What are you looking for in an AirBnB?

[VinoEsmeralda]

In the process of building a 1 bedroom house with small garden and off road parking.

We often use AirBnB and there are a few things I really rate such as off road parking, welcome pint of milk, good instructions and of course a nice bed.

What do you think we could do to make it stand out?

Dishwasher

The house rules need to be easy to follow: we've just stayed at a "shoes off" place, but we let ourselves in, the entrance hall was dark with nowhere to sit so we were down the hallway before we knew it when the owner phoned to ask if we'd taken our shoes off, with a lecture about his carpet! So a stressful unwelcoming beginning reflected in our review.

We’re just looking at getting an electric car so charging point would be amazing.

Welcome pint of milk a must . The Airbnb we were in last week had that ,plus bread and other basics like tea and coffee capsules for the machine .
Quiet location a must for me . Comfortable bed. Bath as well as a shower. Dog friendly.

Depends where but it needs to have good quality sheets (400 thread count) comfortable mattress, very clean and not cluttered. If rural somewhere to dry wet clothing is a big plus

Two things immediately spring to mind - they have been lacking in almost all the Airbnbs I have stayed in:

• enough comfy seats in the living room! Normally there is not space for everyone to sit on a sofa or comfy chair (though this should be less of a problem with only one bedroom)
• waste paper baskets in all rooms! Just a small thing but surprisingly annoying when there isn’t one (don’t think I’ve ever had one in an Airbnb bedroom)

Obviously cleanliness etc! And enough stuff to make a cup of tea on arrival - once stayed somewhere where there wasn’t even a teabag waiting after a long drive. Also don’t be stingy with toilet rolls etc - not expensive but very noticeable if you are mean with them!

Oh and I think it’s lovely that you are being so considerate! Good luck!

Lack of personal possessions!
I stayed in an Airbnb for the first time recently, rented an entire house, and was really expecting it to be a holiday let, but it was obviously a home that someone had just vacated, coats and shoes in hall, toiltries in bathroom, food in fridge and cupboards, clothes in chest of drawers and wardrobe , washing up on draining board etc etc , was a bit taken aback and felt like I was Intruding! Is this normal for an Airbnb ? I'm probably missing the point!

Things I always appreciate in an Airbnb:

• welcome hamper (last one had homemade bread, bottle of wine, packet of nice biscuits and some leaflets of things to do in the area)
• spotless
• WiFi
• off-road parking
• modern decor
• milk in fridge
• big bath

Proper cooking facilities are surprisingly scarce. I can live without an oven but those plug in hobs are awful. We like to cook when we’re away. And a toaster!

Basic kitchen supplies, eg milk, tea, coffee, salt, pepper, sugar, olive oil.

If you are going to be let friendly I would suggest a couple of dog cages, easily folded down for storage so guests could go for a meal without leaving them in car or in the house.

I like a comfortable sofa and a footstool or pouffe to put my feet up on; a filter coffee maker or at the very least, a cafetiere; a toaster; a microwave; an oven; a selection of cooking pots and pans and roasting trays; a log burner.

We’ve just come off a roadtrip staying in various luxury self catering accommodations in the States.

Best aspects of our various stays:

• Smart TV so we could screen share or use our Netflix/Prime accounts
• Drip coffee machine with a bag of local coffee (amazing), UHT milk and sugar
• Decent wine glasses
• Simple kitchen set up - hob, microwave, mini fridge, toaster, kettle, plates, bowls, coffee cups, glasses, cutlery, decent sharp knife, cutting board, serving bowl, serving spoon, wooden spoon, egg flip, fry pan, saucepan, tin opener and corkscrew
• Cosy sofa that actually seats 2 (you need a 3 seater) with warm floor rug, coffee table and side tables. Ikea Ektorp is a surprisingly comfy sofa
• Table with decent chairs, not the Ikea plastic folding chairs beloved of European Air BnB landlords
• Bathroom that you can manoeuvre in and shut the door without having to origami yourself over the toilet! Way too common in the U.K.
• Basic toiletries (hand soap, body wash, shampoo, conditioner) - big communal bottles are fine
• Nice large towels. Lots of places here also provide dark coloured facewashers and suggest you use them for removing makeup
• Basic ingredients - oil, salt, pepper, tea bags.

Also, please take photos of your actual room for the listing, not 50 arty shots of flowers, artwork, place settings and the like.

I go places with my elderly mum and my disabled nephew. It's great to have grab bars in the shower and bath, level access where you can, if it's a bungalow then wheelchair access is def a plus.

Offering to take in a Sainsbury's delivery and bung it in the kitchen the day we're arriving is another lovely one. I mean where I do my shop and the Airbnb takes it in, not where you pay for it.

I’m as picky as fuck. Not even kidding. I pay top whack when I Airbnb, and I want a great bed, even better bed linens
Proper coffee making means
Good, simple, clean decor.
Good cookware/utensils/plates/cutlery
I want you around if I have an issue (water/power/WiFi) otherwise I’d like not to trouble you.
I want top notch & happy to pay for it. I bloody love Airbnb and it loves me right back.

Clean

Decent bed

Washer dryer - if you are on a long trip this is an essential. Also space to put up a washing rack can be very limited.

Easy entry and enough sets of keys. We recently stayed at one for four people which came with one set of keys. And you could not even close the door without the keys being in the lock. It was a total PITA. I prefer a keycode now.

Coffee machine.

Clean again. Nothing worse than sticky kitchen stuff.

Enough space to leave two suitcases open in the bedroom if possible.

A few of these have been mentioned.

Decent kitchenware - often we stay and there's hardly ant sharp knives - we like to cook and it's so tricky without a decent knife block.

Enough plates and cups etc for the number staying - a double set if there is a dishwasher too. Dishwasher tablets and washing up liquid, a surface cleaner for the kitchen counters, enough tea towels and dishcloths.

Soap and loo roll in the bathrooms. I don't want to have to cart four things of hand wash and loads of loo roll. We often stay at larger properties with other families so that maybe won't be as big an issue for you.

Board games, deck of cards, books on the shelf.

A manual about how to work everything, especially the TV and dishwasher. Infor for takeaways and things to do is handy but with Google not so necessary.

A washer dryer would be handier than just a washing machine and a clothes horse.

Bin bags.

As someone else mentioned, enough seats in the sitting room for all staying to be comfortable. We often have to resort to bringing in kitchen chairs of we allow ant to sit in the living room.

A welcome pack of bread and butter and milk is appreciated. Firewood and matches if there is a fireplace.

Hot tubs are vile . I would one that gets auromatic approval/instant booking not waiting while they decide based on my name, facebook etc whether they want me in or not. Its been known that there is racism in air bnb hosting system.

Washer dryer netflix dish washer no dainty little breakable clutter knick knacks, no sharp corners in tablea strong powerful big walk in shower, clean white towels and sheets, hair straightener

Please sleep in it before you let it so you can understand what people need where; mirror height, a place for makeup, extra lamps, waste bins etc.

We stayed in a really beautiful one in Liverpool, but the fire alarm’s green light (I assume to say it was on or as emergency lighting) was directly over the bed, pooling a circle of green light over your eyes akin to alien abduction films. I wouldn’t go back, purely because I couldn’t sleep.

Full length beds. I stayed in one that was lovely apart from the fact that it took me a week to recover from sleeping in a bed too small for me.

Location!

Black out curtains or blinds.

I mainly want the property to be clean and for everything to be in working order.
I'd also suggest "living" in the house yourself for few days. the holiday property we stayed in at the summer was lovely but there were a few things that made it annoying to live in (e.g. the fridge being behind the kitchen door when there was space to put it somewhere else; plus not enough cutlery/crockery for the size of property).

What sort of place do you live in? If people are mostly going to be longer lets I think you definitely need a washing machine and a better equipped kitchen. If it's most likely just going to be overnights/short stays these don't matter so much.