Top 10 Most Needed items when Furnishing a Vacation Rental
We have just completed our sixth luxury short term rental with staySAhistoric.com in San Antonio, Texas and have learned quite a bit over the past two years. Below is a list of the Top 10 Items You Need for Your Short Term Rental. The items below are what we have actually used in our Homes and will continue to use them going forward.
When furnishing a Short Term Rental you must make your place unique and there are plenty of opportunities to add unique decor, but I highly recommend these items as a starting point when you begin furnishing your STR. These items are cost effective and will save you money in the long run and/or even make you money! If you aren’t already a member of Amazon Prime, you will definitely want to sign up. Prime will save you money and time with free shipping and next day shipping for many items!
1. Get Sturdy Beds
When you go furniture shopping there are many choices as to bed types and styles. At the beginning of our journey we went cheap with beds that looked good and we have now gone through and replaced most of them. At one of our high end rentals the cleaners actually showed up to this:
While this is the only one I have pictures of, there were many others that have broken at my properties. To replace the broken ones and when furnishing new properties, I now only use Zinus Platform Beds from Amazon. Here is an example of what they look like:
They look great and are very reasonably priced. Zinus makes numerous others, a few other options from the same manufacturer that I like are here and here. Look around and find the style your like.
In addition to being metal and sturdy (I have not had one issue with these beds since I started using them), they are also very easy to assemble and one person can easily put together one of these beds in under an hour.
Finally, in addition to the low cost, sturdy construction and easy assembly, NO BOX SPRING is needed for these beds! Saves you more $$$$$$!
2. Get Comfy Mattresses
To go along with the Zinus Beds above, I highly recommend the Zinus mattresses. If you purchase the Zinus platform type beds, all you will need to purchase is a mattress (NO BOX SPRING NEEDED).
Zinus has numerous sizes and models of mattresses depending on how thick you want and bed size and are usually in the $200-$400 range. I typically use the Zinus 12 inch Memory Foam Mattress from Amazon:
These mattresses come in a box and quickly from Amazon (especially is have Amazon Prime which I highly recommend). Your guests will love them!
3. Smart TVS
We recently cut cable/DirecTV at our properties and in order to do this you must have a Smart TV or device which you can attach to the TV so guests can log into their streaming services. Our experience thus far has been great and Guests are fine with only having streaming services.
If you don’t have a TV yet, I recommend to purchase Insignia Smart TVs from Amazon, they are cheap and have the streaming apps already built into the TV.
If you already have a TV and it is not a Smart TV, no worries, you can easily purchase a few different devices which easily plug into your TV’s HDMI port and then will allow your guests to have access to the streaming services. These typically cost under $40 – my two favorite options are the Amazon Fire Stick and Roku.
Once you have a Smart TV, you no longer will have a monthly bill for cable and/or DirecTV – saves you $$$$$!
4. Smart Locks
There are numerous options for Smart Locks for your Exterior Doors. These provide convenience to you and your guests. By having a code sent to your guests prior to checkin, it will not be necessary to coordinate a key exchange and/or worry about lost keys. Plus, by having a different code for each guest, it provides an extra layer of security in my opinion.
When looking for a Smart Lock, I recommend having one that is WiFi compatible so you can remotely lock/unlock and change codes for guests, service people, etc.
I have always used Schlage locks and found them reliable and am currently trying out HomeState locks which are a little cheaper and have been working fine for me so far.
5. Security Cameras
There are also numerous options for security cameras and I install them at Exterior entrances to my properties. Make sure and disclose that you have them on your listing! I have always used Nest cameras and have been pleased with them. The Nest cameras must be plugged in so no battery recharging to worry about (we tried a different brand that was rechargeable and they didn’t work out).
6. Air Mattress(es)
If you want to maximize sleeping occupancy (which will maximize revenue), you want to add Air Mattress(es) if you have room for them in other living areas (potential sleeping areas) in your house.
The main advice I have is that you want to make sure you get something heavy duty and that has a Built In Pump! If not the pump will get lost. Here is the one I use:
AirBed with Internal Pump from Amazon
7. Unique Kitchen Items
There are a few items that are a little different and you may not think to include in your kitchen. These are items which we didn’t originally put in our homes, but now we do because so many guests have requested:
Crockpot – large and small combo from Amazon
Rubbermaid Storage Containers – 10 Piece – from Amazon
Mixology Bartender Kit from Amazon
Plus there are a few items you should keep in the Kitchen or a known location:
8. Space Heaters / Portable Fans
Depending on climate I would highly recommend these. Some of the more common issues we have are dealing with the temperature in our Homes. If you have a Space Heater or Portable Fan the guests will appreciate it and it will save you issues dealing with uneven temperatures in the house.
9. Patio Items
Many guests are wanting to stay in and cook outdoors at my properties. When choosing a Grill, I would highly recommend a charcoal grill (not a gas grill). The best place to purchase from is your local hardware store/Wal Mart which will already have the grill assembled. With charcoal there will be no phone calls asking where is the spare propane tank.
The other item I like to use outside are Outdoor String Lights. They are easy to install and can really add a lot to your outdoor space. Here is the property we just finished:
You definitely want to get LED lights that are Heavy-Duty, these are the ones I use: 48 Feet LED Outdoor String Lights from Amazon.
10. Games
Get a good variety of games, cards, dominos, etc. The guests appreciate them and use them often. Here you go: board games, cards and dominos from Amazon.
