In this post, I discuss items that are nice for guests to have in your vacation rental. These amenities help guests make themselves at home, protect your home, and may be listed as amenities on nightly rental websites. Refer to the Consumables We Provide in Vacation Rentals to see the items we include in the home for guests to use during their stay.
Below you can download this check list of the amenities that are specifically listed on Airbnb. Please note that Airbnb often updates their amenities so this list is current as of the date on this file.
Laundry Room
In the laundry room I like to leave a broom and dust pan for guests to clean-up during their stay. If you have carpet, you can leave a vacuum cleaner as well. For a higher end offering, a dust buster is a nice addition. An iron and ironing board are listed amenities on nightly rental website. An item that’s nice for guests to use while at the house is a laundry basket.
Bathrooms
I like to leave a toilet brush by each toilet and 1 toilet plunger in the garage. I’d personally rather plunge it myself than announce to my group that I clogged it up. See post on Selecting Bed Linens and Towels.
A small trashcan is a nice touch in each bathroom. I found mine in a set at Costco but a simple option from Walmart or Amazon will do the job.
A hair dryer is an amenity listed on Airbnb. I like to have 1 per bathroom but you should include minimum of 1 per house. I bought a basic hair dryer from Costco for $20.
Bedrooms
Next to the bed I like to leave a power strip that charges both power plugs and USB My hope is this will stop guests from moving my furniture and potentially dinging my walls trying to access a plug behind the night stand.
A nice amenity to include is a luggage stand in the closet. This allows guest to access their suitcases without bending down to the floor. Hangers are an amenity listed on nightly rental website. These are items that walk off easily whether intentionally or unintentionally so I suggest an inexpensive option or wooden hangers that can be fixed on the rack so they are left in that closet.
Entertainment
I like to provide some sort of entertainment at my vacation rental. We all make plans when we go on vacation and at times the weather may cause us to alter those plans. I bought both children’s books and adult books at the local DI. I personally selected novels, non-fiction, and business books rather than political or religious genres.
I keep board games at my house for all ages. I bought mine on Black Friday when Amazon had them 50% off. I selected a few board games for all ages. In my house we have Sorry, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Dominos, Cards, Uno, Phase 10, SkipBo, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon. We have quite a few options, but we enjoy playing games when we use our home. Originally I snagged a few from the thrift store but nothing I bought came with all the pieces.
Many people like to offer a gaming console and games. This is a nice way to market your home to families and differentiate your rental in the market place. When including a game console consider the number of controllers you offer, the game variety of games you provide, and the age appropriateness of the games. Some game consoles allow you to download games directly to the console so you don't have to worry about the games themselves walking off.
Toys are nice for smaller children. I have a few blocks and larger cars to push around. When selecting toys, offer a variety for all age and gender of children, and consider the size of pieces for choking hazard. You don’t have to get fancy with these, I bought mine at DI and families in my neighborhood are always cleaning out toys their kids no longer play with. If we had children, I would likely bring their gently used toys.