To all you self caterers out there

[piebald]

I rent out a couple of self catering properties and wondered if i could get ideas from you kind mn folk
What is useful in a s/c house , is there anything that makes the holiday better?
I was wondering about buying slow cookers, would that be useful on holiday or do you just stick to take aways. What would you be pleased to find in the kitchen (apart from a maid-i'm not providing that!)
Anything else, games for the kids, dvds,

If you're somewhere that has lots of outdoors activities have you thought about a slow cooker? It's handy when you're out all day!

Id be looking for mixing bowls, measuring spoons (1 cup / 1/2 cup tblsp etc). Plastic chopping boards and a caffitiere. Randomly I cook more on holiday so a healthy amount of baking/cookware always appreciated.

Normal kitchen things I guess!

Whenever I've house sat for a few weeks I've always appreciated milk and tea/coffee being there, but I don't expect much else. I wouldn't want someone else's leftover food, but ice in the freezer and some lemons for my gin always appreciated!

I stayed somewhere that was really well equipped a few years ago, and then the next holiday was somewhere with NOTHING. I really felt it! I think in the past 10 years or so expectations of self catering has really gone up
SO the stuff i really missed...
Loo roll
Soap
Cleaning stuff - not the likes of limescale stuff, but enough for me to give it a spruce up, so a dishcloth and some squirty stuff.
Dishwasher Tablets / washing up liquid
Cling film
Salt & pepper
Ketchup
Oil
Tea towel
Bin bags

I think most people had just left things and it had been replaced and left again. I really begrudged in the last place spending £20 on all that to not be able to bring most of it home knowing it was going to be thrown away as soon as we left.
Its nice if after a long journey theres tea/coffee and milk. I don't want to have to rush off the minute we get there to do a shop before I've even sat down and had a cuppa.
The first place i mentioned that had everything, had a box full of dog things, so blankets, water bowls, towels.
If its a family place a few beakers, plates and cutlery is appreciated.
They also had cupboards full of kitchen things so you could make a cake and that sort of thing. They had full on picnic stuff as well including flasks. It was lovely, it would make me go back to stay there. But i wouldn't expect it in another place.

I self cater in France - not in the UK but I suppose lists and needs are similar.

I second/third the request for decent knives. It's so hard trying to prep meals using blunt knives.

Also yes to a cafetiere or proper coffee percolator. Not bothered about the Nespresso gadgets - I find them more trouble than they are worth, particularly if making coffee for more than one person at a time.

A small welcome pack - i.e. a few dishwasher tablets, washing up liquid is nice. I am surprised that so many seem to provide these for the duration of the stay. in my experience there are enough for a few days int he cupboard - which is sufficient until we make it to the supermarket. We then buy a full pack of d/w tabs, bottle of washing up liquid - thenleave the surplus behind for the next guests. I don't expect to be provided with these for the whole fortnight - ditto loo roll.

I always pack my own teatowels, dishclothes etc as part of my general holiday luggage.

But we drive. If flying then I can see how having these provided in the holiday home would be better.

My main bug bear s/c is electric cookers with no instructions! I have only ever cooked with gas and most s/c seem to have an electric cooker. They baffle me if no instructions!

YY to big mugs!!!
Wifi
Selection of DVDs, games and books, especially local guide books.
Sharp knives!

Place marking. I provide almost everything mentioned here -but I will be adding in a couple of cake tins.

I am the voice of dissent. We go self catering a lot to save money but also don't want to spend time making anything elaborate so generally just eat stuff like beans on toast. So just the basics will do for me.

Comfy beds
Loo roll
Controllable heating
Plenty of mugs and plates, but I really don't mind whether they match
Plastic cups and plates for little ones are a real bonus
As others have said, the equipment to cook a proper meal for a full house
If there's a washing machine, washing powder/tablets are appreciated. If I'm washing on holiday it's an emergency.
I like odds and ends like herbs, ketchup, cooking oil, and I'm not bothered about dates on things that last a long time. They're not essential though.
A good state of repair. We stayed in one otherwise lovely cottage in which half of the dining chairs had dangerously loose screws, one actually fell to pieces, and the shower door fell off.
If you have Velux windows, a blind. Grown-ups wait until it's dark to go to bed, but babies don't always, and we couldn't find any way to cover this window.
If you provide big bottles of toiletries/body lotion, make sure they're fresh, it's better not to provide them than have them so old that they smell horrid and require a second shower to get rid.
Bin bags. More bin bags. Clear instructions on the recycling, the rules might not be the same as at home and we don't want to get in trouble with you, or for you to get in trouble with the bin men.
If you like things left a particular way, please tell us. We're happy to strip the beds if you want, but equally happy to spend those few minutes emptying the dishwasher. Put this info in the information pack rather than on officious little notices though.
Up to date takeaway menus and restaurant recommendations are nice to have.

An option of a high chair and a cot would be really appreciated and a change mat would be good. I usually put towels down on the floor and use my own mat it the change bag but an actual change mat would be really handy.

Washing machine
Decent wifi
Decent knives and utensils (not Poundland crap)

I wouldn't bother with a slow cooker

We like soup so a stick blender would be ace.

A bookshelf of second hand books and invite guests to take the book with them if they haven't finished it by the time they leave and hopefully they will also leave old books behind too.

One b&b we stayed in had contacts with a couple of the big local attractions so could sort out cheaper tickets for entry which was nice!