The 5 Top Amenities to Provide your Vacation Rental Guests

​1. Guest Soap
Yes, you need to provide soap! No one takes their own soap when they travel. We provide large bottles of liquid soap at each sink, and I tend to go for nicer brands that I pick up at Marshalls or Homegoods. I also like to provide bar soap and I get these two places. I used to provide full size bars, but have decided that is just a waste, since guests inevitably leave the unused bar behind and it has to be thrown out. So I've just started providing these half ounce individually wrapped guest soaps from Amazon: H2O ECO Amenities Spa Sachet Individually Wrapped 0.5 ounce Cleaning Soap, 500 Bars per Case.

If you prefer, you can also choose a one ounce size: H2O ECO Amenities Spa Sachet Individually Wrapped 1 ounce Cleaning Soap, 300 Bars per Case

Update: My latest order of the .5 oz bars arrived with a large number broken and smashed so I'm only recommending the 1oz bars - they seem to hold up better in shipping! 

2. Shampoo (and Conditioner) for Guests
It is always handy to have guest shampoo available. I'm in two minds about this, since those little bottles often just come home with people (hey I have a collection from hotels I've been in so I bet most of my readers do too! and all that plastic isn't good for the environment. Part of me wants to just provide big bottles. But in the interests of hygiene, the little bottles can't be beat. I like these ones: H2O ECO Amenities Transparent Tube Screw Cap Individually Wrapped 22ml Shampoo and Conditioner 2 in 1, 288 Tubes per Case 

​3. A New Scotch Brite sponge
No one wants to use a nasty old sponge to clean the counters. Who knows if the last guest used it for raw chicken? So do everyone a favor and leave each new set of guests a nice new sponge still in the wrapper so they know that it is new! My favorites are Scotch Brite Non Scratch Scrub Sponges and you can get them at amazon or often at Costco too.

4. Lotion
Lotion is a bit more discretionary. I don't know anyone who doesn't have their own lotion. But if you forget and your hands are parched, a small bottle of lotion can be a lifesaver. I keep the brand the same as my choice for soap and shampoo, so that guests get a nice cohesive set on the bathroom counter. H2O ECO Amenities Transparent Tube Screw Cap Individually Wrapped 22ml Shampoo and Conditioner 2 in 1, 288 Tubes per Case

5. Laundry Powder
There are two schools of thought on laundry detergent. You can provide two or so of these cute small boxes like these little individual boxes of All detergent but sometimes that just feels too wasteful. So ​you might want to go  for the larger sizes. I buy large full sizes at discounters like Grocery Outlet. I can usually get a full size laundry detergent for $3. However, I've noticed our water bill keeps climbing and climbing and I'm betting that guests are doing a ton of laundry to use that much water. So as an experiment, I'm switching to the small boxes for a while to see if we can get that water use down! 

What are your favorite guest amenities to provide? 
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