Rental Property Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 93 posts · 101 votes
My first property is going on the market next week (!!). I'm thinking whether to provide linens/towels. I do have them but someone told me it creates additional hassle for cleaning personnel (my house sleeps 20 = lots of laundry). Someone I know said he only provides it when requested, $10 per bed. What's your view on that? 1) Do you think providing linens/towels add a lot to the guests' experience and would guests be disappointed if this wasn't provided and 2) What do you do in your rentals? Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
9y
@Julia Bykhovskaia It sounds to me like you have a case of the "What the heck did I get myself into"s. It's only natural.
Every market is different. If I didn't provide high end top shelf linens I'd be out of business before I started.
Obsess over your neighbors listings for days and days and days. Find the ones with the most/best reviews and copy them. If they provide 4 bath towels per bathroom, you provide 4 full body size bath towels that are nicer than your neighbors (Sams Hotel towels are the best and cheap).
Best advice I can give you..... Take that sucker live and learn as you go.
Manvel, TX · Member since 2014 · 309 posts · 127 votes
9y
You have to provide linens, in my opinion. Yes, it's a hassle and an extra expense (a significant extra expense!), but it is expected.
Imagine if you were renting a place and the family was traveling in from everywhere and then you found out that everyone had to bring their own sheets & towels. I think it would be a deal-breaker for lots of guests.
What you could do would be to offer a discount to guests who bring their own linens and towels. Maybe not $10/bed, but whatever you think it would cost you in time and money.
Yes we provide Linens towels, paper products (not just a starter amount) basic spices and condiments, coffee, coffee filters, beach towels (lake house).
Think of it this way, if you and your family were going on vacation would you want the hassle of having to pack sheets and make beds? Not a great way to start a vacation in my opinion.
You could have your cleaning crew take the sheets and put on another set and wash the dirty ones offsite.
Peoria, IL · Member since 2015 · 99 posts · 52 votes
9y
It's absolutely essential to provide linens and towels. I have heard of places that require guests to bring their own, but I've never understood that. I'd never want to rent from a place where I had to bring my own. You're right--a place that sleeps 20 will definitely create a lot of laundry, and there will be an expense, but with a place that size, I assume you receive a hefty rent to make up for it.
Investor · South Lake Tahoe, CA · Member since 2017 · 78 posts · 42 votes
9y
There is no question about it, it's absolutely essential to provide everything you would expect checking into a hotel. And more, like fine cooking utensils' and spices. Speaking of cooking equipment, some people make the deadly mistake of placing their old pots and pans in a vacation rental. Bad error! Put the new stuff in your rental and rotate the old stuff to your home. Same thing with the towels. This summer, I took a shower and the towel I used was rough and scratchy - cheap. It turned out that it came from ANOTHER property in the system and got mixed up by accident. I looked up the other property, and they have few repeat bookings. Lesson of the day: Going cheap in this business DOESN'T WORK!
Investor · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2017 · 4 posts · 3 votes
9y
I would definitely keep extra linens. My guests would always ask for towels. I would also recommend getting white towels and sheets so you can bleach them. Guests will use the towels to clean up things like wine that they’ve spilled. I’ve even had that rub in tan stuff people like to use, turned my sheets orange. So just be cautious with the color.
Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
To answer your two questions:
1. Providing linens and towels would add nothing to your guests experience. It is something that is expected. Tell me this, when you go to a restaurant to eat dinner, do you bring your own silverware and drinking glass or do you expect the restaurant to provide silverware and a drinking glass? After your meal, suppose you need to use the restroom. Do you expect the restaurant to provide toilet paper and soap or do you bring your own? If you are wondering whether or not to provide sheets and towels, I wonder what else you may be skimping on and not realize it. Perhaps this sort of rental is not for you.
2. What do I provide in my rentals? Living room with an HDTV BluRay and access to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon with the renters own account; several recliners, end tables, lamps and guy oriented artwork. Kitchen has all appliances and utensils. I usually leave a fancy knife set that rests in a block of wood. Bedrooms have an old style television, guy related artwork, and a complete bedroom set. Extra things like horseshoe pits, fire rings, kegerators vary on a house to house basis.
Rental Property Investor · Littleton, CO · Member since 2015 · 252 posts · 164 votes
9y
A reasonable amount of extra linens, yes. I do 2 sets per bed. In the most recent rental that I purchased, there were 11 blankets for 3 beds. Way too much, and definitely a hassle for housekeeping, because some tenants will use them ALL.
Whomever told you not to provide them... I would not look to them for advice again. You're renting memories of great vacations, not a place to stay and maybe some extra linens. If your guests don't have what they need, they aren't going to think favorably of your rental nor recommend it to their friends and family.
And a housekeeper should never feel 'hassled'. You aren't creating problems for them, you're creating work, which they are paid to do. If it's a flat rate for the clean, they might not like having extra work, but it all comes out in the wash, so to speak. There will be stays where people do a lot of tidying up after themselves, leaving housekeeping with not much to do other than the laundry. Regardless, this should be a pass through cost to the guests, so it shouldn't affect you that much.
Carolina Beach, NC · Member since 2017 · 51 posts · 15 votes
9y
When I started renting my house by the beach on VRBO, I set up a "linen package" for a $20 fee - included all sheets, bath towels and beach towels. People from elsewhere in NC who were driving would often opt to bring their own. Most of the property mgmt companies in my area were/are doing this.
Now that I have 2 units, I include linens and towels and add a few extra bucks to the cleaning fee to cover cleaner's expenses of washing at laundromat or at her own home, usually $5/ load. I have all white sheets and towels and duvets for each bed with white duvet covers and a backup for each bed that can be rotated and bleached each time.
I've found that people are very excited to know linens and towels are included, even if they don't figure out they're being charged for them as part of cleaning fee.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
I have been to some places where you have to bring linens and you dont always have the right sheet size. In our area there is a company that will rents them. i havent used them but they have worked out for people who have. Another option for big houses is to have two sets and send them out for laundering. There are services that will pick them up and return them.
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
9y
@Julia Bykhovskaia It sounds to me like you have a case of the "What the heck did I get myself into"s. It's only natural.
Every market is different. If I didn't provide high end top shelf linens I'd be out of business before I started.
Obsess over your neighbors listings for days and days and days. Find the ones with the most/best reviews and copy them. If they provide 4 bath towels per bathroom, you provide 4 full body size bath towels that are nicer than your neighbors (Sams Hotel towels are the best and cheap).
Best advice I can give you..... Take that sucker live and learn as you go.