What do I put in my Airbnb?

I work with new hosts every single day with Airbnb as a Superhost Ambassador, and I always offer to send new hosts my suggestions for stocking their space. But few take me up on it, perhaps because we often work under the assumption that what we live with is good enough for everyone else.

And it may be, especially if you grew up in Emily Post’s family. But for most of us, stocking a space is a process that should nudge us to think beyond our own preferences— it’s an act of imagination.

Who do you think your ideal guests are? Or who are they going to be? What would they find attractive? How can you help improve their experience? How can you surprise and delight them?

It’s fine to make it simple, but with a little thought, you can make your space shine and save money at the same time-- (and in my experience, every investment I have made in my space quickly paid for itself, and more amenities can lead to longer stays.)

Board games and puzzles are an easy upgrade for your short term rental.

I pick them up at charity and thrift shops, and rotate in games my family tires of.

Some Useful Lists

Here's my prep list I share with my mentees. I’ll make it into a pretty PDF soon, but you should download it now while you are thinking about it! It’s invaluable.

Airbnb has a good resources about things to stock on this list.

And here's their article about the most popular amenities guests want.

The amenities section of your listing is a great place to pull ideas. Review the list of amenities within your listing to see what you can easily add.

I've also been working on my own list of some specific suggestions here that help support the blog when you purchase form the list: https://benable.com/HostWithElise

Plan Ahead

3 sets of towels, 3 sets of sheets per bed. Buy extra pillowcases, and make it easy to sort out sheets to each bed. Future you will thank you. Your cleaner should also require this. (California Design Den labels their sheets with sizes and the head/foot end. For this reason alone they have earned the loyalty of many hosts.)

Plan on replacing washcloths and bathmats often—they get beat up quickly. I keep a stash around. Dark towels seem to last longer, because they don't show stains.

I make sure to give folks a new sponge, have extra paper towels under the sink, and have small dishes by the bed for rings.

I really appreciate hosts who leave me cotton balls, cotton pads, and q-tips, too! A bottle of sunscreen and a can of bug spray in the summer are no-brainers.

I leave charcoal for the grill in a small covered can, fresh flowers on the table, and eggs and yogurt in the fridge.

I also leave folks a bag of homemade granola and some shortbread, and herbal teas I grow in my garden.

I keep a basket with bathroom essentials in each bathroom, include feminine products, mini-emery boards, cute band-aids, floss-sticks, and a few face masks. Bamboo toothbrushes are cheap and individually wrapped. Small toothpaste tubes are charming, a sewing kit is much appreciated, and hand cream is almost required in the winter. Bath salts are nice by a tub, along with a candle and matches. I also make our soap, but I’m extra.

But I added this stuff bit by bit-- I didn't start off doing everything! I try to stock the place like my best friend is coming to visit, and I want her to feel loved.

My bathroom baskets evolved as I responded to our guests’ needs, and as I found products i felt good about sharing.

Help your community

You might consider how to use your space to promote local businesses and artists-- not only does this add value to your listing by making it feel special, your Airbnb can be a real force of good for your community! I give my guests a bag of local coffee, and local baked goods. As an artist, I keep my space full of my paintings, and I make pottery for my guests to use, but if you don't do that, local artists love selling, and some may be happy to lend work to hang on your walls in exchange for publicity & possible future sales.

Plan for Cleaning and Chemical Sensitivities

Planning a cleaning strategy for your rental deserves its own post, but I can’t write about stocking a space without mentioning Charlie's Soap Detergent—it's a wonderful product that gets stains out of linen, washes away completely, and eliminates the need for fabric softener. When I travel, I look for listings that don't use fragranced detergent, which can ruin my sleep, and I let me guests know that I use unfragranced, sulfate & paraben-free products, like Charlie's Soap. A lot of people mention this when they book!

Stock the Bathrooms

I also get rave reviews for our shampoo and conditioner from Puracy. It's a Texas-based company that uses natural ingredients and creates generous refills that are affordable & good for the environment and people. So many of my guests now use these at home-- they especially love the shampoo. (I bought refillable glass bottles online that I use for shampoo, conditioner, and soaps). I often buy their dish soap and handsoap too, just to keep it simple for myself, but I also love Cleancult’s soaps because they’re packaged in cardboard— less plastic is good.

I also evangelize about WGAC toilet paper-- this Australian company individually wraps rolls in cute paper (no plastic, which guests love) and 50% of their profits go to build toilets in Africa, and they employ artists to design special editions. Each roll explains this, so your guests feel virtuous! They make good tissue and paper towels, too.

Model Stewardship

As you can tell from my previous two recommendations, I’m a green girl. But prioritizing environmental sustainability is also good business. Not only do guests comment on our choices all the time, I have also noticed that they use fewer disposables when they are aware that we are making environmentally sensitive choices. For example, WGAC toilet paper is more expensive than paper form the grocery store, but my guests use so much less of it— because the packaging keeps stewardship in their mind— that I have ended up saving money!

Finally, I do recommend providing designated space for recycling, and to try to avoid single-use plastic in your space.

Cloth dishtowels and cloth napkins are great to keep around. Swedish Dish-clothes are washable and recyclable. Quality dish-brushes are available, and you can buy sponges made from recycled or natural products. Not only does this make the listing feel more thoughtful & upscale, it can be a revelation for guests, and it can change how they buy.

I hope this sparks some ideas for you! Stocking a space is one of my very favorite parts of setting up a listing because its an opportunity to shar ewhat I love with guests, and to think about how I can enhance their experience. Thoughtfulness goes a LONG way.

If you’re looking for even more ways to host with intention, consider booking time with me so we can talk about how I can help make your hosting journey smooth, meaningful, and profitable. Sweating the details is what I do best!