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?

We've just rebooked a fabulous Airbnb because we loved it so much and we're really fussy. It has:
King-size bed that is super comfortable.
Top quality pillows and bedding.
Fast WiFi
All crockery and cutlery from John Lewis and it all matches with nothing cracked or chipped.
Simple bathroom but lovely power shower, good lighting and loads of fluffy towels.
Plenty of comfy quality seating in living area with a little log burner to make it cosy.
Everywhere simply but tastefully decorated and completely clean, I was happy to walk around barefoot which is a good indicator. Even the fridge smelt fresh and the windows were sparkling.
Fresh fruit juice/milk/butter in fridge with homemade brownies and selection of posh teas and proper coffee with cafetierre.

I cannot thank you all enough for the great tips! The area we are in is great for hiking/walking so considering a dog option but its swings and roundabouts as it will increase the wear and tear and put off people with no pets...

So one more question: The currently plan was to have a bathroom with a shower over bath however we could change this to a walk in shower ( huge) and forego the bath. What do you think?

Also love the honesty swap box. Was going to have a bookshelf with book swaps....

I like to find tea/coffee/milk and cupboard essentials like salt, pepper and oil, plus cleaning products and dishwasher tablets etc.

But the main thing for me is to put all this stuff on the listing so people know what to bring with them! Every time I book an Airbnb I um and ah about whether I need to pack teabags or soap or whatever (no one wants to get to a place potentially late at night and have to immediately go out and spend a small fortune on shopping), but inevitably I end up missing something essential.

I also think it's nice to provide even a small snack in case of a late arrival. When DH and I went on honeymoon to Greece this year, we landed after everything had shut and by the time we got to the apartment we were absolutely starving but there was NOTHING in the cupboards whatsoever. Quite apart from the fact that they knew it was our honeymoon, when you pay top dollar for a luxury apartment you want some nice extras to make it feel worthwhile.

Finally, DO NOT POP IN UNANNOUNCED. This has happened to us several times (including in the honeymoon apartment, when the owners kept just dropping in or getting workmen to come round) and it's so intrusive!!

I would much rather a large walk in shower than a shower over a bath. I never ever have a bath (haven't for probably over 30 years) and don't want to have to climb in and out of a bath to have a shower.

If you do decide to have a shower over a bath please have one of those mats at the bottom of the bath so people don't slip. We stayed in an Airbnb last week that only had a shower over the bath. It was quite a deep bath and had no mat or anything on the bottom. I got in fairly ok (I am in my 60's and have some mobility issues) but could not get out without help from DH as I was slipping as I tried to and there was nothing to hold on to.

One little thing that I think another poster has mentioned is a hook on the bathroom door. So many places don't have one and it so annoying.

Me and DH stay in airbnb's at least once a month as we use them to visit friends and family. We usually stay between 2 and 4 nights.

If people are walking/hiking in the area I would like a bath with a shower over it tbh. But that's cos I'm unfit and I'll be achey :)

If your in an area where people walk/hike I would welcome a bath to soak in when I come back, even just to warm up when its a tad chilly after being out.

So a shower over the bath would be fine with a bathmat!

Don't get a bed where there's something at the feet of the bed. Tall people (like my DH) need to hang their feet off the end of the bed!

Keep it eco. So no dryer but make sure good air drying solutions.

Recycling instructions handy

Decent knives and a tin opener

Wifi definitely!

So NOT something like this

Bath over shower please. Or maybe you'd have space for a small Japanese soaking tub and a shower side by side? Best if both worlds then.

Japanese soaking tubs let you sit in water up to shoulder but use less water than a bath! So eco...

I think it all depends on who you want to rent the house.

It's a 1 bed house so it won't be families. Will it be couples on a weekend away or business people traveling to your area for work/meetings. Different types of people will look for different things.

Lighting. Pit table lamps in the sitting area. The amount of times we've had to move lights from bedrooms because all there was in a sitting room was a harsh central light.

If you provide a woodburner or fire then a,so provide some fuel.

An electric car charger would be a usp and rather forward thinking, especially as people are flying less now. Somewhere for muddy boots, lots of coat hooks and a stool near the front door to sit and put boots on. Decent pillows. Decent bedding and duvet. Really comfy bed. Decent sofa and arm chair. A table to eat off. Decent tv. Loads and loads of plug sockets.

Decent chopping boards and a good bread board and knife. Bread tin. Good veg knives. One bigger carving knife. Set of saucepans, frying pan, omlette pan. Perhaps a small roasting tin/ baking sheet. Salad bowl. Fruit bowl, mixing bowl, measuring jug.

Could leave tin foil - more use than alcohol,

Easy to use heating and water. Bin bags and instructions on when to leave out bins.

Did I mention lighting!

No sloping ceilings. I'm not particularly tall (5' 7") but I keep twatting my head on the ceiling of my current Airbnb. This seems to be a feature of new build Airbnbs .

A couple of more thoughts:

• Coat hooks for coats on the back of the room door and somewhere tiled to take off dirty boots
• USB chargers beside the bed - my husband is forever unplugging lamps and alarm clocks to plug in his charger.
• Somewhere in the bathroom to store your toiletries bag. Pedestal sinks are fine in your own home, they are a PITA if you are living out of a wash bag.

If you are going for a walk in shower, contemplate putting a tiled shelf that you can sit on at one end - we have come across this reasonably often in the US and it is so handy.

If you think you will attract a lot of walkers I think a boot room or tiled entrance hall with a stool and boot jack would be useful .
Also a outside tap about a foot of the floor for washing muddy footwear. I went to one place a few years ago it had a outside tap but it was about 4 foot off the floor meaning it was almost impossible to wash your wellies without getting soaked jeans.

@SciFiScream I agree that bed is not not practical but only cos it looks like a giant bar of chocolate and I would try to eat it in my sleep !

Yes to a dishwasher, washing machine and dryer in the UK and in a walking area, good bed, good sofa, plenty of crockery, glasses and cutlery, decent cooking implements and pans.

We stay in Airbnbs on holiday and I look for the places which look as though they are or have been someone's home, not a soleless holiday let. We usually eat breakfast in and will cook a couple of evenings.

Good WiFi
Good size mugs
King size bed with a good mattress (maybe Premier inn Hypnos mattress)
Mattress protector
Torch in case of power cut
Off road parking
USB charger sockets
Basic condiments
Curtains and black out blind so people can use whichever they prefer.
Good shower

Another vote for shower over a bath!

Definitely walk-in shower. I hate clambering over a bath, and having one is not a priority on holiday.

Since starting to holiday in AirBnB with MIL who is restricted mobility, I really appreciate when hosts are clear about how accessible their places are. So: can we enter from outside without a big climb? Are washing facilities accessible? Is it a bungalow?

But like the others: comfy bed and a decent sofa are tops. And if you advertise a property for 6 people, that mean you need comfortable seating for 6! Not a crappy 2- sofa, 1-2 old armchairs and everyone else sitting on upright dining chairs!

Definitely a walk in shower. I'm always checking out the bathrooms and will look elsewhere if theres not a proper shower. Make sure it's big enough though. Nothing worse than trying to wash your hair with nowhere for your elbows to go!

Important things for me:

Proper sized mugs
Salt, pepper, oil etc.
Instructions for everything - I had to call the host last month as I couldn't figure out how to get the washing machine going.l
Outdoor furniture

Booklet on how everything works!
And a number to call that actually picks up for problems

(we had water switched off on morning of a wedding! Turned out the farmer owner switched either water or pump electric off regularly to do something else. Just did it and assumed we would be out, but we were trying to get ready for an afternoon wedding.)

Looks as though you need both a walk-in shower and a bath with shower over. I'd put up with only a walk in one for a weekend but not for a week or longer holiday. I agree that shower over bath is more problematic for those with mobility issues though.

Decent pillows

The best ones have had (dependant on location):

• freshly washed sofa blankets
• hot water bottles
• binoculars and telescope
• Netflix left open
• bookcase
• welcome milk, tea and coffee
• lots of information
• lamps on bedside tables
• dining table

Location? Is this an area where there are lots of holiday lets?

The location is near Oxford and near the Cotswolds, GrimDamnFanjo

I thought if we have a smart TV people can use their own Netflix?