My STR is ready to be furnished, what’s the most important thing?

I know :frowning: I rely on hosts listing the size but it’s not always accurate IMHO

Pillows and I suggest Costco and or IKEA as a source.

I’m both a guest and a host. I’ve stayed in listings ranging from budget room in a home sharing a bathroom with the host to a multimillion dollar luxury home. The most consistent deficiency across all classes of rentals are comfortable pillows.

I prefer down/feather and not too puffy. Regardless of the filling, most rentals have pillows that are overstuffed for my comfort. I’ve had to stuff my clothes and bathtowels into a pillowcase.

In my two person rental I have two kinds of pillow on the bed and a third kind on a shelf.

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Your pillow preference sounds like mine. I also find most people’s pillows either too puffy or too flat. My guest room bed has a feather pillow, not too puffy, and a flatter, synthetic pillow. There’s also a feather throw pillow on the bed that guests can use or not.

I ended up getting a lot of pillows of various “fillness” for our property, and put four pillows on each bed (queen size), for sixteen total. I hope everyone can find at least one they like!

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In our units, Queen beds get 5 different pillows and full beds get 4 different pillows. Wayfair is a great resource if you are furnishing more than one bedroom. They have packs of 4 and a lot of variety.

“(BDC guests are the worst)”
Apologies, @gillian, but what does BDC mean?

Booking.com is what BDC stands for.

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Yes, it’s short for booking.com

I stayed in many Airbnb properties before converting two apartments I own into Airbnbs. What I learned from being a guest: Have adequate cooking gear for the number of guests you might host. I stayed in a number of places that were nice enough and could accommodate between 8-12 people, but they didn’t have a frying pan larger than 8 inches. Or pizza pans, or baking pans, or colanders for straining spaghetti. I have actually purchased these items and “gifted” them to the property with a nice note letting them know that I thought their future larger groups would appreciate them. I’ve gotten great feedback from the hosts, one of whom in his review said “I wish there was a category for SUPER GUEST because Mindy qualifies.” Needless to say, my properties are extremely well equipped with every cooking utensil or pan anyone might want. Most people just use the microwave, LOL. But the occasional serious home-cooker has been very grateful.

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I agree with comments about pillows, too. I provide many, many pillows of every softness level because this is such a personal thing. In fact, I usually bring my own pillow on trips (hotel stays or airbnb stays) because I’m very picky and hate the hard pillows. I also have lots of cleaning supplies in my apartments because I’ve stayed in places that have none…and if I make a mess, I want to be able to clean it up right away.

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For sure the selection of cookware and utensils should match the number of guests you cater to. If the guest count is 8, they need pots and pans large enough to cook a meal for that many. (Even worse maybe is a mismatch between guest count and common space- a dining table that seats six, living room seating for 6, but a bunch of beds crammed in and a max guest count of 12) As far as a place being equipped with “every cooking utensil or pan a guest might want”, it’s nice that you do that, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Unless a place is advertised as having a chef’s kitchen, I don’t think guests should necessarily expect to find everything they might use at home.

You reminded me of a post I once read where the host was distraught and asking for advice, as her guests in her attached studio apartment kept asking to borrow kitchen gear from her to the point that she had little kitchen gear to use herself. It seemed like such a weird dilemma- why not just outfit the studio kitchen better? Then I took a look at her listing, and she said quite prominently in it, “If you need anything that you don’t find in the unit, just ask- you can borrow mine if I have it.” Her guests were doing exactly what she had told them to do!

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Hi Muddy, I have no problem equipping the place with every possible thing they might want, thanks to thrift stores and Walmart. And the fact that both my properties have loads of storage space. I suspect that some of the things I provide have never been used, but I think many just appreciate the effort. Loved your story about the host who told her guests to just borrow what they needed from her. Great lesson!

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All our pillows are down. I got an incredible deal of 11 down pillows on Craigslist for 60 bucks! One guest out of 300 requested poly and I went out of my way to provide it.

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Actual down pillows, not feather, for just over 5 bucks each? Score! I know some people are allergic to feathers and down, but I’ve never actually met anyone who is. What I like about them, unless they they are overstuffed, is that you can squish them around to make them fuller or thinner in some areas, as you happen to like. I have a really squishy, sort of half filled down and feather pillow that is what I travel with.
I mostly drape it over my eyes and ears to block out sound and light, but it also works to make myself more comfortable in an airline seat, etc, behind my back or to fold in half and lean my head on against the plane window.

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you know people still bring you up in the abb forums, saying “if S were still here she’d mention the dining table & chair ratios” haha.

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Yes, I know! I gave 3 king sized ones to my m.i.l.<><>
Yes! I have traveled with my down pillow:) Just put a funny looking pillow case on it so it won’t blend in…

To the op did you get a new host referal code to use?
I am just hopefully getting my first new host referal fee, from Airbnbn!

I’ve seen that- also my pet peeve of no bedside table and lamp on both sides of a bed meant for 2 people. :smile:

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I was going to mention that too, but kept it brief (or saved it for another time, haha).

I think there’s only one thing we skimp on, and that’s glassware, plates, etc. Guests can be so rough on this stuff, that I buy cheap sets, so they’re no big deal to replace.

I put makeup remover on the sink and provide cotton. Believe, me, it’s worth the price.