This balance of trust is evident everywhere in our society.
When you go to a coffee shop, and there are mobile orders on the counter waiting to be picked up, Starbucks trusts the community will not take coffees that don’t belong to them.
When you go to pick up food, and there are takeout bags waiting to be picked up by delivery services like Ritual, the restaurant trusts the public not to take someone else’s food.
When you walk by a market or gas station with products displayed outside the store, they trust that people don’t walk by and take it.
When you go on a train and pay for a ticket, the transportation company doesn’t check every person’s proof of payment, but they trust you bought a ticket.
The same thing goes for minibars in Canadian and American hotels. Although the process has become more sensitized, the hotel trusts that you didn’t take snacks or water without paying for them first.
Supermarkets are also implementing the honor system with their self-checkout stations. They are trusting their customers to scan every item they place in their shopping bags.
And finally, Short-Term Rentals implement the Honor System. Hosts trust that their guests won’t steal any items on the property and that they will respect their spaces. There is always a level of trust between you (the host) and your Short-Term rental guests. You provide a service that allows guests to experience their travels in a space much more welcoming than what a hotel can provide. And you trust that your guests will respect your property. In turn, your guests also have to charge you; they rely on you to provide them with shelter, safety, and comfort.
This is called, the Honor System, aka the “trust system” is a belief that society will self-regulate itself to be ethical and not take things without buying them first. Of course, this is not always the case, but have you ever seen someone steal drinks from Starbucks? Or steal a bag of ice from the gas station?
With the honor system, you trust that your guests won’t take any items from your STR, and they trust that you will provide them with a safe space to stay.
“trust that your guest won’t steal your pillow as much as you trust that they won’t steal that bag of chips”
Let’s talk about how this affects the Marketplace Kit Program. If you are not familiar with our MPK Program, BnSellit provides qualifying Short-Term Rental guests with a collection of essential items and curated products to sell to their guests. Hosts are encouraged to add their items to sell with this kit and replenish items based on what your customers enjoy! For example, if your guests take a liking to the Summer Set collection, this may inspire hosts to sell sunscreen, sunglasses and lip balm again after it is sold! The Honor System or trust system is clearly placed on your MPK as well! The MPK comes sealed, and we provide you with printable signage to display besides these items; that way, it is clear to guests how to purchase these items easily!
When you display the items that are for sale on the app we provide you with a Host ID card to put beside your items that clearly tells your guests that they are for sale and how they can easily purchase them. If you have larger items for sale like decoration pieces, paintings or small furniture, guests will see that they are for sale by scrolling through your online Marketplace after searching your Host ID. That way you do not have to put these larger items together in a designated spot, but instead they can flow with the set up of your space. When it comes to smaller items like snacks, toiletries and games; we recommend keeping them all together in one display to prevent misplaced items or guests accidentally taking them. Now all these items have a cute designated sort-of mini store within your rental!
By selling items to guests on the BnSellit app you are enhancing your short-term rental by providing your guests with a unique and fun experience that will leave a lasting impression.
Knowing the Honor system when setting up your sellable items, you will be confident your guests will see the extra service you are providing them, and that they will follow the purchasing process on BnBuyit (or through the quick checkout on our website).
There is a mutual trust between host and guest so that both sides get the best outcomes out of their b&b experience. As STR hosts we do our best to give our guests the best experience possible. And as guests going into someone else’s space, we do our best to enjoy our time while being aware of that. Society has built a trust in the many structures all around us and we expect the same trust in our STR guests.
