What amenities do guests like the most?

[Alex12990]

My wife and I provide a well stocked kitchen with K-Cup coffee and tea, as well as sugar and cream. There are a few magazines in the living room (Nat Geo and Cat life) and everything else is pretty standard. We have a nice patio with patio furniture with a gas powered firepit/table. 

I'm what amenities are the most appreciated and if there are things guests really don't care about? 

For example, someone was asking if we have an outdoor hot-tub. We considered getting one, but it hardly seems worth the trouble considering the cost and the maintenance, but I could be wrong...

[Karen114]

@Alex12990  Great question as everyone's mileage will vary depending upon who  your avatar guest is. 

We don't have any amenities such as hot tub, pool, grills, bicycles,  I am risk averse.   We do offer a free beach pass to state park beach that is very close by and that is well received. It's our location that brings in the guests as it's a great seaside town on the gulf coast of Florida.  

We get a lot of compliments on our mattresses, they are just memory foam that I get on Wayfair or Zinus. I get the med-firm. We do get  a lot of compliments on our linens which is kind of funny to me as I buy them in bulk on Amazon 😂

Guests always mention how clean the space is.  We do supply cleaning supplies for their use as well as vacuum, mop and broom as we accept dogs. 

Most appreciate our digital guest guide and rapid response to any questions. 

King beds and large 65" Smart TVs are a fave.  

We don't supply coffee and tea however do supply a nice coffee maker with filters.  If I lived close by I would consider more offerings of goodies and different coffees and teas but don't want to task my cleaners with refurbishing those items.  I let them concentrate on the really clean aspect of the accommodation.

My avatar guest is middle aged, in town to visit family, looking for real estate, snow birding or short getaway.  Once you nail down who your avatar guest is, it will become clear as to what things are important to them.  

[Zheng49]

I feel like it’s the fast wifi here.

i sometimes get people that come here just to use our wifi; usually to take a test.

[Thomas3789]

@Alex12990 this is a great question. This is a tough question because there are some general recommendations for amenities. However, your local context is also very important.

General recommendations:

1. King bed
2. Full kitchen
3. Coffee/Keurig
4. Outdoor area
5. Pets allowed

I would argue that the MOST important amenities are determined by comparing against your competition in the area. If someone is coming to the area, you want to see how you can provide or exceed your competition. The goal is to maximize your listing's ability to be seen. My recommendation would be to go on Airbnb and search your local area for similar sized units. Take account of their amenities and pricing. That should determine whether or not you add things like a hot tub.

[Andrea6232]

Ciao @Alex12990 ,

I do have a hot tub in Venice! And I must say that my guests (mostly from US) appreciate it a lot. Initially it was quite complicated to maintain, but once you get the hang of it it is not that difficult 😉 In essence I can definitely tell you that it was money well spent.

Andrea

[Helen3]

It really depends on the type of listing and which guests you see as your target market . @Alex12990 

For example  families with younger children will look for different amenities then rambler or cyclists .

[Paula]

Hi @Alex12990,  This is a great question! I'm really glad to see the insights shared by our experienced hosts—it seems like a lot depends on the type of guests you typically welcome.

Have you had a chance to read through the opinions shared by our hosts? We'd love to hear your thoughts as well! 😊

Best regards,

[Maxime586]

We rent a house for 6-8 guests in the south of France, stocked kitchen as well, Queen beds, ikea's high end firm mattresses house linen, bed sheets, books and magazine large plasma smart tv, the house is decorated with a nice art collection.

We also have a heated swimming pool and decided to add a hot tub a couple years ago.

I can confirm Alex  we find the hot tub isn't worth the trouble, guests do love it and think it's a great value but it is pretty expensive to run end maintain and we definitely do not recoupe the added cost so not such a good value  from the our point of view.

I saw some places were charging extra for hot tub usage, I don't know if it's just me but find this a little  awkward maybe tacky even. 

I'm curious to hear what everybody's thoughts on the per consomption charge items? yay or nay?

[ManiKu0]

I can feel my hosting experience that they like a WorkStation so, they can work remotely, they loved a small computer table and a chair.

[Oluchukwu-Marcellina0]

I feel they love  free parking, coffee maker and pool

[Yolanda596]

Hi @Alex12990 , I have implemented several things that I would like to see during my travels.  These are simple and low cost. But, most importantly, have I asked my guests what they like the most and what they dodn’t? Answer is no! Unless we ask, we won’t know. We don’t have pool, hot tub or fire pit. The kitchen is stocked, a simple welcome basket, bottled water and coconut water in the fridge. Our guests fly in to a nearby airport but arrivals are late at night. So I provide what I myself would like after a long travel, such as the contents of the welcome basket. If there are children, I provide a sea animal toy (we are at the beach) so parents can focus on setting in while kids play. 

To summarize, let’s start asking our guests!

[Not-Listed0]

I had to look up the definition for amenity. I am given the definition of, ''...something considered to benefit a location, contribute to its enjoyment, and thereby increase its value''. As the subject in this case is the client you are hosting, the determination of what they constitute as increased value must be taken into consideration. If you are the type of person who is good with statistical analysis, it may present itself as a boon.

Typical factors that might be focused on would be geographical ties that imbue characteristics to the demographics. Like which arts are fancied etc.