The Vacation Rental Key with T and T

Episode 10 - Secrets to Vacation Rental Amenities That Wow Guests

• Tim • Season 1 • Episode 10

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Ever wondered what amenities truly make a difference in vacation rentals? Tim Cafferty and Tiffany Edwards dive deep into the evolving landscape of guest expectations and how successful property managers are responding.

The days of "bring your own TV" are long gone. Today's vacation rental guests expect a streamlined, hotel-like experience with the comforts of home. Smart TVs with streaming capabilities, reliable high-speed Wi-Fi, and quality linens are no longer luxuries – they're baseline requirements. Tim and Tiffany explore how successful property managers are standardizing these essentials while finding ways to stand out in competitive markets.

Kitchen provisions reveal a critical advantage vacation rentals hold over traditional accommodations. Guests value the ability to prepare meals, but expectations have grown beyond basic cookware. From coffee makers and filters to storage containers and starter supplies, the podcast explores how thoughtful kitchen setups translate directly to guest satisfaction. They share practical advice on inventory management, cost control, and creating consistent experiences across multiple properties.

Beyond the basics, premium amenities create memorable stays that drive repeat bookings. Welcome packages with local wine and charcuterie boards, personalized greeting services, beach chair setups, and mid-stay cleanings can transform a good stay into an extraordinary one. The hosts share strategies for determining which premium touches make sense for your market and how to implement them without breaking your budget or overwhelming your operations.

Whether you're managing a single property or hundreds, this episode offers practical insights to elevate your guest experience while maintaining operational efficiency. Listen now and discover how the right amenity strategy can increase your bookings, drive better reviews, and create loyal "whale" guests who return year after year.

Speaker 1:

You're listening to the Vacation Rental Key with T&T, the podcast for vacation rental managers by vacation rental managers. I'm Tim Cafferty and I manage two companies, one in Virginia and one in North Carolina. I'm one of the two T's.

Speaker 2:

And I'm the other, T Tiffany Edwards, born and raised in the vacation rental business. I help manage our family businesses from Key West all the way to Kauai.

Speaker 1:

In the next 30 minutes, we're going to give you our keys to success in the vacation rental business.

Speaker 2:

Welcome back everyone. Or, if it's your first time, buckle up, because this is sure to be one of my favorite episodes.

Speaker 1:

Oh, they're all your favorite. I think it's like children they can't choose one, but I think the folks are going to get a lot out of this one. And, speaking of first time, we are trending with our podcast, tiffany. I'm so pleased to look at the statistics and see that 85% of our listeners are from the United States, but we have people in Mexico, france, thailand, the Netherlands, australia, germany, canada, italy, the United Kingdom. People are listening to us all over the world. Our most popular city is Park City, utah. Of all places, do you have relatives there? Somebody's listening to us out there, so we thank you for listening. And then, on the other end of the scale, thank you whoever you are in Madrid. We have a listener in Madrid, we have a listener in El Dorado Hills, california, and we have a listener in Falkirk, scotland, listening to us as well. So welcome back or welcome to the show, depending on what fits your needs.

Speaker 2:

Tim, we need to spend a little bit more time about thinking about taking this onto the road to maybe see Madrid and Scotland and El Dorado, so I'm in complete support of that as well.

Speaker 1:

We're trending in Asia, so you might want to increase that budget. We were talking about the budget last time and we really are kind of going down a rabbit hole. We talk about budget and preparing for the season and what your expenses are, and I think you're going to find this episode very helpful, as we discuss basic amenities and upgraded amenities in your property. And how do you do that, tiffany? Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2:

And it's so important too. I think that one of the themes that we continue to talk about episode after episode is how much we have evolved as an industry, and amenities are definitely part of that. I think amenities in general and the experience and what those amenities provide for the experience are so important, not only to what a basic level of care and hospitality, but also what speaks to your branding and what you provide for your guests, and so there are a couple things that we would love to address, and I think we want to break them down in two different categories One, what are your basic amenities and we'll elaborate a little bit more on that and then, two, what are those upgraded amenities that provide you or delineate you from the rest of the marketplace.

Speaker 1:

It's fantastic. So what must you provide for the guest experience? I've seen a lot of change in this industry. As you were talking about amenities, I remember when my parents started the firm back in the 60s. We didn't have TVs, we had cable TV hookup bring your own. No air conditioning either. We had cable TV hookup bring your own no air conditioning either. But times have changed. People expect more of a hotel experience now when they come into the property, don't you think?

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and I think that even goes further to what they expect. That's in the property, but also the way that it looks and how those amenities are laid out are really important. So if you're not providing, at a basic level, the same type of items that you would find at a hotel, you need to review. And that really goes a little bit deeper into how would you personally pack for a trip. Are you going to bring a hairdryer with you? Most likely not. Are you going to bring additional coffee with you? No, you need to have the coffee pot there.

Speaker 2:

Those are obviously very basic amenities, but things that are important. We've also seen some robes in places because people are expecting that from the hotel aspect. But one thing that is, to me, a non-negotiable in all of our properties is having a smart TV. So many of our guests and people throughout the country and throughout the world for those who are listening are moving away from cable and moving into streaming devices, and the ability to go into any room and any TV and log into your account to continue to watch whatever you are watching on your flight or your drive in is extremely important.

Speaker 1:

Yep, and you can rewind a few episodes to revisit my experience when I rented a property close to where Tiffany lives. Close to where Tiffany lives. Make sure you have instructions on how to operate the TV, because you don't want them to be having their mind in a pretzel trying to figure out how to get the thing on there. But irons, I think, are as well a basic amenity. And then you better have great Wi-Fi, not only for the streaming devices but for the average of four devices that every person brings with them. Now that needs Wi-Fi access.

Speaker 1:

I'm not sure it's on here yet, but when you are talking as a vacation rental manager, owner of company, whatever your role is, do you have standards, asking you, tiffany, and those out there in the listening world of what that basic amenity should look like? For instance, do you have a drip coffee maker and a Keurig? What type of iron? What type of blender? And then, as a nod to Ben in our last episode on budgeting, do you have a supply of these items on hand or do you put yourself where you're, at the mercy of the local Walmart, whatever they're carrying today?

Speaker 1:

This has been a big eye-opener for us in the last year. We looked at the top items we replaced. How many of those items did we replace? Back to our budgeting episode once again, and then we stocked those items ourselves, so we didn't have to make those trips to the Walmart and we had a consistency in all of our properties of. This is the type of drip coffee maker, this is the type of single cup coffee maker we make and we have it on hand and the owner knows what the cost is going to be if and when those kinds of things need to be replaced. How about that?

Speaker 2:

That's so important. And I'll tell you for us specifically, we have depots and we streamline and we have those early conversations with our owners. You may like a specific coffee maker, but that's not what we're utilizing for our guests and we're happy to put a task in breezeway from before you come, so we know that our inspector or our housekeeper has to set out that special coffee maker for you on your trip, but that's not what we're doing for all of our guests. And even more so, as you dive into these items, are you providing coffee filters, are you providing the Keurig pods, and how many? And they all need to be consistent. And I'll say one of the other things that we do is batteries. Batteries always go out in remotes. We have batteries and then we also have some type of structure with our owners, so there's some type of fee that covers overall you know, light bulbs, batteries and that, so we have those on hand and available in our depot and can quickly bring them out to a property if needed.

Speaker 1:

So, picking up from there, I think there's a real decision that you have to make as an innkeeper about those kitchen items, particularly the starter packs, the toilet paper, the trash bags. There's never enough of those Paper towels, whatever it is. What are you going to provide? Again, as Tiffany just said, what's going to differentiate you and what you provide? And then how is that going to be paid for? Are you going to build it into your budget to absorb as being a great innkeeper, or are you going to pass it along to the guest in some manner a fee structure or does the owner pay for that? These are important considerations to make.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and it really depends on your marketplace as well. I'd really look at what your competition does, because when you're out there trying to find owners or fighting against bringing some on, what does that onboarding cost look like? How are you distributing some of these costs? And then, how much frequency are you charging for these? So really understanding that aspect.

Speaker 2:

But I also want to touch on too, tim, because this goes hand in hand you need to over communicate with your guests how much toilet paper they're going to be getting. Is you need to over communicate with your guests how much toilet paper they're going to be getting? Is it truly a starter pack with your dish soap? Are you just providing small shampoos and conditioners? You need to really communicate that, that this is just a starter pack, or, if there's additional toilet paper, making sure that they know that as well. And even going further back to your Wi-Fi, tim, and to the TV, you need to have several touch points of. Here's the Wi-Fi instructions, right, so we have a text where we send it to them. They get it in their check-in packets. There's papers all over the house with that Wi-Fi information, and then the same thing with the TVs having that out, but we also leave our TVs on when people come in and we have some type of seasonal image or music playing, so all the TVs are on before they even enter the home.

Speaker 1:

That's fantastic. To that end, communicating with your guests directly is important. On your website is very important to communicate that stuff, but don't forget your third-party providers as well. I have shared before that I review all of the guest reviews. I have been dinged by Verbo guests this year because we didn't do a good job on that platform of making sure those people knew what our standard was. There was assumptions made, we had maybe the FAQs or something, but nobody reads down there. So we had a whole strategy session about how can we make sure these guests understand what's going to be there for them when they arrive Really important, and don't overlook those third parties, because your message doesn't always seep through the way you think it does.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and every year I feel like we trend. So one year it's one item that they expect a lot of. This year it's trash bags. I've heard more comments back about why I don't have more trash bags available to me.

Speaker 1:

How about in the kitchen? Do you expect like storage containers as well? Is that something that's a standard now?

Speaker 2:

Yes, so we are actually very robust on our list for all of the kitchen amenities. We want a guest to walk in and not have to think about anything that they may need, and one of the ideas of going back to how would you pack and how would you want to experience Something that is different for vacation rentals as opposed to hotels is you have the ability to come in and cook and make a meal, and we want to encourage that. So you need items from start to finish, and one of the biggest things for all of our properties is having storage containers Now letting the owners know these are continued items that we're going to have to replenish. They tend to get lost or people take them with them. It's going to happen, but that to me, it may be not a basic amenity to others. To me, that is a basic amenity as a part of the guest experience.

Speaker 1:

Excellent. Another basic amenity that I think some would be surprised is not basic everywhere. How about the provision of linens as an amenity? What is your standard? I am in a market where, quite frankly, we still have some of our competition that does not provide sheets and towels when you check in, and nothing says vacation more than the guests arriving and having to rent linens and make the beds themselves. Right, oh yeah, oh, my God.

Speaker 2:

And some people who are listening are thinking you know, oh, my goodness, that's so archaic. Okay, but how many blankets are you providing? How many extra pillows are you providing? Are you putting in additional towels and blankets and comforters within the closets for these guests? So those are basic amenities, but it's above and beyond, again, thinking about that guest experience and providing it for them.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we've actually moved to a new program it's oh gosh, in our third year now where we have what we call blue standard bedding on our properties, where every bed looks the same. It looks as though you're walking into a hotel room back to our initial discussion where the white coverlet, two lumbar pillows, a little skirt at the end of the bed and how do you put the towels out? Are they shrink-wrapped in some plastic so people feel comfortable that they've never been touched? Or maybe roll them or put them in some shape of an animal on the end of the bed? Whatever it is, just make sure you're executing on that and whatever your expectation is is being met by your guests.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we're really consistent no animals for us, but when we do. Like a fan of a paper towel, I will also say that for my mom's business that was. One of the greatest things of COVID is that she moved all of her bedding into white bedding and that logistically has helped so much, not only from a financial aspect, but it helps from just an image aspect, from keeping it consistent in what you experience from a hotel of cleanliness and it's. We can get additional items there. We know what our costs are, we can budget accordingly. So that is a nice opportunity if it presents itself Now. On the opposite side, in California, we have as many blankets and linens and decorative pillows, so it's a different way to measure and a little bit more time consuming.

Speaker 1:

I just had flashbacks about when the owners were providing their own comforters and so on, and one would get lost Right the expense we've saved on reimbursing for comforters. Because you know, it's ironic, tiffany, I don't know if you've experienced this when an owner loses a comforter, it's never one of those comforters bought at Walmart for $29.95. It's always a Laura Ashley limited edition $585. It's amazing how that happens.

Speaker 2:

We used to do really well when we had a Steinmart. They've all closed, but we could go back to Steinmart and get some well-priced ones for like a Laura Ashley. But I don't want to brag, but back in the day when we would have Saturday turns and everyone checked in and checked out on a Saturday in the morning, I would go ahead with the earlier crew and I would strip all of the beds and take all of the sheets and take the comforters as needed, and so, living through that of making sure we had everything laundered and brought back timely and those specialty items, I started to learn what owners cared about what comforters and I'm jealous now that I'm not doing that anymore because it'd be so much easier.

Speaker 1:

How many remote controls did you find when you got back to the laundry? Yeah, anything else on the basic amenities you think we need to cover.

Speaker 2:

I think those are all pretty high level. Again, the key is what would your guests and what would you pack on a similar trip? What are some basic things available in the property, but how can you make sure that those are consistent through all of your properties to help with logistics and costs?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's kind of a theme of our podcast, isn't it? Consistency. So let's talk about inconsistencies now. Maybe some upgraded items, some things that will be nice, pleasant surprises that elevate the experience and set you apart from the competition that you were talking about earlier and maybe provide a higher return on your investment. Give us some examples of some amenity programs that you're aware of that would do this.

Speaker 2:

I will shout out to our company in California because they are unbelievable on servicing these high-end amenities. There's laundry detergent everywhere. There's the makeup remover wipes, there are full bottles of shampoo and conditioner that's filled to the brim for every single bathroom. There's a fresh orchid in every room. There are umbrellas by the front door. It's incredible what that team is able to do, and one of the ways that they're able to deliver on that one is through their bulk purchasing. But they've set up their system logistically where they require a closet. So instead of having an owner's closet, there's a storage closet or there's some type of storage shelving system that is locked within the garage if possible and that has all of the items to refill everything. So it's a completely different structure than some of our other businesses, but it is something that is long time required for that marketplace. So it sets us apart in terms of what all we can provide in a higher end amenity. But our guests receive something similar in the marketplace there.

Speaker 1:

Weren't you telling me something about welcome items as well, like wine and charcuterie and things like that?

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 1:

That level as well.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so that's one of the branding aspects that the business does out there is because it's in Monterey County. We have access to some wineries out there and have been able to build up relationships and purchasing of wine at a very low cost. So we take on that cost and we're able to greet every guest with a bottle of wine and then have a small charcuterie board that is placed out for them upon their arrival.

Speaker 1:

What a great treat. When you get there, you got the munchies, you don't have to run out to the grocery store. I applaud you for that. But I hear people scoffing. I hear you out there in Madrid scoffing at this. Maybe you could just do it for special guests.

Speaker 1:

Do you know who your special guests are? We can have a whole episode on that as well. We call them whales here as a play on what they talk about in Las Vegas the big bettors that come in and they special rooms for them and they bet a certain amount or whatever. Do you know how much that particular guest has spent with you over the course of their lifetime with you? And I think you'll be surprised when you see some of the names and go, wow, I just had a guest stay in one of my properties. It was their 15th visit to the house. I've got to do something special for this person so you can implement some of these things on a one-off if you need to as well. And that person was very thankful for being recognized, so keep that in mind as well.

Speaker 2:

I like that of the idea of the whales. It's also a great opportunity to train your res agents to ask are you celebrating anything special? And making a note of that within the system and figuring out logistics on your team of how and what you put into those rooms Maybe it's not a bottle of wine for everyone, but it's a bottle of wine for an anniversary and making sure that you have that available. The other thing that's a very easy thing for you to do handwritten. Thank you note. Welcome note. I know I love that when I go into a hotel or go into a new accommodation and that's an upgrade, a little amenity.

Speaker 1:

As opposed to the text message the day after you arrive saying we're going to miss you. Really. You didn't even know I was here, but I digress. One other thing that you could do and that we've implemented here is maybe some pool towels. Do you have a pool towel program? If you're at the beach particularly that's the time of year people are coming to the beach we have a rental pool towel program and we've had some of our owners buy into that and so literally when the guests arrive, here are 16 complimentary pool towels brought to you compliments of the property owner. What a nice touch that's been. People really love that. They don't have to go to the wings or sunsations or whatever the store is in your area and buy the cheap $7 towels. You can even brand the towels with your logo on it and they know where they're staying. Another good idea on raising the bar.

Speaker 2:

I love that. We just started that in one of our companies and what we did is any of our properties that produce X amount, have so many bedrooms and then have a pool on site. We've just kind of highlighted for those homes and stay tuned, we'll see. We're continuing to review what our linen loss is and what our guest experience is there.

Speaker 1:

I think you're going to be very pleased when you tell the numbers at the end.

Speaker 2:

So that's, a great idea.

Speaker 1:

Another one you might consider, again beach centric. How about a beach chair set up? You could include it in the daily rate. Have some service come and set the beach up for the people. What a nice welcome for those folks.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think those are so great. Really thinking through again, how do you create a greater guest experience without any of the concern, logistics and organization for the guests? So showing up and just something already being taken care of for you?

Speaker 1:

Another thing you might think is how about a mid-stay clean? Whether it's complimentary or cost, it's another way to show the guest you're special. We want to make sure this is going to be a stress-free time. Have you done something like that?

Speaker 2:

Oh yes, absolutely, Especially if we have those longer stays. So, depending on what that time frame is, we provide the mid stay clean as a part of your reservation, and then we haven't done this quite as well. But I know some other companies that have been really great at providing a recreation activity amenity. So, having something that's built in, we usually use that as more of a value add. So, instead of lowering our ADR, we'll add in some recreational activities as a part of your reservation. So they're a little bit more targeted, but it's not something that we necessarily offer every single reservation. How about you, tim?

Speaker 1:

We partnered with a company a few years ago that provides a certain amount of credit towards gear recreational. Otherwise, you can rent a kayak, you can rent umbrellas, you can rent bikes. It also relieves me of the liability of those people getting in an accident, and, god forbid, something happened to somebody on that. But it's there, branded with my logo, sitting there waiting for them when they arrive, and it is air quotes free. It's simply added into the rate and so it's a win-win for everybody.

Speaker 2:

That's great, and I can guess that it's probably something that differentiates you from the marketplace.

Speaker 1:

I hope so. That was the idea anyway.

Speaker 2:

Are those pretty much all of your upgraded amenities? Can you think of any other to maybe hit on?

Speaker 1:

Again back to the whales and the top performing properties.

Speaker 1:

We have designated certain people to greet guests on arrival, which has been unbelievably well responded to by our guests. When, in one case, it's my general manager at this one house, she's always there to greet them, welcome them back or welcome them to the property. Let me show you a few things about the house. So glad you made it here from Ohio safely and just want to make sure you have any questions. That is just such a personal touch. Those people will never forget who they rented from.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, let me show you how to turn the TV on.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, please, I could have used that guy.

Speaker 2:

That's so good. Yeah, and you know, from a regulatory perspective, I'm seeing more and more locations require that. So if you're already starting to do that and it's welcoming and a part of your check-in experience you're already ahead of game.

Speaker 1:

Let's talk about handling logistics on all this stuff. We've talked about all these great ideas. We need some way to organize it, have you? Well, you told us, I guess already, about the owner closet. That's a great idea Some area in the house that we know where to go to for those things. What other ideas do you have in terms of managing the logistics of putting these things in place?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so I probably sound like a broken record, but we utilize Breezeway for all of the tasks associated. So Breezeway is a software company and we are able to put in all of the tasks and assign them to people to make sure that these amenities, if they are one-off, if they're an upgraded amenity, to make sure that those are in place, some of the other ones, we do beach chair setups as well and we work with specific vendors. We send occupancy reports weekly. We have someone designated to watch that as well, so if a new reservation comes in they have to alert that individual and then prepare any type of notification card that our guests would have to utilize for any of these programs that are not in-house but maybe offsite.

Speaker 1:

That is a powerful platform that Breezeway and they keep improving it every day. Now they're introducing some AI functions which are fantastic, and so we're not sponsored or monetarily driven by that. We just know that it works really well. The other thing I would say is making sure this is a tip of the hat to Mr Ben Edwards in our last episode making sure you're reviewing those costs. How are you going to charge for these services? Are you going to put it in the rent? Are you going to absorb it? Are you going to pass it along to the owner? Make sure you are clear on your process and nobody is surprised about how it's done.

Speaker 2:

And once you make that decision, it's very difficult to make a change to that. More specifically, for an owner If you're onboarding an owner and you're telling them this is what your charges are going to be and this is what's going to you, unless you are overhauling the entire program, it's going to be very difficult to add another expense in over to the owner. I'd be very careful and meticulous on how you set that up and how you set up that fee structure. And also a lot of these amenities are either contracts or even, with your coffee makers, watch those costs. Are there other ways that you can buy in bulk from other groups, businesses, so that you have a place where you can store these items? And continuing year over year to watch what those costs are is extremely important because those pennies add up to dollars, to significant changes to your bottom line.

Speaker 1:

Another great episode in the books here. Tiff, good job on this, as we have walked you through the many general and specific talking points of amenities Basic amenities, upgraded amenities Maybe you jotted down a few things. We hope so. We hope to hear from you too. Drop us a line, see us on our website, thevacationrentalkeywithtandtcom, and we'll be back in two weeks with another great episode for you about how you can manage another key to your business.

Speaker 2:

Until then so, long everybody, so long everyone, you next time.