Reading the posts here convinced me to buy an electric kettle. I boiled my stove top one and I recently had my first requests (one for boiling water, the other for instant coffee) that would have been best served by an electric kettle. I don’t want to encourage cooking/eating in the guest room but I could see putting the kettle along with instant coffee and coffee condiments in there for people who don’t want to come into the shared space.
Good thinking! Thank You!
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I hear ya on not encouraging eating/drinking in my guest room, but it really may make it more comfortable for guests to be able to have their first cup of coffee without having to come downstairs to the kitchen, as their bathroom/shower is upstairs.
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Thanks for the organic instant coffee recommendation.
And I also provide the land o lakes half and half mini moo. BTW - do your guests understand that the mini moo doesn’t require refrigeration? The reason I ask if because I used to keep the box it comes in, in the refrigerator. And plenty of people used it. But then one group almost used the whole box in a couple of days. And also they went through almost an entire box of herbal tea. So then I took these cute little stationary boxes and in one I put out 8 packets of herbal tea, and the other I set out 16 mini moo moos. They are set in the coffee station. Now nobody uses them at all. It’s so strange. But it save me the cost 
Not that they are expensive - but I provide so many complimentary things - it’s just one more thing, and I didn’t want people taking off with the fridge box just because they are there.
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KIKC - do you think it would be easy for guests to use (with lamenated instructions) or is there a learning curve…lol? I have heard great things about the aeropress cofee and espresso maker.
@cabinhost - I found exactly the same thing with the mini moos! No-one ever uses them because I don’t keep them in the fridge. But I leave a ‘first day breakfast’ which includes a bottle of milk for cereal so I imagine they use that in their coffee.
Regarding instructions, we have a coffee maker that uses discs (I forget the brand) and we leave the manual tucked behind it where guests can see it. I leave one disc per person for every day of their stay. (We almost always have short stays).
I guess our guests might think we’re clueless and don’t know how to properly store cream in the fridge…lol. Maybe I will take my lamenator and on the face of the stationary box I will make a label that says “no refrigeration required.” It’s really there just for couples staying a couple of nights and maybe just one drinks coffee, and they won’t need to buy a whole thing just for that.
Hmmm…now wondering why no one touches the herbal tea since they are not inside their box.
I’ve found that most of our guests like things that are in sealed packages. I tried once buying small fresh baguettes instead of crackers. I wrapped them in clear wrap but they were rarely used by the guests. The only thing they seem to like unwrapped is fruit.
I can see the logic - if food isn’t in the grocery store packaging, who knows who has touched it? Makes sense to me.
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The herbal tea are sealed packets but just so strange not one person uses it now. I know what you mean about the unsealed bread. When I first started with Air I received that email that says "don’t forget to stock a few things in your fridge like OJ, bagels, fruit, etc. So I wasn’t sure if that was expected and had my partner by some eggs, rectangular has brown patties, cheap box of brown N’ serve breakfast sausage and some bagels and cream cheese.
Well he came back with the good bagels from the bagel shop. I thought he was just going to get some cheap Lender’s bagels. Those good bagels just come in a huge brown paper bag. So I had to put each giant bagel in a separate ziploc. Well these guests were singles in their late twenties. They ate the sealed hash browns and sausage, but left all the yummy bagels. They may not have even eaten any of the eggs. But they bought pancake mix so it’s not like they were on a gluten free diet. Just more for me 
I would prefer the fresh baguettes you provided. I guess I am not afraid of who touches food because I have worked in so many kitchen restaurants. People should be more concerned about the kitchen staff who touches their food, and what has been dropped on the floor…ha!
That is so true! I was recently watching an episode of Kitchen Nightmares where the chef dropped a chicken wing and the floor then fried it saying that the frying would sterilize it!
Bwahaha! - If he did that while the cameras were rolling - imagine what he does when there aren’t any!
Scary, isn’t it! That program can put you off dining out for ever.
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I also provide a french press, as many many guests from Europe prefer to make coffee with them. Of course, this also mandates having the electric kettle.
As much as I loved using the Nespresso maker in my Washington DC hotel room, I felt guilty knowing that every pod I used would never be recycled and would contribute to the environmental pod nightmare!
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eeekk its sad but true isn’t it.
I went to a wedding recently where they lit those little tea caddles with the metal bottoms and floated them out on this lake. I didn’t partake. All I could keep thinking was - gosh those metal bits have no where to go but to pollute the lake :-/
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I am not an onsite or close by host and I would not recommend leaving it out for guests unless they were familiar with it which is not possible for me to know. Actually the instructions that come with it are not the way most people (and I) use it (see youtube). It only makes up to 2 cups at a time and yes, there is a learning curve. But, if you like coffee, you need to get one of these. It’s sort of an instant French Press. My guests get to use a Mr Coffee and I keep a spare on hand for when it inevitably burns out. When I travel I bring my Aeropress with me and I assume my guests who own one do the same. (Perhaps I should buy stock in the company!?)
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I actually have 2 of these at home. Maybe I should leave one at the rental.
Also I use these almost every day. Just use hot water and I get the bags for about 4$ at the Asian market. One bag lasts me about 2 weeks using 2 a day per cup.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/291567279213?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true
So, a belated coda to the electric kettle saga. My kettle arrived. It’s the Philips I mentioned above a couple of times. However, the (small) base and the top part aren’t attached. The top part just sort of sits in the base. I’m not sure whether they are supposed to be attached or not. The manual is no help; nor is the Amazon India page on the product.
If this sounds dumb, remember that I have never used an electric kettle, so I’m not sure what to expect. Thanks.
You can get two types - ones that sit on a base and all in one. I believe the ones that sit on the base are safer to clean.
The one pictured above in my photo is not attached to the base.
Hi @Kirsty_Jane,
Are you referring to the Russell Hobbs one? http://www.amazon.com/Russell-Hobbs-KE9000S-Electric-Stainless/dp/B00A157JOY