What would you expect in a welcome basket?

[GoodNewsAndBadNews]

Am about to start to let a holiday property in a fairly rural part of Wales. Nearest shop is a short drive away. I was thinking of bread, milk, jam, butter, wine, tea and coffee. What other things would you expect? The property was left to me by a relative, and we want to be able to use it as a family but hoping to offset some of the costs by sharing it with holiday makers.

We've stayed in lots of holiday cottages and the welcome baskets have been varied, ranging from nothing at all to a hamper with bread, cheese, butter, eggs, marmalade, jam, crisps, wine, milk, tea and coffee. Most have milk, a couple of tea bags and a few sachets of coffee and sugar, and a bought cake.

I would expect at least the wherewithal to make a cup of tea on arrival. Biscuits are a bonus.

Information leaflets about the local area are useful.

There was a similar thread earlier this year that went on for multiple pages about this! The opinions varied SO much and just showed how different people are! Gluten free- can't eat the biscuits, vegan- won't drink the milk, Wine- against our religion or previous alcoholic, only have a certain tea/coffee, I only eat XYZ bread etc etc etc !

TBH- I'd keep it simple with some basic tea/coffee and milk. Either little sachets of milk or fresh milk. You need to balance to cost of the extras vs things being wasted/thrown out or a negative review about the item.

In AirBNB/holiday let, my biggest annoyance is:
-lack of enough towels. Some have 1 towel per person, so if I want to wash my hair, I need to also use DH's towel
-Not enough toilet rolls for the amount of days we are there
-A single dishwashing tablet for a week long stay
-Inadequate and no chopping knives
-Inadequate pots/pans/colanders to cook a basic meal
-Foil! I always use foil on the grill to prevent extra cleaning, and less fat down the sink, but I'm yet to find anywhere supply it!

I don't expect that much tbh but anything is a bonus.

Teabags, sugar, milk, coffee is great. Packet of biscuits or a local cake is a lovely surprise and very welcome. I don't expect wine really.

All good with the basket, no need to go nuts but if you're including tea and coffee please also do sugar, and tbh I'd ditch the wine (it would make me think you're including the cost of the wine in the price of the let and I'm stingy and don't really drink wine!)

Condiments , either sachets or small bottles.
Basic cleaning products dish washer tablets , sponges , washing powder/ liquid.
Enough plates / cups / glasses / cutlery/ etc .
plus a few spare for the max house occupancy .

I don't really expect anything but a pinto of milk in the fridge is nice. Tea and coffee are nice but we bring our own, same with bread, butter etc. Wine wouldn't be drunk. Jam unlikely to get used. I'd start wondering how much had been added onto the rent if it was too extravagant.

Loo roll, dishwasher tabs and laundry tabs are more appreciated than wine, jam etc.

I'd say eggs and cereal and instead of wine

I don't really expect anything but washing up liquid and sponges and milk and teabags and sugar would be nice

Teabags, coffee sachets, or nespresso tabs including decaff options amd some herbal teabags, particularly green tea and peppermint are popular. Wine, one bottle is fine. Milk in fridge doesn't need to be massive. Biscuits or even 2-3 packs of 2/3 Biscuits. Sugar and sweetener.

Enough loo roll for the number of people in the property for Friday to Sunday.

Handsoap, washing up liquid, washing machine powder/liquid, dishwasher tabs. Kitchen roll, foil, oil, salt and pepper, cling film if not trying to be sustainable.

I would also say eggs and maybe some cheese, plus sugar for the tea or coffee. I would love the wine, but agree it is an unnecessary expense as most people would bring their own, whilst others who didn't drink it would think it a waste. Homemade cake would be good, we have often been left a barra brith when on holiday in Wales.

My favourite things for there to be at a holiday cottage are a dishwasher tablet for each day of the stay, maybe 3 washing pods so I can put a wash on, and ideally a couple of pints of milk in the fridge.

We really appreciated fresh milk, hot choc, tea, coffee, biscuits, cereal, dishwasher tablets and washing machine pods.

Some places we've rented had garlic crushers and fancy knives but didn't include absolute basics like oven gloves and tea towels which we found very strange!

If you choose to leave wine, you will need a Licence.

I would only want basics in the cupboard tea, coffee, sugar, salt, pepper, oil, dishwashing milk in the fridge that type of thing

Whatever you do provide i would list online as i hate bringing stuff as there is no mention for it already to be there

Depends on who is cleaning it- milk etc needs to be fresh whereas you may have several weeks between booking and your want it cleaned as soon as the last guests need in case of late booking

I think that a decent gardener and the level of the fittings is more important than a welcome pack.

I'd happy without jam and marmalade. However, a few biscuits would be lovely after a journey. And if delayed en route having bread, cheese and eggs could be difference between being able to relax in cottage or find a shop.

@JollyHollyMe I think that a decent gardener.....

Is this a typo or do you really feel a decent gardener is really important in a holiday let??? 🤔

This!

A recent holiday let (abroad) had beer, wine orange juice, milk, tea, coffee, bacon, eggs, cheese, bread, butter and bacon. Also - washing machine and dishwasher pods, loo roll and bathroom toiletries. I think this was just about perfect. The result is that we will rebook for next year!

Nothing, maybe a pint of milk. I'd want to choose my own groceries and wine, thanks anyway.

I don’t expect anything but loo rolls, dishwasher and laundry tablets are really helpful

A pint of milk is the most importantly thing IMO.

Tea, coffee, biscuits or a cake - lovely
Wine - a welcome bonus.

It's also really nice on a practical note to have enough dishwasher tablets for the duration of the stay, some washing up liquid, bin bags, washing powder if there's a washing machine...things like that are annoying to have to buy when you're self catering as you either have to waste loads or cart it home.

I'd add salt, pepper, oil & maybe vinegar to the list. Probably wouldn't bother with wine as people vary on what they like & whether they drink it.