What to splurge on and what to buy cheap?

[Suzanne302]

As a new host, I'm curious to know what you veteran hosts recommend putting money into in the very beginning, and what items you think can wait until you've made some extra cash? Or items that it's okay to go cheap on at the beginning (and perhaps upgrade down the road) without too much of a negative impact on guests/bookings?

i.e., I splurged on some really comfy sheets, but went cheap on a new bedspread. Not sure if that was wise or not, but as a guest I appreciate nice, soft sheets!

[Willow3]

I'm totally with the men here... make the bed the star.  I have the mother of all mattresses, with a topper and high quality linens (100% cotton percale and actual linen duvet cover).  Excellent pillows in a variety of firmnesses.  I've had three guests buy my entire set up after staying with me.  The furniture itself is all from an online discount service, or second hand.  

Quality doesn't necessarily mean a splurge though... I don't put anything in my guest room that I wouldn't use myself.  I like quality, I also like value.  I have Trader Joe's product in my bathroom - guests love it, and it's NOT expensive.  I offer nice tea and coffees - but I purchase them at a restaurant supply store, for very low prices.  

[Fred13]

Pack of wolves indeed, with @Sarah977 leading the pack.  

/off to island, conversion day. Good day to all.

[Daniel1992]

A dead thread comingback to life.  I love it.

When I started doing this (and you'll see I'm newer to this than you!), I though to myself, what do I look for most when I'm staying somewhere?  My list was short:

- Cleanliness of the place.

- Comfortable night's sleep.

This essentially made my list short.  I already had quality patterned sheets for that room (and their blue to hide any stains that may occur), and the mattress and boxspring are relatively new, so I didn't have to buy those, so this just left cleanliness.  I immediately upgraded my vacuum cleaner (a Shark -- highly recommended) as well as always making sure I have plenty of cleaning products on hand.  The only thing I would splurge on here is the vacuum. 

[Sandra126]

Yes! VACUUM CLEANER! I have two Dysons, a little portable for the garden room (no power out there) and a normal one for the house. Very expensive, but worth every cent over and over. I have another one at home, it had an engine replacement after ten hard years of working in my studio. Buy bagless, buy quality, buy once.

[Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0]

I really like the sheets from Sam's Club (Hotel Premier Collection 650-Thread-Count Egyptian Cotton Sheet Set by Member's Mark) they are $69 for queen size, but several time a year they have them on sale for $49

[Jenni7]

I second this. I've been hosting for over 2 years with the same sets of these sheets from Sam's.  I have white and bleach the crap out of them every time and they still look brand new.  I even had stains that made it all the way through the dryer before I saw them and was able to scrub them out with spray and wash, a toothbrush, and elbow grease.

[Ned-And-Laura0]

Comfortable bed is a good choice. You will get a lot more 5 Star reviews if they have a good night sleep. Also nice big soft towels that match, they really aren't that expensive, target has them on sale all the time. And put some cheap little washcloths/ hand towels near the sink so people don't use the good towels to wash makeup off their face.

[Mel126]

As a newbie (yesterday I hosted my first ever guest!  He leaves tomorrow so I’ll soon find out how I did) I too thought about all the things I like when I travel. Good linen is a must. However, I’m yet to find out if forking out on 800 thread count was foolish or not. I got them online for a relatively good price which would have been prohibitive if I’d bought them from a store. I had to get two sets of everything. My place is aimed at being at the high end of the market but after spending on the renovations which cost a fortune, I had to spend wisely on the furnishings. We’d sold our French property and used some of the money on the build, so I had to be clever in mixing some of my French Antique finds with modern furnishings from places such as Ikea to keep costs down. I also got some bargain blackout curtains online that look amazing. It’s all about spending hours scouring the internet for great bargains. Ebay is fantastic. The one thing everyone comments on is the hardware on the doors. Good handles and bathroom accessories such as toilet roll holders etc make a difference if they are good quality. Kitchen ware is great from Ikea or discount stores. Can’t go wrong with plain white crockery

[Lynnie1]

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@Mel126 wrote:

" ...  It’s all about spending hours scouring the internet for great bargains."

I love bargain hunting.

" Kitchen ware is great from Ikea or discount stores. Can’t go wrong with plain white crockery."

Did you get the .50cent IKEA ones? I like those.  I got two of the square plates boxes from IKEA and the colors mix and match, so if more of a certain color break, it's OK to substitute with the second color as they are already mixed up. 

[Emily487]

@Suzanne302

Splurges for the Guests:

-Extra phone chargers with cute "covers" that indicate that they are clearly yours

-Dhom white noise machines for the bedrooms

Splurges for you as Host:

-Assuming you do all your own laundry, I would splurge on a Speed Queen washing machine for yourself. It's the only one I could find that still fills all the way to the top and doesn't lock the lid when you want to add more items. I can get three beds and a pile of towels done in two loads. And it's made in the US so that assuages any guilt for using a non-water saver wahing machine. 

[Suzanne302]

@Emily487Thanks! I wrote this way back when I hadn't even hosted my first guests and have learned so much since then.

After a guest brought their noise machine for their baby I had considered buying one because it seemed like a great way to give a little more privacy.

[Heather32]

Yes, good sheets and towels are important, however...the one item I find most important is the bed! Your MOST important item! Make sure it is comfortable AND durable and never ever cut corners on this one!

[Mark116]

I think a few statement pieces of furniture and some nice wall art is as important as sheets and towels, because as soon as they walk in, they will be making an initial judgement of the place.  If they like the feel of it they will have a better attitude overall.

When we started we got super cheap sheets from Target, we later upgraded to 100% cotten but got them at discounts, same for towels, we use Ralph Lauren but started w/ikeas cheapest line, which is very, very hardy, more hardy than the more expensive stuff.

We also provide high end toiletries that we get at Marshalls, super large size so no one wants to take them.

We have everything in grey, grey towels and grey bedroom and use colored or patterned sheets, a lot of pepole have great lukc wtih white but we have bad luck with it so only have a couple of white sheets.

[Lynnie1]

Mark: I also had IKEA sheets (not the best ones, but second best) They are a pain to iron. I also have one of the top ones and it is easier to iron. They do wear well, though. They are being shifted to our campsites now. IKEA's cheapest sheets are 1/6 the price of those "disposable" ones being sold. Could be good to have in a pinch. 
I also have grey – grey fitted sheets, grey towels to go with multi-colored striped ones. The problem with all the grey is it makes the dust in the place darker! (white toilet seats show it) 8-D

[Teresa616]

Thank you so much!