Dishwasher versus combination washer/dryer?

The best indication. We’ve only had one comment about the lack of a dishwasher (in private feedback) but several guests have appreciated the laundry facilities. But we often have guests who are on roadtrips so therefore appreciate that fact that they can do laundry.

Other guests like the fact that they can do their laundry before they go home and not have suitcases full of dirty clothes.

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There’s a few things to consider that may factor into your decision:

  • would you want to rent your suite to long term tenants in the future?
  • is there access to a washer/dryer outside of the suite if you don’t put one into the suite? (for example in a laundry room shared with you)
  • what kind of Airbnb guests are you targeting? e.g. long term vs short term vs. people going on nice vacations vs. backpackers

Personally, I believe that for Airbnb I believe a dishwasher is better as I feel that guests would prefer not to wash dishes while they are on vacation. The other benefit to having a dishwasher is that when guests leave, they will most likely run a load to wash the dishes before they leave so you don’t have to wash after them. If you don’t have a dishwasher they may leave dishes in the sink and you end up having to wash them while you’re cleaning the unit. The other issue you may run into is that your electricity bills suddenly skyrocket if guests are constantly using the washer/dryer, especially for small loads. If you purchase an energy efficient dishwasher, it uses very little water and electricity so from a cost perspective, it’s cheaper in the long run for you to offer to guests. It also costs less up front. From the sound of your target guest, they would be less likely to use washer/dryer than a dishwasher as they’d only be there for a few days and not in the unit much.

However if you plan to rent your suite to long term guests in the near future and this is a certainty, and there is no access to a washer/dryer (even shared), then I believe a washer/dryer as this seems to be more important to long term renters. If you have the space, I would put the washer/dryer in a hallway, closet or shared laundry room and the dishwasher in the unit so you have the best of both worlds. What we did when we renovated our basement was put in a dishwasher in the unit but in the hallway we put a hookup and a vent for the washer/dryer. We didn’t buy a washer/dryer but we will if we ever rent to long term tenants. This way we don’t need to offer it but aren’t limiting ourselves for any future use. I would recommend doing the same if you can.

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Another thing to consider is how many plates and dishes you provide - if you mostly have 1-2 guests they’ll need several place settings each to fill the dishwasher and have clean plates to eat from.

We don’t have a dishwasher in our rental and we’ve rarely stayed in an airbnb which has one. Although we always use the dishwasher at home it’s never bothered me to have to do the dishes by hand while on holiday, in fact I quite like it as I prefer slow, relaxing holidays to dashing around the whole time! None of our guests has ever mentioned the lack of a dishwasher, either.

On the other hand I am always happy to find a washer/dryer as we tend to travel for a few weeks and I haven’t used a laundromat since my student days - a LONG time ago! We ourselves used to have the combination washer/dryer and although it’s not as good as separate appliances it wasn’t bad for a small load.

I will go for the washer/dryer.

This is why we don’t have a dishwasher either at home or in the rental. The apartment sleeps two people and we leave place settings for four. This ensures that if guests leave dirty dishes (which is very rare) there are never mounds of them and it encourages guests to do the dishes regularly. They have to.

We don’t have a dishwasher because it would take us about four days or more to get a full load and I don’t want dirty pots mouldering away in my kitchen for that length of time.

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Our rentals so far have been for just 1-3 nights, so our guests would likely prefer a dishwasher given the choice. These are mostly weekend or short trip travelers, and none have used the washer/dryer.
On the other hand, I myself really like having the washer/dryer combo there (it is a stand-alone cottage on our farm), as it makes the linen turnover so much easier than having to haul it to our house. And I must say that I have been pleased with how well it works to wash/dry an average sized load.

It is sooo easy to wash dishes after 1- 2 people eat…esp. if you wash along as you cook. You have to rinse off your dishes anyway before putting them in the dishwasher. The reason I never use a dishwasher is because I feel like it is more work in the end. By the time you rinse off the dishes, scrub the pans used in the oven, load it up, then unload - and like Sandy said…you often times need an item that is in the dishwasher. Just seems like a hell of a lot of work.

And then you sometimes have to wash the dishes that come out of the dishwasher anyway. If guests don’t properly clean them, there can still be caked on food. I even find this in other peoples’ homes who are well beyond the millenial age.

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I only rinse rice off dishes, everything else goes in as is. Pots and pans too. After 6 meals, the dishwasher is full and I run it. My kitchen is laid out so I stand by the dishwasher and can move clean items to correct spot withou moving except pots. My dishes and glasses come out spotless. I use the dishwasher pods.

Louise,

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people tell me that the dishwasher gets all their pots, pans, dishes spotless without any scrubbing. But in my first hand experience - every single time I have unloaded a dishwasher at someone else’s home, it still has caked on food on some of the dishware. I don’t know if people are having eye sight problems or what. Maybe times have changed. But I cannot imagine leaving caked on pots and pans for several nights, and the dishwasher miracously eliminating everything.

I know, I know…more people will tell me that in their case they come out sparky clean.

My dishwasher goes on about every two to three days. My roast pans are lined with parchment paper, a gravy or sauce pan gets a quick rinse to get most of the sauce out, but it’s not wiped. The worst thing is cooked egg on my spoon after a boiled egg. But when I bake, I put the food processor bowl, blades and mixing bowls in and they come out spotless. I don’t leave that overnight. How long since you used your dishwasher? My sister puts hers on every evening for a family of three.

I have never used a dishwasher at home due to choice. But I have unloaded many dishes from my guests who have run the dishwasher. I stated that I don’t use one because I feel like it is more work overall.

However, I have worked in restaurants for years as a cook, server, bartender, dishwasher, etc. My first restaurant job was as a dishwasher at a popular Ramada Inn that had a restaurant on site, and room service. I know as a cook often times the plates returned to your stack still might have a piece of cooked on cheese, etc. The cooks will just scrape it off because it might be the last plate in front of them.

These are industrial dishwashers and there is no guarantee everything will come off. You still need to inspect.

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In my experience no one cares about a dishwasher. I have one of those double drawer types and never use it. I also have a washer/dryer in the guest area and it takes 4.5 hours(!) to do a half load. So I put up a drying line outside and wash things on the quick 30min cycle in between guests and dry them outside, and use alternate sheets/towels etc. Never been happier! Had some guests recently though who complained it took so long and they couldn’t stop it. Till I pointed out this is mentioned in the house notes and they admitted they hadn’t read them.

I would prefer dishwasher.

The washer/dryer is a lot more useful for travelers.

When booking for a month or so, I only take a week worth’s amount of clothing (a ton easier taking just a backpack!) whereas I’m happy to wash up by hand if need be. Drying clothes can be a right pain for guests like me :slight_smile:

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Washer/dryer and countertop dishwasher. We had the one below in our tiny first apartment, it was amazing for 2 people.

We had the same dilemma and went with the washer dryer combo. Now that we’ve seen how few guests actually cook we realize we made the right choice

Another vote for the dishwasher. There’s a washer and a dishwasher in my Airbnb and almost all guests use the dishwasher while the washer gets very little use. I host mostly groups of 3 to 4 people for 2 or 3 nights.

In my own home, it’s only my partner and me but we run the dishwasher daily (we do put pots, pans, cutting boards in the dishwasher so it gets full quick).
If you have a fairly recent model it uses very little water (6 to 12 litres for a wash cycle ) so there is no reason to wait for the dishwasher to be full. It does not use more water than flushing the toilets once, and well, I don’t think you wait a while before flushing :grin:

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I do :wink:

But admittedly only when I am on my own. :smiley:

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