Amenities: What's it worth?

Ken, what kitchen tools should I add to make you happy? I have one decent knife. I can’t bring myself to leave a “good” knife there (by good I mean a high quality chef knife like I use at home. The one in the VR is a dollar store heavy weight stainless chef knife that I won’t cry about replacing every six months). I even tell foodies “bring your own favorite knives if you’re planning a big feast”. Don’t all chefs travel with their own knives? :smiley:

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I get a lot of kudos for having a well-stocked kitchen (basic supplies as well as tools and appliances), “even great knives” they say. My husband is also quite the chef and helped me pick out some pretty decent knives at TJ Maxx that weren’t a big investment but keep traveling cooks happy. In addition to the quality of knives he made sure we had the right sizes - including a nice bread knife that gets used a lot. It is really difficult to travel with knives, especially by air or train, and not something most people would pack up to travel with, even by car. Getting a decent set of knives and not having to tell guests they should bring knives seems like an almost instantaneous value-add, IMO.

My apartments are generally well-stocked but even if I were to pare back, I would prioritize the things are difficult to travel with - knives, hairspray, bug spray and big books.

Wow, it’s beautiful! Where are you located? Oregon?

I have little paring knives and a cheap bread knife, cheap Santoku (sp?) knife, cheap steak knives. One decent chef’s knife. I plan on adding some more stuff from my full time house that is overflowing here next time I’m out. Most of our people are drive-to and I just wanted to warn them that they’re not chef quality so they’re not disappointed. We provide plastic disposable forks, spoons, knives, and paper plates (in addition to normal dinnerware). (Yes, go on and enviro-shame me, my guests love it.) Say we are “well equipped for casual dining” and that’s accurate.

It sounded like to me that there weren’t any knives :wink:

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@Ritz3 You are asking @LoneStar if they are in Oregon :woman_facepalming:

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giggle giggle twenty times

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Yes, the person that posted the picture of that beautiful property.

It’s in Texas, “The Lone Star State”. :cowboy_hat_face::star:

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Yah, it’s a fun topic but there are so many variables.

I’ve taken several trips with a friend and we must have our own bed but don’t have to have our own bedroom (like in a hotel with 2 beds). We also don’t have to have two bathrooms but we like it when we have it. It’s hard to make the comparisons because they markets differ along with length of stay, etc.

I’m looking at a trip to Albuquerque on a Tuesday in January. I can get a 3 bedroom one bath in the neighborhood I want for $130 a night. I can get a 3 bedroom, 2 bath for $155 a night. I’d be willing to pay more of course but he requires a 3 night stay. (As it gets closer if it’s not booked he might change it to 2 nights. Or he might do it for me as a return guest. )

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Sorry, I didn’t make the connection LOL

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Never a need to apologize for causing a good-natured giggle.

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We’re a weekend location, 2 night minimum. Two night stays are the minority. Most are 3 days with a spattering of 4 day weekends.

There is no way we would travel with another couple and sleep in a communal space. However, our one-bed-per-bedroom setup is the rare exception. Most places are packing beds in everywhere they can fit them. A lot are cabins with no interior walls outside the bathroom. We’re 3 bedrooms. Cali kings in two. The third bedroom has a twin. We sleep up to 8 with three having to sleep on air mattresses and a couch (not a sleeper sofa) if it’s a full house. I don’t really want to host more than 5 but I will, I just try to make it appealing only if kids are the extra 3 people.

I run my market comparison searches with only 4 guests selected, because that’s the max number of guests I host without extra guest fees being added.

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Of course you charge according to space …I am not sure I am understanding that part of question . If I rent 1 bedroom it will be more expensive than just studio . It’s kind of obvious .
I don’t let any pets but if I did I would charge may be 15$ a day per pet.
I never book an accomodation based on breakfast …though it’s a very nice feature…I wouldn’t pay more only because of breakfast included.
Others such as hottub wouldn’t interest me also .

The pertinent clause is

To give more specifics on the pricing dilemma, the range for search parameters “whole house”, “4+ guests” on any given date produces about 100 nearby properties ranging in price per night from $80 for someone’s RV in their yard to $800 per night at a luxury ranch house.

So the advice to just look at how others are priced as a guide doesn’t work. It takes a lot of study. I have a handful of properties I consider truly “comparable” near me but what I am getting at with my questions here is what is the perceived value of these amenities.

For example: if I’m pricing myself in a market where I compete against a nearby property that is half the size of mine, but has a hot tub and I don’t … is that hot tub a big selling point to a guest? Does that translate to dollars a guest is willing to pay?

I have two full baths. Does that justify a higher rent? One comment here says no, I can only use one bathroom at a time. Probably I’m not hosting parties big enough that I can price that 2nd bathroom in. (I don’t really comfortably accommodate more than 5 adults in beds. I go up to 8 guests max.) So I agree with that feedback in my case, honestly.

Does that clear up my inqury better?

You’ve mentioned events and hunting. Is the nearby event a festival with a party atmosphere. Are people going to want to get in the hot tub after being at events or hunting? A hot tub isn’t a selling point to me for most rentals but maybe it would be in certain places.

Unless the person is staying in the house alone or with a SO, then I say yes 2 bathrooms is worth more. How much I can’t say.

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These are really hard to answer because who I’m traveling with and the purpose of my trip dictate which amenities I’m looking for. It’s also really hard to put a “how much more” because each place is a sum of its parts and then it depends on what I’m comparing it with. It’s never really apples to apples…it’s not like choosing a hotel room type within the same hotel where everything is pretty much identical except having a separate bedroom or a view or something. It also depends upon my total budget. If the real price is $100 and my maximum budget is $200 then I might pay almost double for a view, but if the lower priced place is $190 then I can’t really pay much more so I’d have to settle for no view.

Here are my thoughts on each item though:

Sorry I couldn’t put an actual price/percentage but there are just so many variables. I think you really have to know your market and your unit.

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No this is very helpful and I appreciate your perspective and the rationale. I agree with a whole lot of what you said/I’ve been thinking along the same lines for a lot of this stuff, so it’s a good gut-check.

Not Ken, but IKEA knives are decent for the price.

When we have guests, i replace the nicer German knives with the ikea ones.

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I’m just adding things little at a time, what’s there is enough to do the trick but will improve the next visit I go out (Thanksgiving). I cooked in it before we went live and identified shortcomings that a dollar store haul fixed up. You really don’t know what a kitchen is missing until you cook in it. I have a neat little set of microwave cookware that gets stored inside the microwave. Got it brand new at a thrift store, still in the packaging. I particularly got it because of the plate cover that prevents a mess in there but it has stuff to nuke an omelette, etc. Don’t know if it gets used but it’s there for them. I have one bamboo and two plastic cutting boards.

What I don’t have is a blender or electric processor. There is a manual herb chopper someone gave me that’s never been used by me. An extra mortar and pestle someone gave me, I already had three so I put one there. I just don’t think people get that involved when they make meals on vacation. On the other hand, maybe a blender would be nice for those people who commit blasphemy and serve their margaritas frozen. :smiley: I just have so many other things to spend $20 here and $50 there on I didn’t go overboard on that kind of stuff.