has boomed — and why on Keyo owners can look for a single service too, not just full management: cleaning, check-in and welcome, laundry, maintenance. You post your request for free, local operators come to you with a profile and verified reviews, and you build the team you need. Or choose a property manager to orchestrate it all — the guide to fees sets out what it's reasonable to expect to be included.