Side income ideas from your STR: beyond just nightly rates

Category: Off-Topic & Lounge

By: Nolan Peters

Posted: 2026-01-28T08:52:14.237Z

I want to maximize revenue from my 2 properties beyond just the nightly rate. What creative side income streams have you added to your STR business? I've heard of: - Experience add-ons (guided tours, cooking classes) - Checkout upsells (late checkout, early check-in) - Merch sales - Affiliate income from recommended products What actually makes money and what's a waste of time?

Reply by Kevin O'Brien:

I've experimented with probably 15 different side income ideas. Some worked, most didn't. Here's the honest rundown. The easiest money is early check-in and late checkout fees. I charge $25-50 for each, automated through a Hospitable (https://hospitable.com) pre-arrival message. About 30% of guests take the option and it adds $200-400/month per property with zero additional work on my end. If you're not doing this, you're leaving money on the table. Mid-stay upsells have been surprisingly good too. I leave a little menu card in the property — professional photographer session ($99, I partner with a local photographer and keep 30%), private chef dinner ($150-350, I keep 15%), grocery pre-stocking ($50 base plus cost). Combined these bring in $300-600/month across my 2 properties. The photographer one is especially popular with anniversary/proposal guests. Affiliate income from local businesses is small but truly passive. I recommend specific kayak rental companies, adventure tours, and restaurants in my house manual and collect referral fees — $10 per kayak booking, 10% on the zip-line company, that kind of thing. Maybe $100-200/month but I literally don't think about it. The house manual generator at https://strspecialist.com/tools/house-manual-generator makes this easy to set up professionally. Pet fees have been worth it: $50-75 per pet per stay. About 20% of my guests bring dogs. The extra cleaning is real but the fee more than covers it. And firewood bundles are a seasonal win — buy for $5, sell for $15, leave 2 free bundles and offer more for purchase. October through March it adds $100-200/month. What didn't work: Airbnb Experiences was a massive time sink for the revenue. Leading tours for $40/person is terrible math when you could be optimizing properties. Selling branded merch (mugs, shirts) — sold maybe 3 items in 6 months. Nobody wants your Airbnb's merch lol. Vending machines looked great on YouTube but in practice it was constant restocking, mechanical issues, and an eyesore in listing photos. Pulled it after 2 months. And charging separately for amenities like board games — that creates a nickel-and-diming vibe that kills reviews. Just include everything and price accordingly. Bottom line: my 2 properties gross about $8,500/month in nightly rates and the side income adds $600-900 — roughly 8-10% additional revenue. Most of it automated or close to it. The key is only adding stuff that doesn't degrade the guest experience. If it feels like you're selling rather than hosting, skip it.