Back in the day, Emily Post published THE book of Etiquette (I own an edition published WAY back when, I mean really old - it is falling apart but I read it cover to cover back when I received it 2nd or 3rd or 4th hand from my MIL) In one chapter, she recommended spending the night in your own guest room, to learn what it lacks or what could improve your guest's experience.

We stayed in one of my son's first AirBnB's before it had been rented, and I came up with a list of lots of things: a trashcan there, a curtain here, etc. He was really happy to get the feedback.

How can this be applied to unfurnished rentals, I wonder? We have lists of things we do as a matter of course, but I wonder what we might be missing?

Ahhhh, my mom had a copy of that book, too. I loved the thing. I especially loved her list of all the glasses/dishes/utensils/linens that you needed for a household...

I also agree that sleeping in your own guest room is important-- not just once, but periodically. We'd slept in ours once or twice, and thought it was okay. The mattress had been our first choice, because we'd been in a time crunch when we first bought it, and needed to get what was readily available rather than what we thought was best. But when we had to stay there for an extended period, I realized it was not nearly as comfy as I'd thought it was. The next time guests came through, it was way improved.

I don't have a house big enough for a guest room. Come to think of it, I don't have guest.

W,

Great idea! I should spend the night in each of our children’s home and provide a written critique! (then never see my grandchildren again:-)

We had that book and Mom referred to it occasionally in frustration as 4 boys snarfed down dinner! “Emily says elbows off the table!”

I DID learn a lot from Highlights magazine characters Gallant and Goofus.

Airbnb IS all about the details! We have only stayed in one but we did make lots comments to each other about improvements.

For rentals the crew uses my 4 page, 2 column checklist. It covers every detail I can imagine including testing all SDs, replacing furnace filters, thermostat batteries, yard and directional signs...the stuff they forget to do.

I pay $10 spiff to do the list at start and $10 spiff the check that everything is done. No paymemt until the entire lost is DONE so go backs that were claimed to be complete are free. Works.

I find it helpful to observe how people live once they've moved in. If every tenant buys an over-the-toilet shelving unit, maybe you should provide one. If you notice that towels are always on the floor, a hook on the back of each door could help.

Personally, I don't want to make my guest room too attractive. I want it to be conveniently livable, but nothing better than they can get at their own home and nothing they'd want to stay longer than a week in.

When we decided to rent our Cape Cod house for a few summers, my sister came to help me get it ready. When she arrived, it was eye opening. She had a huge suitcase, needed to charge a million Apple products, I rethought all the rooms. Where does the person put their suitcase? I put charging stations in each room.

Our very smart friend who cleaned on turnovers said that people come in and need space to put out bags of chips and "bottles." I went online and looked at what good cooks wanted in a rental kitchen, and upgraded some things.

Spiff: immediate bonus for a sale. Often marked on a sales tag with a code.