What amenities would you like to have

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I know some of you not only host, but also stay in AirBnBs as a guest sometimes. I’m planning to begin offering a new listing soon. It will be a bedroom and a sunroom that is only accessible to the bedroom. It will have a private bath adjacent to the bedroom (not attached, but only 4 feet outside the bedroom entrance). The shared areas will be the garden, the porch, the entrance foyer, powder room, the stairs and the upstairs hall. Guests will not have access to the kitchen or living room since they will have their own sitting area and kitchenette in the sunroom. They will have off street parking in their own driveway (the house has 2 driveways).

The sunroom is fitted out with a large desk and office chair, 2 arm chairs and a swivel rocker (with lamps and end tables), an eating bar and 2 bar stools, and a dry kitchenette.

The kitchenette has a mini fridge with small freezer, a microwave, a small Kuerig coffeemaker, a small French press, a toaster, knives, utensils, dishes (real ones, not disposables). It will have “essentials”, ie., salt, pepper, oil, sugar, coffee, tea, mini moos, etc.

The bedroom has a queen size bed, 2 nightstands, 3 lamps, a large screen smart TV on a TV stand, a swivel rocker, a full length mirror, and an etagere. There is a small chest of drawers in the closet. The window has a cellular blind and floor length blackout curtains. There is central air and heat.

The bathroom has a vessel sink mounted on a marble tile countertop, a toilet, and a tub/shower. The shower head has the option to be handheld. I have a triangular stool available for the bathtub. I have a back cushion, a bathtub tray with a book rest, and an even metal and plastic wine glasses especially for use with the bathtub tray. I have an assortment of Epsom salts with various essential oils and fragrances, and other assorted bath goodies.

I will have the usual items available to guests…iron, ironing board, hair dryer, flat iron, curling iron…as well as some that are a bit less common such as yoga mats, mist diffuser, some essential oils, a white noise machine, a stand fan, a salt lamp, robes, slippers (I don’t allow shoes in the house).

If they are staying 2 nights or longer, I will allow access to the washer and dryer. No kitchen access…my worst experiences around landlording and AirBnB hosting have mostly involved kitchen damages and excessive kitchen cleaning.

I want them to feel they are being pampered…like they are staying at their own private spa.

What am I missing? What might you want that you don’t see listed here? Any suggestions on anything I’m proposing?

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Charging plugs all over the place.

I have clusters of usb plug-ins and or AC plugs on the desk, the kitchen table, the night stands (both sides), the end-tables and even on top of the upright piano at eye level. What I have noticed over the years is that all the various configurations I set up have been used – and concluded that guest mimic whatever routine they have developed in their own home… so when a guest finds a similar, familiar setup at the Airbnb their response is “These guys (the hosts) have thought of everything” – which is something we do hear (see) in our reviews.

Also – personally I’m a sucker for big fluffy terrycloth bathrobes.

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You are offering a lot. I would make sure to have replacements for all the spa related items as I wouldn’t want the next guest to be disappointment if the bath cushion or tray goes missing.

I agree on a great quality robe as well as bath sheet sized good towels.

I also provide kitchen essentials including coffee and filters. I buy room service-sized condiments and small bottles of oil. I am surprised by how many guests still bring their own because they didn’t expect to actually find the listed items in the kitchen. (Some have their own preferances)

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Yes, I will have those chargers available…great point. Also, I always have spare charging cords of various types available for guests to use if they forget to pack theirs.

I was planning to order waffle weave fabric robes, but I take your point about fluffy terrycloth ones. I think I will have 2 of each type available so guests can choose which they prefer. It gets quite hot and humid here in the summer, and cold in the winter, so I imagine both types will be used eventually. And having both will unable me to see if there’s a definite preference and stock accordingly.

Thank you for the suggestions!

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Great suggestions on having back up replacements available for the bath items! I have not had much go missing from my whole house AirBnB (only one new couch throw and I got it back) but stuff does get damaged or dingy and need replacing on short notice at times.

Thanks for the advice on the bathrobes. With both you and Spark mentioning fluffy terrycloth ones as your preference, I will add those in.

Like you, I love big fluffy bath sheets!

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I’m debating whether to add a small, simple Air Fryer to the kitchenette. I’ve had one that’s easy to use and simple to clean, meant for use by 1-2 people. My husband likes it so much he has taken it to have on the semi truck to use while he’s on the road. I got a bigger one with more options for our kitchen, but I’m wondering about getting another small one for the guest’s kitchenette.

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By “easy to clean” – do you mean “easy to get the grease cleaned off” or “easy to get looking almost new”? If the latter, what’s the brand and model?

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Both! This is the one I had. I had it in black, and bought the mint green one for my Mom (to match her 1960s mint kitchen). Edited to put in the link I forgot

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B529VFHY?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details

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I’m not seeing any info about model

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Sorry Spark! I copied the link, then forgot to put it in. Then I copied it again but it won’t display.

The brand is Chefman. Since I couldn’t copy the link and get it to display here, I took a screenshot.

IMG_5673
IMG_56732224×1082 307 KB

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I love the idea of the bathrobes but haven’t figured out how to manage it in our property. I haven’t figured out a way to know if the guests used the robes or not. So it ends up being one more thing (actually, six more things since we have a three bedroom home) to wash between guests, and our washing machine just isn’t that large and we don’t have a laundromat nearby.

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I went to my dry cleaner and for real cheap bought a n almost-empty roll of those plastic bags they put over clean clothes on a coathanger, and I put a fresh bag over clean robes. If the plastic is still there when the guest leaves, I take that as reliable evidence the robes haven’t been used.

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Isn’t it too warm in St. Lucia for anyone to want to wear a bathrobe? I could see guests maybe wearing some thin cotton kimono-type robe, but not a thick terrycloth or waffle-weave.

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Yes, it’s too warm in our house for the heavy bathrobes. But for me, bathrobes are more about the convenience of not getting dressed right away. And even six light-weight bathrobes add another load of laundry to turnover. We have a lot of same-day turnovers and my housekeeper insists on washing all the bedding during turnaround instead of putting out a different set. (She believes that if she rotates through the bedding, it will all wear out at exactly the same time and that will cost more than replacing them over time.)

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Your cleaner needs some logic classes. :wink: Linens wear out according to how many times they get washed, and it’s going to cost the same to replace them whether it is done all at once or little by little.

A lot of my guests just use a very lightweight sarong, that they travel with, to wrap up in if they don’t feel like getting dressed. I often do the same, sometimes all day, in the hot weather, if I’m not going out.
don’t

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Your place sounds wonderful.

The main thing that I have noticed when I stay in STRs is the lack of, or cheap array of, hangers.

The rental I have just returned from was perfect in every way except… it was a two-bedroomed apartment that supplied TWO hangers per bedroom.

I’ve never stayed in a rental that has, let’s say, a dozen matching good-quality hangers.

At the risk of sounding like Joan Crawford, often they are dry cleaners’ wire hangers. Arrgh.

It sounds daft, I know, but a good quantity of quality hangers is important to me. Maybe to other guests too?

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Your place sounds wonderful…but, I’m probably in the minority, I will not book anyplace that advertises they have essential oils. Smelly stuff makes me sneeze! I also wonder what odors they are trying to cover up.

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I was waiting to do a turnover and watched the Dr who was checking out, walking out with my nice timber hangers with his shirts……I started with 10 lovely hangers in every wardrobe and they have multiplied and morphed into wire hangers……. Feels a bit like what happens to socks….

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I buy the velvet hangers and use those. They aren’t expensive - about 30 cents US each when buying 50 at a time from Sams/Costco. Not as good as @Debthecat’s timber ones, but a lot better than the flimsy wire ones. And thanks for the reminder - I’m headed to our place soon and I need to check to see how many are left!

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I’m going to be contrary here (and make no mistake, I have high quality hangers in each closet) but folks these days do not have as much to ‘hang’ as they did back in the day, when a collared shirt and pants, dresses, etc were part of everyday wear. These days t-shirts are totally acceptable clothing. I find that guests pack lighter and use my iron and ironing board less as well.