What 'out of the ordinary' things would really delight you in a holiday rental?

[Malin52]

Just bought a holiday rental property (yes, I'm in another country with no COVID restrictions except the border remains closed) and I'm super keen to make sure my guests have a really lovely experience.

I've had many experiences of my own of staying in holiday homes with crap or limited amenities that ruins a holiday so between that and the various threads on here I've got a pretty decent list of 'non negotiables' ie full length mirrors, table lamps, 2x the crockery/glassware for max capacity, range of sharp knives, potato peelers, sieves, enough lounge/dining space for everyone, good towels, various saucepans and oven dishes, food serving dishes and tools, games and books you can actually read rather than a job lot of shite picked up at a knockdown price (the beginners guide to Visual Basic in one place I am reminded of) etc.

But I'm Keen to know what would really make you think your hosts had really thought about your needs? Some of those things that you wouldn't normally find but you wish were there or things you have to remember and pack, or go out and buy

Rental is a two bed , beachfront location

Some thoughts I've had:

• basic cooking bits on top of oil, salt/pepper such as mixed herbs, chilli?
• kitchen consumables such as paper towels, cling film, tin foil?
• couple of Tupperware boxes for picnics, cool bag and ice packs,
• ice made up in the freezer
• chilled tap water in a glass bottle the fridge
• beach bits: sunshades, blankets, body boards
• reuseable bags for the supermarket
• sugar, teabags, coffee.

Anything else?

How would you feel about using food items someone else had used previous such as the herbs, oil, sugar etc? What if there was a decanted sealed jar of ketchup in the fridge (bbq on the deck and I always find buying yet another ketchup just for a couple of burgers v annoying). Would the ice and water delight you or make you go eurggh?!

Thoughts welcome? Too much effort for the potential for someone to think it's all a big grim?

I would like to know in advance what is there and what isnt. For example I always take washing powder toilet roll and dish wash tabs. Some places have them and some dont.
Big yes to beach equipment, beach umbrellas (more than one if a family house), inflatables, bodyboard.

A new or at least clean toilet brush.

Washing machine, somewhere to dry beach clothes, tide timetables.
My uncle had a holiday let and he left laminated sheets (so you could take them with you) of different local walks, he specified things you could see on your way plus if it was suitable for children, if toilets were on route the kids loved following his instructions.
I never use food left if its not sealed in its original packaging (even pre covid) I imagine now most people wouldn't. Tea bags and milk are great. One cottage we went to left some chocolate for the children which was nice.
A shower you can fit into.
Cleaning products.

As a few pp have mentioned, don’t lose sight of the fact that it’s a business. It doesn’t need to be perfect- it needs to be in a par with comparably priced properties. The important thing is transparency and offering something that appeals at the price point. We are clear that ours is a comfortable family home ( we live overseas now so none of our personal stuff is there), not a luxury pad, and our market is pretty much all families or groups of families- sleeps 8 and right on the beach. Pluses are that we’ve invested in things like underfloor heating that wouldn’t have been justified just for a holiday let and it’s furnished/equipped as a full time residence but the downside is that the toy cupboard is Armageddon and the beach towels/picnic crockery may not all match.

Stuff will go missing/get broken and you won’t take it out of deposits because you probably won’t immediately notice ( not going to have time to do a full inventory between 10am-4pm on top of cleaning/changing beds etc). You’ll just check the essentials. That said, we’ve never lost anything major- I treat the Tupperware as a consumable now and don't mind about books/toys etc. I just go to charity shop/Tesco and get more. When I go there in the summer/Christmas I replace anything that looks tatty. We also keep new spares of glasses, crockery, toaster, kettle, towels etc in the garage to swap in if needed.

We don’t provide any food other than salt, pepper and teabags. Don’t do toiletries other than hand soap. Do leave toilet and kitchen roll, foil, clingfilm, matches etc. Provide dishwasher and laundry pods and all cleaning products ( don’t expect them to clean but if they want to it’s there). Cordless Dyson for Cheerio explosions etc. ( gets surprise number of positive mentions in reviews) We offer the option for guests to get food deliveries when our cleaners are there and they put it away so it’s there on arrival. Ours is not remote. There are shops v close.

No air con but ceiling fans in the bedrooms ( south west so warm in summer) which we get positive feedback on.

For bbq I’d probably go gas ( we do). Easier to clean and easier for guests. It gets abused though, poor thing! And constantly gets left uncleaned! But it’s an expected feature so..

Coffee- cafetière and one of those silver stove top things. I’m torn of expensive electrics like consoles. I figure get a smart tv and WiFi and people can do/bring their own if they really want them.

We offer return guests a discount- we are probably 2/3 repeat now ( 5th season). Worth it as guests vary hugely tbh and it’s worth losing a bit of margin for lower hassle and not having to face a recycling bin full of dirty nappies and unrinsed takeaway containers.

Befriend tradesmen ( plumber, electrician, handyman ) because stuff does go wrong and needs to be fixed immediately. Also, if it’s seasonal, consider getting on books of insurance companies as an option for people whose houses have become uninhabitable i winter ( fire, flood etc). Rates are lower but often get 2-3 months straight vs sparse bookings.

We stayed in a beautiful cottage recently which had NEOM diffusers which made the place smell amazing.

The host also provided a bottle of handmade apple juice and a lovely orange cake which were appreciated.

Also a chess set and cards!

Although tbh the best part of that stay was that they had two tiny dogs which would roam the grounds and if you left your kitchen door open they would come and hang out on the couch with you

Phone chargers / docking Station.
Games console, if for family /teen market.

Nespresso machine, yes! (I wouldn't mind paying a supplement if you supplied a good amount of pods).

All bbq lighting stuff (again I wouldn't mind paying and add on for this).

Wow! Lots to keep you busy here OP!

For me the most important thing is knowing what to expect, so I can plan around that.

I also like lots of coat and towel hooks, and plenty of room for toiletries on shelves or cupboards in the bathroom. Hate having to store stuff on the floor or carry things back and forth all the time.

And yes to some cleaning stuff, I actually hate cleaning but if we spill something I want to be able to sort it easily.

A good coffee machine and pods to go with it.
King sized bed (or bigger).
A choice of pillows for people to pick from before arrival (hard, soft, feather or memory foam).
Good quality blankets for the sofa.
USB sockets as well as normal plug sockets.

I don't like using half-empty food bottles as you never know how hygienic the previous guests have been! A hamper with a few goodies on arrival is always a good call, though. Things like a bottle of wine, some posh biscuits or cake, bread, butter and milk for breakfast on the first day.

@CorianderBee

Although tbh the best part of that stay was that they had two tiny dogs which would roam the grounds and if you left your kitchen door open they would come and hang out on the couch with you

Not to everyone's taste, but this would make me a repeat booker. Dogs trump coffee pods and welcome baskets every time!

No basic foods...I wouldn't use opened stuff

A few individual coffee sachets / t bags ,maybe a packet of nice biscuits and a small milk is good just to have a drink after a possible long car journey
Plenty of tea towels
Washing up liquid couple of dishwasher tablets an anti bac kitchen / bathroom spray and a couple dish cloths.

Bathrobes are nice but they MUST be clean and smell freshly washed.
Decent size tv
Tv in bedroom
Good WiFi
Bath sheets and bath towels couple hand towels

Minimum kingsized bed with decent pillows and sheets.

Yes, you've identified the things I'd find useful:

• Knives, cookware etc.
• Tupperware.
• Foil, cling film.
• Yes to herbs, salt and pepper, oil and vinegar.
• Beach stuff e.g. buckets and spades (I always forget these, then buy another, so end up with a huge collection at home), fishing nets for rock-pooling, a beach-umbrella and wind-break if you're feeling generous (things that I'd only use for that one week a year).
• Wellies if relevant
• An umbrella if relevant

Coffee-makers can be good but a cafetiere is fine.

Oh and sounds old-school but I'd like a DVD player and some DVDs (I'd bring some too). I've been to places that had smart TVs but the wifi was unreliable, so you couldn't actually watch a film with is and there was no DVD player. Rubbish.

Black out curtains. Quite tempted to type that a hundred times it's so important to me!

I need to repeat no to blackout curtains though, I detest them.

I stayed in a place which (as a chargeable extra) provided a celebration cake and decorations.

Since we were indeed travelling to celebrate a birthday - it was really nice opening the door and seeing all the balloons etc. Plus less wifework for me.

They also offered a choice of 3 standard grocery hampers which was helpful.

One had lots of kiddy snacks (juice boxes, cereal etc)
One had like bar supplies (crisps, booze, olives)
One had ‘basic meal’ items (pasta, local salami etc)

It's really annoying if there is no cleaning stuff or hoover available. I think sometimes they are put in to locked cupboards because it's a nice idea that you don't need to clean? But it's grim to have to live with a sandy floor all week, or not to be able to mop if something gets spilled!

It’s a really small thing, but I stayed in a place that had a little magnetic square tile that you could place over the light on the heater at night, if you were a person that needed a complete black out to sleep

Enough plug sockets
Comfy mattresses

Kitchen scales. Notice the inventory above has muffin tins but nothing to measure ingredients with; My family were fans of pancakes for breakfast on holiday and we often had to bring a dry measure.

I second kitchen scales, not for baking, but for weighing out pasta.

If I cook on holiday it is quick and simple foods like pasta and sauce. I don't bake on holiday. That isn't a holiday for me. I would far rather be out sightseeing and exploring.

If its dog friendly a hosepipe would be really handy after a muddy day walking woods hills beaches and save a lot of mess cleaning and stress

I absolutely agree with the above poster about having am accurate inventory list of what is provided i. It is almost more important to me than what actually is there. it gets irritating bringing things you didn't need to and ending up not bringing the one one thing that isn't provided.