Airbnb With a Private Chef: How to Book One for Your Stay

Almost no Airbnb comes with a private chef. You book the rental first, then add a chef as a separate service, either through Airbnb Services or directly with a local chef company. The chef shops, cooks in the rental's kitchen, serves and cleans up, and you pay for the chef on top of the nightly rate.

We cook in vacation rentals across Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Wyoming, from ski houses in Vail and Park City to pool homes in Scottsdale and Sedona. This is what guests ask us most before they book.

Can you find an Airbnb that includes a private chef?

Rarely. Airbnb has no search filter for a chef, and the few listings that mention one usually mean the host can introduce you to a chef, not that dinner is in the price. Read the listing closely. If it says "chef available," ask the host what that means in writing: who the chef is, what it costs and whether groceries are included.

The simpler path is to pick the house you want for the location and the bedrooms, then bring the chef to it. A good chef can cook in almost any rental kitchen.

Two ways to book the chef

Through Airbnb Services. Since 2025 Airbnb has listed chefs as a bookable service next to stays and experiences. You choose a chef listing, pick a menu or offering, and pay through Airbnb. It keeps everything in one app. MileHighCook has chef listings on Airbnb in several of our markets.

Directly with a chef company. You send your dates, the address, your headcount and any allergies, and you get a written menu and price back. Booking directly gives you more room to shape the menu, plan several nights at once and add breakfasts or a lunch on the mountain. Multi-night ski weeks are usually easier to plan this way.

Either way, you are hiring the chef for your group, not adding a feature to the house.

What a chef costs on top of the rental

With MileHighCook, a private chef dinner runs $150 to $250 per guest, all-inclusive: menu, groceries, cooking, service and cleanup. Private chef service has a $1,500 minimum per day, before tax. For eight people eating in one night, that means about $1,500 to $2,000 for the dinner.

So an Airbnb with a chef costs the rental plus the chef. For a group of eight to twelve, a chef-cooked dinner at the house often lands close to what the same group would spend at a good restaurant in Aspen or Vail, without the drive, the reservation or the babysitter. The full math by group size is on our private chef cost page.

What the chef needs from the rental

Rental kitchens vary more than people expect. Before the dinner, we ask for a few things:

• Photos of the kitchen, the oven and the cooktop. A single oven changes how a dinner for twelve is planned.
• The door code or check-in details for the chef's arrival, usually two to three hours before you eat.
• The house rules. If the listing limits events or guest count, the dinner has to fit inside them.
• A headcount with every allergy and diet, including the kids.
• Where you want to eat: the dining table, the kitchen island or the deck.

We bring our own knives and the tools a rental is usually missing, and we leave the kitchen clean before we go.

Mountain rentals and desert rentals cook differently

In the mountains, altitude changes the cooking. Water boils at a lower temperature in Breckenridge than in Denver, braises take longer and baking needs adjusting. Ski days also set the clock. Dinner usually starts after everyone is back, warm and showered, so we plan courses that hold.

In Scottsdale and Sedona, the outdoor space is the point. Many guests want dinner on the patio or by the pool, so we plan for heat in the warm months and for cooler nights in the desert winter. The Scottsdale private chef page covers how those dinners run.

Planning a whole stay, not one dinner

Many groups book one big dinner and eat out the other nights. Others want a chef for most of the trip: breakfast before the lifts open, dinner every night and one night off. For longer stays, it helps to send the full itinerary up front. We build the menus so nothing repeats, leftovers become lunches, and the grocery run happens once instead of every day.

For ski trips in particular, our guide to booking a private chef for a ski trip goes deeper on timing and menus, and there are town guides for Breckenridge, Park City and Jackson Hole.

When to reach out

As soon as the rental is booked. A chef can only plan a menu around a kitchen they have seen, and the busiest weeks in mountain towns, Christmas, New Year's and Presidents' Week, are the ones to plan first. If you host the house yourself, our note on offering a private chef to your Airbnb guests is written for owners.

If you have a rental booked in one of our towns, send us the dates and the address and we will come back with a menu and a written price within 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find an Airbnb that includes a private chef?

Very few Airbnb listings include a chef in the price, and there is no search filter for one. Book the rental you want, then add a chef through Airbnb Services or directly with a local chef company. If a listing says a chef is available, ask the host in writing what is included.

How much does it cost to add a private chef to an Airbnb?

You pay for the chef on top of the rental. With MileHighCook, a private chef dinner runs $150 to $250 per guest, all-inclusive, with a $1,500 minimum per day before tax. A dinner for eight usually comes to about $1,500 to $2,000, including groceries, service and cleanup.

Can I book a private chef through Airbnb?

Yes. Airbnb Services lists chefs as a bookable service, separate from the stay, and you pay through the Airbnb app. You can also book a chef company directly, which leaves more room to plan several nights, change the menu and add breakfasts.

What does a private chef need from a vacation rental kitchen?

A working oven and cooktop, a sink and some counter space are enough. Send the chef photos of the kitchen ahead of time, plus the check-in details and the house rules. Most chefs bring their own knives and fill gaps in pans and serving pieces.

Can a private chef handle allergies and dietary restrictions at a rental?

Yes. Tell the chef every allergy and diet when you book, including the kids. A good chef builds those plates to match the rest of the table rather than handing out plain substitutes, and plans a rental kitchen so allergens stay separate.