Airbnb or short-term rental guests expect fully stocked kitchens, comfortable mattresses, nice sheets, extra blankets, games, etc. to optimize their experience. Kitchen items should include quality items capable of surviving multiple uses, comparable to those intended for use in a commercial kitchen, including blenders, crock pots, muffin pans, wine glasses, and other popular, extra amenities. These items do not need to break the bank or require thousands of investment dollars. Quality pots retail for approximately $200-$300; hand-held blenders sell for $40-$80; crock pots retail for $50; pan sets costs no more than $30 a set; wine glasses sell for $20 for a set of four; and counter-top pizza ovens can be purchased for approximately $200. Investing in a few carefully selected additional amenities improves guest experience and pays you back ten-fold by generating excellent reviews, as well as repeat and new business. The same concept applies to each room in the house. A few extra blankets, a fruit basket upon arrival, a bottle of wine for certain guests, fire pits, barbeque grills, outdoor furniture, small video game consoles, etc. all directly affect guests’ experiences and ultimately the ability of the property to generate revenue.
The problems begin when investors purchase properties at the top of their budgets and fail to account for required household items. An all-too-frequent solution seeks to purchase cheap and inferior-quality items for the house to keep additional costs low while hoping to meet guest amenity expectations amenities. Time and again, however, this strategy backfires as those same inexpensive items begin to deteriorate immediately and require frequent replacement. As with routine/preventative maintenance, investors who approach short-term rentals with a long-term rental mindset have the advantage. Property owners should seek to purchase durable household items that reduce the overall maintenance requirements for the property and increase the amount of time that the item can be used before needing to be replaced. Although they have a slightly higher initial price tag, commercial quality items provide this kind of durability, while reducing overall maintenance costs over the life of an item.
Property owners can purchase household items themselves or outsource the tasks to a person or company. If property owners choose to purchase household items, they can leverage product reviews and price comparison tools to find quality items instead of purchasing the most expense item. Alternatively, relying on a trusted agent shifts the responsibility to someone with the appropriate experience. Either choice requires the same level of quality to reduce maintenance costs and prevent unnecessary item replacements.
Short-term rental property owners have an opportunity to set their properties apart from other rentals. Owners should take advantage of the above lessons learned by allocating money in the initial property purchase budget for quality household items and acquiring kitchen items comparable to those intended for use in a commercial kitchen. Doing so will minimize property set-up time and allow rental operations to recommence as soon as possible each time the property is vacated. These simple concepts will maximize guest experiences, produce quality reviews, and reduce the overall cost of household items.
Military First BnB Solutions, an innovative short-term property management company, can assist property owners with optimization of investment properties. Our expertise and host team members eliminate your stress and increase your property revenue. Please review our website www.militaryfirstbnbsolutions.com and schedule a call at calendly.com/tobyprudhomme-militaryfirstbnbsolutions to discuss how we can help you. We look forward to working with you.