1. Complimentary Consumable Amenities
Most hotels have finally gotten with the program and offer a few consumable amenities on the house; hosting an Airbnb should be no exception. When we say “consumables” we mean things that a guest might enjoy during their stay and are replenished for each guest. These include water, coffee, snacks, toiletries.
If you have a coffee maker make sure you’ve provided guests with a few complimentary coffee pods/bags. In the fridge, we like to offer a couple of water bottles, sparkling waters, and some kind of juice. In the bathroom, you can either offer travel size shampoo/conditioner or, for an eco-friendlier option, a mounted dispenser in the shower. All of these can be purchased very cheaply in bulk and for just an extra few dollars per guest. This goes a long way to make a guest feel extra special during their stay.
2. Create a Guide Guestbook
Another amenity that I suggest is to feature a local guide book. You can keep it simple, but, the idea is essentially to write a few pages with some local recommendations and house rules. You might provide a page with favorite restaurants, coffee shops, and a nearby gym. This is also where you can reiterate any house rules, inform guests of any extra amenities and checkout procedures. We’d recommend going the extra step and laminating the pages in a leather-bound book, which can be done at any print shop for a reasonable price. This will last for years and really elevate the perception of quality.
You can find more information on creating your own Airbnb guidebook in one of our previous blogs. This small addition to your vacation rental property can make your guests’ stay more pleasant and help you stand out from the rest of the crowd.
3. Make Sure It’s Sparkling Clean!
Ok, this is may seem kind of obvious, but it’s really important and worth mentioning! Bathroom mirrors and kitchen sinks are some of the biggest things people notice because they sparkle when they’re clean. We recommend that any vacation rental cleaning service uses Bar Keepers Friend to clean kitchen sinks with. Be sure to wipe the surfaces dry to make them look like new. It’s also important that it smells clean. When a place is freshly vacuumed, and cleaned with cleaner it has an unmistakable smell. It doesn’t have to be fragranced but it should smell crisp and not stale. This also allows you to take advantage of Airbnb’s Sparkling clean designation.
4. Give the Bathroom Some Extra Love
Toilet paper and clean towels are a given, but our vacation rental cleaning service likes to provide a little extra. In addition to consumable toiletries like the ones mentioned above, we also like to keep toilet scent spray, such as Poopouri, near the toilet this allows guests to have a more pleasant, less smelly, stay. Don’t forget to keep extra towels stocked in the linen closet. Every Airbnb cleaning service has their own bathroom routine, just make sure you are extra thorough in this room.
5. Two Words – Color Coordination
This one requires a little bit of selection but it can really make your place feel much more professional. Everything else is good hygiene but this involves good taste. Ideally, in the bathroom, you would color match your bathroom mats, hand towels, and body towels. The good news is a lot of places like Bed Bath and Beyond or Target sell matching sets of all of these. In the bedroom, an easy way to accomplish this is to get a few tasteful throw pillows that contrast or create a pattern on the bed comforter. You can use this same trick with the couch. Of course, you’re not going to re-do your entire place, but a few touches will just feel better and more cohesive and guests recognize this.
In summary, following these five simple tips can help elevate your vacation rental property into something that will surely impress your guests for years to come.
