Welcome basket

[MzMarple]

If you arrived at a holiday home. What would you like to see in the welcome basket?

I currently put in prosecco, crisps, sweets, bits for children.

We are just happy with biscuits and a bottle of wine! We’ve stayed places before with really elaborate baskets and in places where there’s morning, it really doesn’t matter overall but it’s a lovely touch.
Last time we were away there was a box of cakes from the little bakery down the road, a bottle of wine, couple of boxes of cookies and several big bags of fancy crisps. Lovely!

I think it is nice to leave a jar of dog biscuits if dogs are welcome to stay.

The nicest place we ever stayed in had a couple of pints of local milk (from coos a mile down the road!) and a bottle of white wine in the fridge, and a bottle of red wine, home-made biscuits and eggs (from the chickens in the garden), along with a lovely hand-written personal welcome note from the owners with some recommendations of places nearby.

V nice and we enjoyed all of them.

I kind of expect teabags and coffee and wouldn't see them as 'luxury' extras.

I do take my own knives when away from home, though (never found sharp enough knives in self-catering places).

It sounds pretty perfect, wonderful even - but maybe something meaty if you want to add to the variety? After a long journey in if I'm hungry, I would love some smoked Scottish fish (those in sealed packages I assume) or dried/cured meat type things. To add to all the carby nibbles. Check that they're not veggie first though...!

I'd much rather you cut the price of your rental

I know I need to buy my own stuff if I've booked self catering.

But I do appreciate washing up liquid and cloths if there isn't a dishwasher.

Also, re Prosseco, how do you know your guests are not allowed to drink alcohol for religious or other reasons?

Bread, butter, jam, cake or scones. Milk, tea and coffee.

White wine, fruit juice, maybe crackers and local cheese. A local paper would be nice.

We're vegetarian and wouldn't want any meat/fish in the fridge.

More basics than fancy stuff, sure would love that too but practical works best

Tbf it could just be a different target market? :)

Recently I've only been able to afford basic holiday homes, if even that, so I agree with you.

But (hope this isn't too mercenary a take as OP could purely just want her guests to feel cosy and welcome) a welcome basket / smorgasbord - and lots of other thoughtful niceties - is often a good strategy for far more upmarket pricing. Which is totally valid as a category, I love to feel "taken care of" in that sort of holiday home when I'm able to afford it!

Milk, bread (from local bakery, not a loaf of Hovis) butter snd jam. Homemade cake would be lovely too!

Milk freezes and the soy / oat etc tend to be long life.

So a pint of ordinary milk with a note saying soya / almond in the cupboard or freezer.

The thing I would like to see is condiments, salt and pepper as a basic maybe some spices.

Seconded

She's not forcing them to drink it...

I think the key is quality over quantity. I would rather get a bottle of Prosecco / nice wine (not the cheapest one in Tesco but not necessarily mega fancy) and some nice biscuits than a lot of random cheap stuff.

We stayed somewhere that had put some v cheap supermarket marmalade in the welcome basket (the cheapest smart price version) and there was leftovers anyway in cupboard from previous guests. We would have been happy with just the wine but the collection of cheaper items downgraded everything!

Just teabags & a small milk for me so can have an arrival cuppa. Everything else I’d rather buy myself to avoid waste and get exactly what I want/need.

Went to a place in Brighton that provided a basket full of absolutely massive meringues, all swirled different colours. Just the dry meringues though - no cream or filling so you would have had to sort that yourself. None of us like meringue so we just left them, which was a shame as it was very wasteful. Seemed a bit of a niche, random thing to provide.

Something home made , we got a Yorkshire curd tart once and it was amazing , some dog biscuits if they have one and some fresh milk for a cuppa after the drive with tea bags and coffee. Honestly anything more makes me wish they’d not bothered and just reduced the price of the cottage and not everyone drinks wine

Milk is top of my list. Everything you listed is an added bonus.

Milk , eggs, butter ( we have a local farm that has one of the vending machines , makes it easy to buy local ! )
A loaf of bread , nice jam , tea bags , coffee , pack of biscuits and a few sachets of sugar
Enough to have a hot drink and a biscuit when they arrive , and something for breakfast if they’re not organised !

I’m not sure about a bottle of wine ? Don’t you need an alcohol licence ?

Definitely coffee, tea, some biscuits or cake. I'd go for a small bottle of semi skimmed - if someone has particular requirements they're going to bring their own. Oh yes, and a bottle of something would be very nice. I wouldn't put too much in for children, especially if there's sweets and either biscuits or cakes. Not sure of your budget, but if there's any local jam, marmalade or honey that might be nice.

Don’t go mad with a massive hamper of stuff. If you are selling a high end air bnb I’d go with 3-5 well chosen, local luxuries. If you are selling something more mid-market, I’d go for 3 or 4 small practical things. It’s nice to give guests an enhanced experience but you don’t need to go over the top.

A wee scone would be lovely 😍 bottles of water if it's not already there. You sound like an amazing hostess now we have to come and stay x

All really good suggestions here.

This isn't specifically related to the welcome basket, but if you don't already do so, please make sure there is toilet roll (this should be a given) and soap in the toilets.

Too often I've arrived at a holiday let after hours of travelling, needing to go to the toilet, but have to search my luggage for the soap I've brought with me as there's none provided.

Pint of semi skimmed, decent teabags, and multiple dishwasher and laundry tabs.

Mind you I once had a handwritten postcard wishing me a pleasant stay and a happy birthday, felt like a blimmin millionaire!

Genuinely I would most appreciate milk like others have said - I just stayed in an Airbnb recently that had uht milk, coffee capsules and teabags and I couldn't have been happier!

Tend to find fruit or yoghurt go down well too but equally hate fresh fruit being wasted so not sure I'd do that personally

The only thing on that list would be sweets.

I would love :

Herbal tea
Dark chocolate
Fresh fruit
Small bottle of juice
A pastry