To host business travellers well, give them a quiet place to work, fast Wi-Fi, steady power and a smooth arrival. Then make booking easy for their company. On Cabans, companies can book your shortlet on a business profile, pay online, and keep the receipt with the company.
Work guests can be good guests to have. They often stay on weekdays, and a company that is happy with a stay may book the same home again for its staff.
What business guests need
A business traveller is not on holiday. They have a job to do, and your home is where they rest and often where they work. Think about their day from waking up to going to bed.
| Need | What to provide |
|---|---|
| Sleep | A good mattress, blackout curtains, a quiet air conditioner and a room away from street noise |
| Work | A real desk, a comfortable chair, good light and sockets within reach |
| Connection | Fast, reliable Wi-Fi, with a backup plan when it drops |
| Power | Backup power for the desk, the router and the air conditioner at night |
| Getting ready | An iron and board, a mirror, hot water and space to hang clothes |
| Food | A working kitchen, a kettle and a fridge, or easy breakfast options |
| Getting around | Safe parking, and clear directions for drivers |
Location matters too. Business guests want to be close to their meetings. If your home is near an office district, such as Victoria Island, Ikoyi or Ikeja, say so clearly in your listing, and name the main roads nearby.
How companies book
A company books your shortlet the same way anyone does, but while using its business profile on Cabans. At checkout, the booker sees the stay is “On behalf of” their company. The booking and its receipt then stay with that business profile.
What you see as the host:
- The request or booking appears on your Bookings page, like any other.
- The row says “Booked by a business”, so you know a company made it.
- You see the guest’s name, but never their email address.
- The guest pays online through Paystack before a request ever reaches you. Paystack’s processing fee is paid by the guest, and they see it before they pay.
If you use “Instant book”, the booking is confirmed as soon as the company pays. If not, you accept or decline each paid request within the answer time you chose. A company planning travel at short notice may prefer a home that confirms straight away. Our guide to instant book or request to book helps you choose.
Your Bookings page has tabs for “Requests”, “Upcoming”, “Arriving”, “In house”, “Leaving”, “Past” and “Cancelled”. See how to use your Bookings page for a tour.
If you are a company booking for staff rather than a host, read our guide to booking shortlets for staff instead.
Workspace and Wi-Fi
A laptop on the bed is not a workspace. Put a proper desk and chair in the quietest room, near a window if you can. Add a desk lamp, a power strip and a spare phone charger.
- Test your Wi-Fi speed before every stay, at the desk, not next to the router. Fix weak spots with a second access point.
- Plan for outages. Keep the router on backup power. Some hosts leave a mobile data device as a backup and say so in the house rules.
- Keep the Wi-Fi details up to date in your “Stay information”. The guest sees the network name once the booking is confirmed. The password and door code appear on their stay page only after you approve their check-in, and they are never emailed.
- Describe it honestly. Say what your power setup covers and for how long. A guest with a big call at 9 in the morning will plan around it.
Work guests often arrive late after meetings or flights. Write clear “Arrival and check-in instructions” in your Stay information, with the gate, the building and who to call. When the guest taps “I have arrived”, you get an email and can hand over the keys and approve the check-in from your booking page.
If your home asks guests for an ID, tick “Guests must upload an ID”. Only you and the Cabans team can see it, and you can open it until 30 days after check-out. It is kept securely for up to 6 years after the stay, as data laws require, and then deleted.
Longer stays and offers
Work trips can last a week or more, and projects can run for months. Longer stays mean fewer changeovers, fewer cleans and steadier income. Cabans gives you two kinds of offer to win them.
- Longer-stay discounts. Set up to 3 tiers by number of nights, such as a discount from 7 nights and a bigger one from 28. The tier with the most nights the guest reaches applies to all their nights.
- Free nights. For example, “Stay 5 nights, get 1 free”. The cheapest nights are the free ones.
A guest gets whichever of the two saves them more, never both. The cleaning fee and caution deposit are never discounted. See how to offer longer-stay discounts and free nights for the steps.
More ways to suit long work stays:
- Set a sensible minimum stay. The minimum is one setting for the whole listing, so do not set it so high that you lose short trips.
- Open dates well ahead. Companies plan projects months in advance. Your booking window can run up to 2 years ahead.
- Offer a mid-stay clean. Guests can ask for a clean from their stay page using “Stay services”. Tell them in your house rules how often cleaning is included.
- Keep the fixed fees fair. The cleaning fee is charged once per stay. A fair fee makes a long stay look better value.
Receipts on the guest side
Business guests often need proof of what they paid. Cabans keeps it for them, so you do not have to write receipts by hand.
- Each stay has a booking number and an order number, both shown on the guest’s stay page.
- The receipt sits in the orders of the business profile that made the booking.
- Extras and bills paid during the stay show as “Paid”, with their own “View receipt” link.
- On your side, paid bills become paid orders in your store’s Orders.
If a company asks for something more, such as a letter for its finance team, agree it in the chat before the stay. Do not promise documents you cannot provide.
Extras business guests actually buy
Busy guests will pay to save time. With “Stay Extras”, checked-in guests can order things you sell and have them brought to the home for free. Good ideas for work guests:
- Breakfast, or a simple meal after a late meeting
- Bottled water and soft drinks
- An airport pick-up
- A laundry and ironing service
You can also add things a guest used to their bill with “Bill the guest”, and they pay it from their stay page. Our guide to selling extras to shortlet guests has more ideas.
Getting paid
Business bookings are paid like any other. The guest pays online through Paystack when they book, and pays Paystack’s processing fee on top. Cabans charges you a 5% commission. You are paid within 7 days after the guest’s stay, and sooner when the guest approves the payment after their trip.
If a company cancels in time, the guest gets their money back under your cancellation terms. Pick a free-cancellation cut-off that suits work travel, which often changes at short notice.
Win your first company booking
Start with the basics: a clear listing, a real desk, fast Wi-Fi and fair offers for longer stays. Then take bookings online so companies can book and pay in one go. New to hosting on Cabans? List your short let, then work through the free Host Academy lessons, one short step at a time.
Want to see what work guests compare you with? Look at other homes on the short let page, or near the business districts in Victoria Island and Ikeja.
Frequently asked questions
What do business travellers look for in a shortlet?
A quiet room, a proper desk and chair, fast Wi-Fi, steady power, a good bed and a smooth arrival. They also want clear records of what they paid, because their company often pays or refunds them.
Can a company book my shortlet for its staff?
Yes. A company can book on Cabans using its business profile. You see the stay marked “Booked by a business”, with the guest’s name. The booking, the stay page and the receipt stay with the company’s profile.
Do I see the business guest’s email address?
No. On your Bookings page you see the guest’s name, never their email. If you need to arrange anything, reply through the chat the guest opens from their stay page.
How do I attract longer work stays?
Offer a longer-stay discount or a free-nights offer, set a sensible minimum stay, and describe your workspace, Wi-Fi and power in the listing. Companies booking for weeks at a time compare the full price, so keep your cleaning fee fair.
Can I charge more for each extra guest on a work trip?
No. The price on Cabans does not change with the number of guests. You set a maximum number of guests instead, and price your nights for the whole home.
When am I paid for a business booking?
The same way as any booking. The guest pays online through Paystack. Cabans charges you a 5% commission, and you are paid within 7 days after the stay, sooner when the guest approves the payment after their trip.
Related guides
Booking shortlets for staff · Instant book or request to book · Weekly and monthly discounts · Sell extras to shortlet guests · A shortlet listing that gets booked
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