2019 Amenities for Airbnb & Vrbo Hosts (amenities checklist included!)
Three types of amenities to get noticed
I want to share with you the amenities that you can provide to your guest to get you noticed in a crowded market, to make your rental a no-brainer choice, and most importantly, get those rave reviews!
First, a little background...
In this video, I covered the three categories of vacation rental amenities. These were my three E's of vacation rental amenities.
I broke this down by first covering the expected amenities. Expected amenities are the ones that, of course, your guest is expecting that you provide, your paper products, your kitchen gadgets, your soaps, etc.
Then, the second were your extra amenities. These were kind of the above and beyond amenities that you can provide to your guest that maybe your competitors weren't quite providing and help you get an edge on the competition.
The third category were the eye-catching amenities. These you may have less control over like the beautiful view, a great pool, or hot tub. These are the type of amenities that really catch people's attention in the feed and the pictures as they're browsing really quickly.
Here's the category you can leverage most...
Today, I want to dive much deeper into the 'Extra' category. The reason I want to cover this category a lot deeper is because you have so much control over this particular category.
It's typically a smaller investment, yet it can have a significant impact on your vacation rental success. When you take the time to thoughtfully enhance a few key areas, it can really help you get an edge on your competition by providing these types of amenities.
Extra #1: Technology
The extent of technology you incorporate into your vacation rental is going to differ a little bit depending on the type of guest you serve, but more and more guests are expecting a certain level of technology in their rental home.
A recent study by HomeAway said that 86% of Millennials said that they would pay more for a property outfitted with smart home technology, and 65% of boomers agree, so technology in your home is an important consideration.
You don't have to do everything to make your whole home a smart home, but you might want to pick and choose what is going to be important to your guest.
Some examples of this would be a Smart TV (and a big one at that!). Guests like their TVs, and they like being able to log into their Netflix accounts and watch their shows while they are on vacation. A Smart TV is definitely one that is becoming more commonplace for 2019 vacation rental amenities.
A few other technology considerations you may want to include in your vacation home:
Smart locks (we like Schlage)
High-speed Wifi
Extra #2: Comfort
Now, with this category you will want to keep your home's price point and your guest in mind with making these decisions, but think about the comfort of the guest with your bedding, sheets, towels, and then above and beyond items like providing robes and slippers.
For us, we had not ever invested very heavily in the bedding category until recently. I stayed in a bed and breakfast and was blown away by how comfortable the beds were...they were absolutely heavenly!
I was talking to the owner the next morning and I was just raving about the bedding. He explained that this was one of the most important aspects when they opened the B&B a few years prior and had done extensive research in this area. They used a company called InnStyle. If you are in the market for new bedding or towels, this is the place to go!
Side note: I ended up changing out all of our vacation rental sheets after that stay because the sheets were THAT good. This is not a sponsored post by them, I just really love the company! If you want to check them out, their customer care is excellent, and they can even set you up with a wholesaler account. Check them out if you're looking for new bedding!
Extra #3: Enhance
This is the area where you can help them enjoy what they came to do. I really believe this one is a game changer because you can go the extra mile and provide amenities for your guests that your competitors might not be providing.
Think about why they're coming to the area...what they're going to be doing? What you could do to help enhance that experience?
For example, if you have a beach house, then you could provide them with all those big items that make it easier to go to the beach like a wagon or cooler, or an umbrella. You guest would surely appreciate not having to pack all of these extra items!
For us, we noticed that a lot of our guests were coming to the lake, but they weren't actually getting out on the water.
They weren't bringing a boat, or they weren't renting a boat, so we provide a paddle boat and kayaks to help them enjoy the water. Then, we provide all of the life jackets too.
The takeaway here is to think about what you can provide to help your guests enjoy your area even more.
Conclusion:
Vacation rental amenities create an unbelievable opportunity to stand out in your market and the 'Extras' are an important area to focus on.
However, before you dive right into this category, let's make sure you have the 'Essentials' covered.
After all, if you have all that amazing beach gear but you're missing some standard amenities, you will still have some unhappy guests!
To help you cover all the bases, I've created a free amenities checklist that will walk through ALL of the categories you should provide, including the 'Essentials'.
Disclaimer: Heidi is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to www.amazon.com.
