Business Guests in Your Vacation Rental: How to Attract Them and Charge More During the Week

Business travelers book during the week, pay without bargaining, and leave the house spotless. Here's how to adapt your vacation rental to attract them and fill the days when no one else books.

If you have a vacation apartment, you already know the problem: weekends are fully booked, Monday to Thursday is empty. Business guests are the most obvious solution and the one most owners don't handle well. Let's take a look.

Why You Should Target Business Guests

A corporate traveler is not a tourist. They come to work, sleep, shower, and leave. And on top of that:

• Book from Monday to Thursday (just when you're not selling).
• Pay their company, so price matters less.
• Usually travel alone or as a couple (less wear and tear on the house).
• Don't throw parties, don't bring 8 people, don't wreck your sofa.
• Repeat if they like it. A lot.
• Almost never negotiate price.

The average occupancy during the week of a vacation rental in Spain ranges around 35-45%. If you manage to increase it to 60-70% by bringing in corporate clients, your annual revenue increases between 20% and 35%. These are real numbers, not smoke.

What a Business Guest Looks for (and What They Don't Care About)

This is where most go wrong. The corporate traveler doesn't want the same as a vacationing family. Forget about a fancy capsule coffee maker or a welcome gift with wine. They want other things.

What MATTERS (a lot)

Element	Why it matters
Fast and stable WiFi	They make video calls. If it cuts out, bad review
Real desk	Not a corner of the living room with an IKEA chair
Comfortable chair	Will be sitting 6-8 hours
Flexible check-in	Arrives at 23:00 from the airport
Accessible outlets	Near the bed and desk
Iron and ironing board	For the shirt the next day
Minimal functional kitchen	For breakfast and quick dinners
Good lighting	To avoid looking like a zombie on Zoom

What They DON'T Care About

• Instagrammable decor.
• Spectacular views.
• Capacity for 6 people.
• Jacuzzi, pool, barbecue.
• Tourist guide with the best tapas restaurants.
• Puzzles, board games, books in English.

Save on the latter and invest in the former.

The Minimum Equipment to Attract Corporate Clients

Let's get specific. This is what you need for a business traveler to choose (and repeat) your place.

Professional WiFi

No need for basic 100 Mbps fiber shared with the operator's router. We're talking about:

• At least 300 Mbps fiber, 600 Mbps recommended.
• Decent router (TP-Link Archer, ASUS, whatever except the operator's).
• Coverage throughout the house, especially at the desk.
• A spare Ethernet cable just in case.

If you want more details, I have a complete guide on WiFi in vacation rentals and another on fiber vs 4G/5G.

Real Work Area

This makes the difference. Not an improvised corner, but a real desk.

• Minimum 120x60 cm table (around 120 euros at IKEA, Bekant model or similar).
• Good ergonomic chair (150-250 euros, not a dining chair).
• Adjustable desk lamp (30-50 euros).
• Power strip with USB nearby.
• An extra monitor if you want to compete at a higher level (120-180 euros, 24 inches).

Total investment: 400-700 euros. You recover it in 2-3 corporate bookings.

No-stress Night Check-in

Business flights land at 22:00. The guest arrives at 23:30. If you don't have automated check-in, you're out of the game. Use a code safe, smart lock, or whatever. But be flexible.

Minimal but Useful Kitchen

No need for a professional oven. It needs:

• Coffee maker that works at 6:30 without manual.
• Kettle.
• Microwave.
• Fridge with freezer.
• Basic utensils for one person.

How to Position Your Listing for Corporate Clients

If your listing says "romantic getaway in the heart of Malaga," you won't attract the regional sales director. You need to rewrite it.

What to include in the title

• "Apartment with workspace near [business area]"
• "Professional studio with WiFi 600 Mbps and desk"
• "Business apartment, 5 min from Nuevos Ministerios metro"

What to highlight in the description

• Actual WiFi speed (take a screenshot).
• Desk size and type of chair.
• Distance to the office zone or station.
• Ease of check-in at any hour.
• Possibility of invoice with VAT (important, we'll see later).

I have a full post on how to write your listing description that will help you.

Key Photos

The photo of the desk should be among the first 3. It sounds odd, but it works. A good desk with good lighting sells more than any terrace for corporate clients.

Platforms to Reach Corporate Clients

Airbnb and Booking are good, but there are more sites to look for.

Platform	For whom	Commission
Airbnb (Work filter)	Freelancers, digital nomads, short trips	3% host
Booking.com	Traditional corporate clients	15-17%
Spotahome	Medium stays	25% first month
Blueground, Nestpick	Corporate relocation	Varies
Local relocation agencies	Large companies in your city	Negotiable

On Airbnb, activate the "Ideal for work" tag (appears if you meet WiFi, desk, and flexible check-in requirements). It's free and puts you in a widely used filter.

Contact Local Companies Directly

This is gold and no one does it. Make a list of the 20 biggest companies in your area (consulting firms, auditors, pharmaceutical, tech). Send an email to the "people" or "travel" department offering your apartment for relocations. Invoice with VAT, fixed price, guaranteed availability on certain days.

A contract with a consulting firm sending 2 people per month to your city fills 4-6 nights each month. No platforms, no commissions.

About VAT Invoicing

Most mess this up here. If you want to work with companies, you need to be able to invoice with VAT.

Tourist rentals without additional services are VAT exempt. But if your client is a company that needs to deduct the expense, you'll have problems.

The solution involves:

• Providing some additional service (intermediate cleaning, breakfast, towel change) that obliges you to invoice at 10% VAT.
• Knowing how to issue the invoice correctly.

I have two guides that solve this: VAT in tourist rentals and invoices and receipts in vacation rentals.

If you're going all-in with corporate clients, do it right from the start. It's the difference between a company booking with you or not.

Pricing: How Much to Charge During the Week

The common mistake: lowering the price on weekdays because "it's empty anyway." Wrong.

Corporate clients compare with hotels. A 3-4 star business hotel in Madrid or Barcelona costs 120-180 euros per night. Your apartment should cost between 80 and 130 euros during the week for a business traveler. Not 50.

Some guidelines:

• Base price Tuesday to Thursday: 10-20% below weekend rates (not 50%).
• Discount for stays of 3-4 nights: 10%.
• Discount for a full week: 15-20%.
• Extra charge for check-in after 22:00: 0 euros (your competitive advantage).

To optimize this, review the post on dynamic pricing.

Loyalty: The Repeating Corporate Client

A business traveler who comes once can come 10 times. Here's what makes them a regular client:

• Remember their name and details from the last stay.
• If they rebooked, leave something they liked last time (if they asked for oat milk, have oat milk).
• Give them your direct contact. If they book through your website again, you save on commission.
• Properly issued invoice, with all data.
• Quick response to messages (less than 1 hour during working hours).

A loyal corporate client = 8-15 guaranteed nights per year, with good pricing, without effort to attract. Pure gold.

Common Mistakes When Trying to Attract Corporate Clients

• Using a dining chair as a "desk."
• Slow WiFi and lying about the speed.
• Not able to issue an invoice with VAT.
• Rigid check-in hours from 15:00 to 20:00.
• Excessively touristy decor (flags, souvenirs, odd things).
• Not having an iron and ironing board.
• Complicated coffee maker requiring manual.
• Not responding to messages during working hours.

How Auto-Registration Fits In

An operational detail not often discussed: business guests tend to check in late, tired, and don't have patience for paperwork. Asking them at 23:30 to show ID and fill out a form for SES Hospedajes starts things off on the wrong foot.

With Auto-Registration, you send a link to the guest before they arrive, they fill it out from their phone when convenient, and the data is sent automatically to SES Hospedajes. You don't have to do anything.

It costs 1 euro per month per property (less than a coffee). If you have multiple apartments and mix tourists with corporate clients, it removes the only manual step left in the check-in process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it worth adapting my apartment only for corporate clients?

If it's in a business area or near transportation to office zones, yes. If it's in a purely tourist area (beach, historic center without nearby offices), focus on tourism. In large cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, or Valencia, demand is almost everywhere well connected.

Can I have a "hybrid" apartment for tourism + corporate?

Yes, in fact, it's the most profitable. Weekends for tourists (higher price) and weekdays for corporates. Just prepare the equipment for both.

What if a company wants to rent for 1-2 months?

This falls into long stays. Usually very profitable but changes tax rules and sometimes the legal structure. Read the post before accepting.

What do I need for a corporate reservation?

Complete billing details (company name, CIF, address), guest name, company's contact email for the invoice, and payment method. If it's a serious company, they won't have a problem.

Do I need a special registration to rent to companies?

No. Continue with your normal tourist license and your registration in SES Hospedajes. The guest remains an individual, even if the invoice is paid by the company.