Top Essentials For Your Short Term Rental
We’ve hosted tens of thousands of guests. After over a decade in the short-term rental industry, we know a little about what elevates a guest’s stay and keeps the 5-star reviews flowing in. Providing vacation rental essentials is a necessity and standard practice in the business, even as things change, as vacation rental news has noted.
Sometimes the most basic things are what get missed the most. We have learned to focus on guest experience with vacation rental essentials.
We’ve rounded up all of our Airbnb Hosting Must-Haves right here in our Amazon Store. Click here to grab everything you need to curate your property and start earning 5-star reviews.
The Unspoken Truth of Stocking Your Vacation Rental
- The Unspoken Truth of Stocking Your Vacation Rental
- Essential Tech Convenience For Today’s Travelers
- Beyond Essentials: Washer/Dryer Amenities for Vacation Rentals
- The Little Things
- Conclusion
The Unspoken Truth of Stocking Your Vacation Rental
Nothing can sour a vacation rental experience like a poorly stocked supply closet. Think about walking into a pristine rental, ready to settle in for your stay, only to find just one measly trash bag provided—that’s ridiculous.
Imagine needing some kitchen staples. The host providing a full setup goes a long way toward making the guest feel relaxed.
The Essentials Kit: What Every Guest Secretly Hopes For
Essentials are all about enhancing the guest experience while making smart moves for your business. We’ve rounded up our Airbnb essentials into an easy to use and FREE checklist. Grab your Airbnb Essentials Checklist right here.
Trash Bags Galore: Leave a whole box. This lets rental guests tidy up without stress, promoting cleanliness and shows you want them to help care for your investment.
New Sponge: Old used sponges carry all kinds of things that no one wants to talk about. New sponges show that you value hygiene and are thoughtful, which leads to a comfortable stay.
Kitchen Command Center
It should feel equipped, not minimal. Providing these guest amenities will improve their reviews of your property.
Full Dish Soap: Dish pods are great. But sometimes they don’t meet your needs, such as needing to wash only a few items by hand, instead of running the dishwasher.
Dishwasher Pods: Give vacation rental guests the choice. Leave a full container and give them the experience they desire, allowing guests to fully relax.
Kitchen Staples: Basic cooking seasonings make meal prep way easier. Guests appreciate being able to cook simple things and it is why people will choose a vacation rental over a hotel, since dining out for every meal adds up in costs.
Here’s a table breakdown for clarity:
| Kitchen Essential | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Trash Bags | Lets guests take care of your property |
| Dish Soap | For hand-washing items |
| Dishwasher Pods | Give guest the choice and they get to relax |
| Salt, Pepper, Oil | These staples make all the difference |
Creating a Coffee Station
Most guests enjoy having coffee. You should provide things to cover most situations, showing more thoughtful touches.
Think beyond a basic coffee maker. Offer options such as regular, decaf, teas, sweeteners and hot chocolate.
Consider also providing locally sourced coffee beans for guests to try, which will make their experience even better.
For all the coffee station must-haves, check out our post: Ultimate Airbnb Coffee Station.
Bathroom Basics: Don’t Leave Them Hanging
Toilet Paper: We all know, that having extra on hand is critical. Having multiple backups of rolls makes guests not have to worry and lets them know their experience matters to you.
Be sure to have quality linens and high-quality linens. You could consider having extra pillows and throw pillows to make their relaxation even better.
Thoughtful Touches Throughout the Home
Hand Soap: Any sink in the home needs a new bottle or refill. Don’t make them feel like they got scraps.
Paper Towels: Give them some. Most travelers enjoy being equipped to be able to wipe and clean counters, stovetops or even little messes, with paper towels, when needed, and having them shows your focus on guest satisfaction.
For an added touch, you can add some board games for those days where they are not out exploring or to give families something to bond over. Another popular addition, could be a digital guidebook.
Cleaning Supplies: Equip Them for Success
Cleaning Supplies: Consider leaving basic cleaning items. Items such as a broom/dustpan, multi-surface cleaner, and a vacuum can make cleaning as they go far easier for the travelers and help the renters take better care of your investment.
You should have cleaning procedures in place and consider a cleaning checklist to use. Some of these procedures can involve eco-friendly products and also focus on your environmental impact.
Essential Tech Convenience For Today’s Travelers
Most guests want the convenience of today’s technology to just be there waiting on them. Showing them you have it ready, will give them more thoughtful touches.
Vacation rental internet has gotten so much easier. By making things easier, your reviews and revenue improve. Some popular items that fall into this category are things like: keyless entry, smart locks, and smart thermostats.
We’ve covered all things smart locks in our blog! Check out our post The Best Airbnb Locks For Hosts right here.
The Battery and Bulb Bin
Include backups in a container in an accessible place. It shows your preparedness if you already made sure to factor it in.
You don’t have to do the changing, just put things where you know guests expect them to be. Just in case and it will be another factor to enhance the guest experience.
Beyond Essentials: Washer/Dryer Amenities for Vacation Rentals
Giving guests more flexibility will allow you to shine against the competition and show off more vacation rental amenities. This is one of the areas that will really help you against hotels.
Laundry Supplies
Having laundry options give guests more options. Consider leaving some extra waste bags.
If your space includes a washer and dryer, offer laundry detergent. By including this item, you make it easier for guest to pack lighter. You may even go a step further by having stain remover pens readily available.
Outdoor Amenities
Having outdoor areas and outdoor space is highly valued. Guests may spend all day exploring and look forward to coming back and having an outdoor kitchen, with a barbecue grill ready for cooking, followed by a dip in a hot tub.
To go even further, you could think about your area and what your place offers and supply beach equipment. Outdoor dining with proper furniture and settings can lead to al fresco dining experiences and happy guests, along with providing outdoor activities that fit your area.
Some rentals are setup to be pet-friendly vacation rentals. Be sure to think of things to help the pet owners by providing waste bags, leashes, water/food bowls and maybe even a dog bed, along with information for local attractions, such as places to eat with outdoor seating or the best nearby hiking trails.
Providing these items will provide guests a luxurious experience. The better the experience, the more it will enhance guests stay, leading to them giving better reviews and having a greater potential of becoming return customers.
The Little Things
These all help improve your placement in their reviews. Providing essential items is just smart to have and keeps customers coming back.
You give people more options. Little supplies is great business and keeps customers returning. Don’t nickel and dime these essentials for your short term rental business and ensure guests know that their stay is all that matters.
Airbnb Essentials
Going the distance has boosted us on the booking algorithms. Providing vacation rental essentials takes more thoughtfulness, although it makes us more profit, due to our properties staying booked and receiving better reviews, leading to repeat customers.
We can help. Come see all of our blog posts that have information you can trust.
Calling All Hosts: The Hosting Handbook
If you loved this post we invite you to check out our one-stop-shop solution for hosts everywhere —the Hosting Handbook! While you can download all the easy to consume, step-by-step tips we use in our own hosting business and create the ultimate “book” the Hosting Handbook is so much more than that! If you’ve consumed or content for years (or just met us!) this is the reference guide for all the amazing and tactical tips we have for running a profitable and, more importantly hospitable, short-term rental. How do we price for pets? How do we fold our towels? What sheets do we buy? How do I purchase a short-term rental? All these questions (and more!) can be answered in the Hosting Handbook! Check it out now!
Happy Hosting!
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