5 Things You Don’t Need in Your Airbnb
Today I’m sharing my hot takes on what you DON’T need in your Airbnb.
1. Amazon Alexa
If you have an Alexa in your own home and swear by it, I get how tempting it is to put one in your Airbnb. You're probably wondering how people function without one! Across my 8 listings, I only have an Alexa in one unit where the owner wanted one for when he uses the place himself. He has the Echo with a camera built in, and my cleaner has told me that she peels a sticky note or sticker off the camera after every 3 out of 5 guests, and most unplug it. Which tells me one thing. Most guests find it CREEPY AF. I'm sure there are plenty that do enjoy it, but I have never had anyone leave a bad review on my other places for NOT having one.
If it comes down to pleasing a few guests with this amenity, just to creep out a majority, I'll pass. I honor the request to keep it there for the one owner I manage for, but I'm absolutely not putting one in my own listings!
2. Air Mattresses
When I see an air mattress in an Airbnb, I just want to ask the host one thing. How many people do you want staying in your place?! Providing air mattresses just sends a message to your guests to bring over extra people and have them crash for the night.
Air mattresses are also a huge additional toll on your cleaning team. Most guests will not deflate it and put it back, and even if they do, your cleaners should unpack them to check for holes or damage. It's a ton of extra bedding and laundry, and who knows how much more of a mess you have overall after having extra people crash with the group.
3. Random Kitchen Appliances
You do not need to provide a food processor, waffle maker, panini press, pasta maker, juicer, etc. Most people on vacation are not looking to spend all this time in the kitchen. They are on vacation – they will probably eat out for the majority of meals! In addition to just taking up space, you'll find very quickly that these become virtually unusable unless you are willing to pay your cleaner extra.
Here's what I mean. The amount of little, teeny tiny, intricate parts involved with these appliances is so difficult to keep together. After just a couple guests using these, the parts will be spread throughout the whole kitchen and your guests will have to search every drawer and cabinet to put these back together. You can pay your cleaner for the extra time to take inventory of these and reassemble anytime they get used, but I'm telling you now, it's not worth it. Again, your guests are not there to juice or make waffles. Send them to your favorite local juice bar or breakfast diner instead! They are there to explore the area, not your kitchen drawers.
4. Keurig
Another one that I know is going to offend some of you! And if you are a Keurig fan do not let me stop you! But here are two reasons I am totally anti-Keurig for my own Airbnbs:
K Cups are so much more expensive than actual coffee. If you have 4 guests for 2 nights, that's 8 K Cups right there! I have a standard coffee maker and provide a mason jar filled with whole Starbucks beans I buy in bulk at Costco, and have a simple $15 coffee grinder out. I much prefer this to leaving ground coffee which can start to get stale pretty quickly, and I've actually gotten so many reviews from guests saying that they loved the experience of grinding fresh beans!
If you have a group of 4+ staying, how long will it take each person to get a cup made? I love that my guests can brew a large pot and all get served at the same time.
5. Streaming Service Subscriptions
Just have a Smart TV or Roku with access to the Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and Disney+ apps. You do not need to pay for these subscriptions. Guests will log you out and log into their own accounts, so they get their own recommendations and can pick up where they left off watching. And if a guest doesn't have those accounts, they aren't the kind of person that would want to stream content anyway. Save $100/month and don't worry about starting these subscriptions on your guest's behalf.
Is there anything you've discovered to be either useless, or just not worth the hassle in your Airbnb?! I'd love to hear it!
