How to Properly Stock your Vacation Rental Property

In order for your Arizona vacation rental property ownership experience to be successful, you will need to be able to continually attract new guests. Naturally, this begins with ensuring that each of the people who do stay at your property has an excellent experience and will want to leave a positive review.

For better or for worse, reviews are an extremely important component of running a vacation rental property. In fact, in order to qualify as an Airbnb Superhost, property managers are required to maintain a ranking of 4.8 (out of 5) or higher.

One of the best ways to increase guest satisfaction—in addition to working with a vacation property management company—is to invest in additional amenities for your guests. Keeping your rental property well-stocked with basic and even luxury amenities will help encourage positive reviews, repeat visits, and ultimately improve your total ROI.

In this article, we will discuss a few of the most important things to keep in mind when stocking your vacation rental property. Whether you are stocking the property on your own or working with a partner like VacayAZ, these simple tips can help you create the ultimate customer experience.

Remember: It’s All About the Guests

To begin the process of stocking your vacation rental property, start by putting yourself directly into your guests’ shoes. You should assume that, even if they plan on staying for a week or more, your guests are bringing only their basic personal items. Ask yourself, if you were staying at this particular property, what types of things would you like to have provided for you?

The complete list of vacation rental supplies that you might need will really depend on the property itself. For example, any property with a pool will need to provide some additional towels and also consider supplying guests with chairs, pool toys, and other accessories. A property with a barbeque pit should provide some basic supplies for grilling and a property with a putting green (fairly common in Scottsdale) should provide putters. Making sure that your guests are able to enjoy each and every component of the property will ultimately lead to a better guest experience.

Start with the Basics

Airbnb has consistently issued lists of the best amenities for property owners to offer their guests. Starting with infrastructure basics such as wi-fi, cable, heating and air conditioning, and parking will help improve the guest experience. Furthermore, you’ll also want to make sure that your kitchen is well-stocked with whatever cooking essentials your guests might need, including coffee and tea, cookware and dishes, common food ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, etc.), and plenty of utensils. Don’t worry--your vacation property management team will ensure you always have exactly what you need.

Basic cleaning supplies—paper towels, disposable gloves, surface cleaner, hand sanitizer, etc.—will also be beneficial and help reduce your personal cleaning burden. Offering specialized items for guests, such as cribs and highchairs for parents, basic pet supplies for pet owners, and office amenities for people intending to work will help improve your rental property even further. In general, if there is any doubt whether a given item might be needed, you should err on the side of caution and offer it to your guests.

Listen to Feedback

While every vacation rental property owner loves to hear about all the things that they’re doing right, it is even more important for them to learn about the areas in which they can improve. The feedback from your clients, which might occasionally be rather unflattering, will be one of the most useful resources for changing your property for the better.

 In addition to listening to the feedback already being offered by your guests, it might also be a good idea to directly ask them if there is anything they’d like for their upcoming stay. By being upfront and demonstrating a willingness to help, your relationship can immediately start on a positive note. A simple, “These are the amenities currently offered at the rental property, is there anything else you might be needing?” sent a few days before their stay can really go a long way.

Offer a Local Guide

Part of being a good host is making sure the guests have everything in the property that they might want. But you’ll also want your guests to have an enjoyable time when they are away from the property, wherever that might be. Providing a detailed (and even hand-written) guide to the property and to the surrounding area will be extremely beneficial.

The guide should make it easy to navigate the neighborhood, including a map, a list of best restaurants, and a list of notable things to do and see in the area. So many vacation rental properties within the state of Arizona are also near incredible parks, hiking trails, and other places of outdoor beauty. Be sure to point out where these beautiful, often unknown, locations are relative to the property itself. Furthermore, when creating this guide, be sure to make it easy for your guests to contact you (or the property management team) in the event that might need anything.

Refresh Property Between Guests

To save money and time, be sure to stock the vacation home not just for the upcoming guest, but for several additional guests in the future. Basics like coffee, toiletries, and snacks can be purchased in bulk and kept directly on the property (which should have at least one “owners only” cabinet or storage area). Keeping these items on hand and in bulk will make it simple for the cleaning staff and quickly transition between guests. Furthermore, setting up fresh supplies for each round of guests to enjoy (as opposed to just giving them access to a bulk pile) will help offer a personal touch and increase cleanliness.

Conclusion - Hire a Vacation Rental Property Management Team

Ultimately, the best way to ensure that your vacation rental property is fully stocked and ready for guests is to hire a full service vacation rental management team. These teams are familiar with every element of the property management process, including identifying particular guest needs, responding to feedback and communications, transitioning between guests, and more.

 To succeed as a vacation property owner, you will need to begin by taking direct action to improve the guest experience. Once you are able to recognize the importance of keeping it “all about the guests'' and partner with a reliable management team, you’ll be able to achieve your long-term ownership goals.