Vacation Rental Advice - Little Extras that Make Guests Swoon
Details, details, details...are you on top of them with your vacation rental property? Snag bookings and keep your Guests coming back by stocking your home with the little extras they expect or are pleasantly surprised you provide.
Most of the "little extras" on the lists below are low-cost or will more than pay for themselves over time. Be sure to flaunt all of them in your advertising. Your attention to detail shows you care about your rental business and for new Guests, they won't know you have them if you don't tell them!
Must have items - Provide these at a minimum or risk aggravating your Guests
How alluraDirect.com Helps you Flaunt your Little Extras
Must Have Items
No one wants to arrive at your home for vacation only to find out that the most basic of supplies are not provided. This means instead of relaxing, your Guests are off on a trip to the supermarket - which is not a nice welcome.
It is highly recommended to provide the following minimum basic supplies in your vacation rental property:
- Toilet paper
- Paper towels
- Dish soap
- Dish rag or sponge
- Garbage bags
- Towels (1 per guest plus hand towels and face cloths)
Bronze Level Little Extras
The following extras are recommended for budget to mid-range vacation rental properties:
- Phone line for making local calls
- Basic cable
- Stereo
- Iron and ironing board
- Alarm clock(s)
- Salt and pepper
- Tinfoil
- Plastic wrap
- Coffee maker
- Toaster or toaster oven
- Extra blankets/pillows
- Extra towels
- Complimentary basic toiletries
- Hairdryer
- Laundry detergent (if you have laundry facilities)
- Local maps/guide books
- Welcome binder or guest book with information about your home and the area
Silver Level Little Extras
Demonstrate your commitment to making sure your Guests are well provided for, encourage positive reviews and snag repeat bookings when you provide the following:
- Free internet access
- Satellite or digital cable
- iPod docking station/connectivity to stereo
- DVDs
- CDs
- Books
- Board games
- BBQ
- Toothpaste
- Cotton balls/swabs
- Basic dry goods and spices
- Coffee, tea bags, whitener, sugar
- Blender
- First aid kit
- Sewing kit
- Baby gear (such as high chairs, play pens, plastic dishes, etc.)
- Knapsack
- Bottled water or a water cooler with a full jug
- Free firewood (if you have a fireplace)
- Outdoor activity gear (such as pool noodles, coolers, beach chairs, sleds, snorkels or anything else your Guests would find fun and useful at your destination)
Gold Level Little Extras
Want to roll out the red carpet for your Guests and really knock their socks off?
Below are some items you may want to consider furnishing your rental home with to give it a fully-loaded luxury feel:
- Satellite or digital cable with specialty channels - think movies and kids programming
- In-suite safe
- Free newspaper delivery
- Fully-stocked spice rack
- Basic condiments (ketchup, mustard, butter, steak sauce, etc)
- Gourmet coffee and specialty tea bags
- Mints or chocolates on the pillows for the first night
- Welcome gift basket
- Fancy kitchen gadgets Guests wish they had at home and will enjoy playing with (eg. panini grill, espresso machine, rice cooker, waffle pans, etc)
- Spa-quality bath products
- Plush bath robes
- Curling iron/rollers
- Computer
- Printer
- Fax machine
- Video game consoles (with games of course)
- Kid's craft box/colouring books
- Complimentary calling cards or long distance phone plan
How alluraDirect.com Helps you Flaunt your Little Extras
Every listing on alluraDirect.com comes with ample space to describe your property and all your extras in great detail. An easy-to-use text formatting toolbar lets you highlight special items or create lists of your amenities and special features.
You also get space to post up to 30 photos at no extra charge! Stage your home and show off those bath robes, complimentary bath products, your DVD library and more - you've got tons of room!
alluraDirect.com is much more than a listings site though. Subscribe with alluraDirect.com and get reservation management tools to process bookings instantly online. You'll also receive a private, unbranded website that uses the same online booking engine to process reservations from anywhere you advertise! Learn more about subscribing with alluraDirect.com
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alluraDirect.com is now accepting vacation rentals in all destinations*. We'd love to hear from you if you own a vacation home in a destination we don't currently serve and are interested in a free trial subscription with us. Please contact us with your vacation rental/destination details. |
*Please note that at this time our online payment feature is only available for those with Canadian bank accounts. A more diverse rent processing system is in the works.