You leave them an extension cord? This wouldn’t occur to me. I am curious about what other things you leave that you feel is the difference between a bad host and a great one, if you are willing to share.
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Me too, I’m surprised to see all this conversation. The shelf under the sink is full of toilet paper. I don’t count them, I just fill it up!
Nix that River Rock, I see your previous reply to the OP.
No, text.
It does not bother me a bit, if a guest is getting a bad review then the gloves are off.
RR
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Me too. And we need to remember too that some people will simply be embarrassed to ask. Or at least, they’ll feel mildly uncomfortable about it. For the same reason we should have plungers and loo brushes available.
And although I think they are dreadful things, I also leave Clorox wipes in the bathroom for guests to clean up any loo-related muckiness. I hate them but I think they make it easy for guests to clean bathroom stuff if necessary hygienically.
Each apartment has two or three. They are well-equipped with power outlets but we can’t dictate where guests will want to use their laptop, the hairdryer, the iron. (I had a guest recently who, it seems, used the hairdryer at the dining table. It seems odd to me but if that’s what she wanted).
So yes, as regards electrical stuff I provide extension cords, iron, hairdryer, phone chargers (various), surge protector, adapters (I get a lot of non-American guests). There’s a small vanity mirror to go with the hairdryer and an ironing board for those using the iron.
I’m actually surprised by how many people use the iron - they are people who are coming here for weddings, parties, job interviews etc.
So much! We’re close to the beach, so plenty of beach stuff (plus sunscreen and bug repellant), safety stuff (fire extinguisher, first aid kit), books (over the years we’ve built up a library of foreign language books, magazines (national and local), tourist info, games and playing cards (for rainy days), robes, slippers, and all that’s before we get to the kitchen and bathroom stuff!
One tip that people seem to love - fresh flowers. Sometimes cheapos from the supermarket and sometimes foliage from the garden. Guests seem to love that. 
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When I first started reading this forum I was so paranoid about guests taking stuff and my price was so low (averaging $30 a night three winters ago) that every bit seemed to count. But then I followed the advice of some of the more experienced hosts who also never seemed to have problems (cough jaquo cough) and raised my price and standards. I also did a big remodel and it was worth every penny. Then I raised my price again on the advice of a fellow host who was a repeat guest. That was last January and it worked out. So now I supply plenty of nice soaps, shampoos, I’ve gotten nicer duvets, blankets, towels and I quit pinching until Lincoln shat.
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Wow! Amazing! I guess you figure that cost into your rate, is that right? Would love to hear what you charge if you are willing. We’re in rural Vermont and I charge $150 for a very carefully/beautifully curated cottage and $100 for a similarly special yurt. My subjective opinion of course, but we have been so gratified by over the top reviews so I’m at least in the ballpark with my assessment.
Our places feel like home, but I probably provide about 1 out of 3 of your amenities. It seems like it would be so much additional work and cost. It may be that for a rural listing like ours folks have different expectations than more urban spots.
Yes. I’m a terror for very careful costing! We go as low as $125 per night but when there are special events here or during holidays we can go as high as $300. The apartments are small, one is about 450 sq ft and the other about 600. Both sleep just two people (queen beds).
The location is fabulous but the building itself is rather tatty (thanks to the HOA) so what we can’t offer in poshness, we make up for in what are hopefully thoughtful amenities.
Providing these things isn’t really extra work. They are extra cost of course, but we factor that in to our nightly price. And we are lucky in that we have almost 100% occupancy so the apartments are earning for us year round.
True, so much depends on location. We are in a tourist area with more or less year round good weather. So VERY lucky.
So, I may be very new to this and I started this thread about TP but as I’m reading this I’m finding that I’m on the right track. I have a spice rack with 20 different spices,ketchup mustard ,mayo in the fridge. I have a lb. of local coffee freshly roasted , tea, cold drinks( nonalcoholic and beers) in the fridge. I leave a local bottle of wine. I do not leave food (flour,sugar ect… BLACK ANTS 
) Theres a bathrobe, hairdryer, nice bath products for the jacuzzi tub and lavender candle by the tub. Playing cards, board games, a book shelf with books ,a whole cabinet of art supplies ,a toy shelf with toys for kids ranging from 2-8. I leave a fresh bouquet on the table for the guests.
All that, and I’m getting dinged for not enough TP , a few black ants and it wasn’t that I didn’t have an extension cord, I had one there but I was using it for a lamp. I told her to feel free to take it. I just found it odd that she expected me to provide one. Yes, the water heater was a total bummer but things happen.
Thanks for all the advice. I feel I’m on the right track. I just need to leave more TP!!! Believe me, that won’t happen again. I learn from my mistakes.
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And though you didn’t ask me, I’m going to chime in. I think the number one difference between a “bad” host and a “great” one is the attitude of the host. A great host cares more about guest comfort than their comfort or at least is able to fake it for the sake of the guest. So I think about what do I want as a guest? And when I’m unhappy with a guest for whatever reason I smile, grit my teeth and say soothing things to their face or via the app. To me the provision of various amenities is mostly because I like my guests and I want them to be comfortable.
Time and again I see angry hosts posting here, talking about guests in negative terms and advocating practices that I don’t agree with. And then they wonder why they are having problems. I suspect there is a connection.
Every host and rental is different. Your snow covered yurt wouldn’t necessarily offer the same amenities as a beach location. For example, I’d love to go to a snow location and have a wood burner and unlimited firewood. I wouldn’t care about flowers then of course.
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Sounds as though you’re doing great.
Guests though are unpredictable. I suppose that’s just human nature. This is a pretty tough business and a thick skin works wonders.
P.S. You might want to rethink the candle for safety and wax-spill reasons.
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Thanks, you’re right. Candles = fire and I’m in Northern California where we seem to be on fire all the time. Haha.
Thank you for the helpful advice!!
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I also believe that the personal touch is important. I know that many hosts don’t meet their guests and they seem to do just fine but I do think that when the host establishes a friendly relationship with the guest, it makes a lot of difference.
I don’t mean that the host needs to take more time than what’s needed for a quick house tour and then a friendly nod when you happen to see them.
I’m not much of a people person really but I can be for 15 minutes or so if required.
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And the personal touch can also be communicated by hosts who don’t greet the guests or who even host remotely. Some hosts leave personalized notes or a chalk board with a greeting. Or if there is a special occasion they (proposal, birthday, anniversary) they acknowledge it.
@CatskillsGrrl hosts remotely but personally because she actually rents out her part time home that is filled with her stuff. It’s way more personal that what I do and I live here!
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I sincerely take my hat off to hosts who do that. I never could. Maybe it’s because I’m a control freak or maybe it’s because I’m a coward, I don’t know.
It’s true though - if guests wanted an impersonal experience they’d go to a Holiday Inn or a Best Western.
It’s so rare for me to disagree with you but… a lot of my guests do want a…I’ll call it private experience. Impersonal is the wrong word but about half my guests don’t need or want to meet anyone. I’m one of the few hosts here who has done it in my home both ways: guests entering my home vs having a private entrance. I have triple the business I had when they entered my home. There are other variables of course like the ensuite bathroom and my increased availability due to being at home full time. But for one night road trippers in particular, meeting each guest and giving them a “tour” of the 120 sf space was uneccessary and unwanted.
If I had multi-day guests like you do I might have a different set up.
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We have both: Guests who want to become our friends and guests whom we rarely see. Guests who’ll sing around the piano when I play and guests who seem to live the life of secret agents.
We take our lead from them. If they want to hang out with us, that’s fine. If they don’t, that’s fine, too.
We can’t provide a separate entrance, and our house’s layout is a bit complicated, so can’t do self-check-in. We meet every guest. (We do allow repeaters to check in when we’re not home, since they know their way around.)
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I barely meet my guests, usually after they have checked themselves in if I see them in the driveway, my business office is on the property, I will wave and say hi, sometimes we chat sometimes we do not. I communicate by text, let them know I am close by if they need anything. Some guests I never meet.
RR
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My guest room was on the front of the house and it’s well suited for the remodel I did. It would be interesting to turn my “study” into a second Airbnb room and have them use the bathroom across the hall. It would be set up just like it was when I started. They would come in the front door and have access to the rest of the house. And I’d have to deal with people here in my space. But then I could do a literal head to head comparison to see which listing did better.
BTW, I’ve actually thought if I needed the money or decided to quit doing the dog boarding that I might convert that second bedroom. So maybe someday…
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I do this too! I don’t use the wipes when I clean, but I like to make it easy for guests to clean up after themselves if they are so inclined.
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