5 Secret Weapons for your Short Term Rental
Having a Short Term Rental can be a lot of work - figuring out smarter ways of doing things can cut down on the hours you spend managing your property. Here are 5 secret weapons that I use to make it easier to manage my short-term rental.
Check out my entire collection of Airbnb Secret Weapons here.
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1. Label maker
A good label maker can help let your renters or cleaning crew know how to manage small tasks on their own, saving you a lot of phone calls or messages. Let your label maker micromanage for you! For example, use it in the kitchen to label where things go so your guests, and your cleaner, know where to put things away. This is helpful if you are trying to tell a guest where something is or if your cleaner is trying to put your kitchen back in order.
You can also use it to add special instructions to things around the house, such as:
Don’t unplug the router, WiFi booster, smart lock hub, etc
Leave bathroom fan on for 20 min after shower
Put highchair cover in laundry room at the end of your stay
This is also a great way to leave fun surprise notes for your guests to find as an added personal touch. However you decide to use it, don’t go overboard with the label maker - just use it as a communication tool. Try to keep your words friendly and helpful. I’ve stayed in a short term rental that had a note on EVERYTHING and it was incredibly off-putting.
2. Kitchen Brushes
Ditch the sponges and use kitchen brushes. Let's face it, sponges are nasty and you have to replace them with every guest or face a bad cleanliness review. That cost adds up and creates more work for your cleaner - getting kitchen brushes cuts down on one more “to do”. Make sure you have a backup under the sink for when they get worn out (which isn’t very often.) Best of all, you can throw them in the dishwasher if they are getting a little gross and they come out looking like new.
Avoid the ones with soap in the handle they get all sticky and the dispensers waste soap and don’t work well. And of course, avoid the ones that have a sponge on the end. You can also get a bottle brush to have available for baby bottles that also works great for wine glasses and other narrow openings. Just say no to sponges. Provide disinfecting wipes for the counters and other surfaces in place of sponges.
3. Water Mark Remover
This one only applies to people that have wood furniture in their homes. In our short term rental, we have a wooden kitchen table and wooden nightstands, and this product was actually recommended by a guest after they scorched our kitchen table (gee thanks). I was skeptical at first, but it worked like a charm.
Another preventive measure you can take is to provide trivets (don’t get fabric ones they burn and get nasty) and coasters. These are an easy option for your guests and will help to protect your valuable furniture.
4. Black Makeup Washcloths
This is the ONLY colored linen I recommend in your Airbnb - the rest should be white. This will save your towels from getting stained with makeup and you won’t have to buy makeup remover wipes for your guests to use. It’s environmentally friendly and gives you one less disposal item to restock.
5. Nightstand Charging Stations
Travelers today are plugging in tons of stuff, cell phones, computers, cameras, etc., and if they have a kid, forget it! Kids need more plugs than anyone. White noise machines, humidifiers, nightlights - the list goes on and on. If you don’t have enough easily accessible plugs people will move your furniture around to try to find more. That can lead to damaged floors, broken lamps, and dinged walls, not to mention how frustrating it is for your guests. Wall outlets are also surprisingly fragile and get a lot of wear and tear in a short term rental which can lead to broken faceplates and worse. Save everyone the hassle and get nightstand charging stations for your rental.
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