What do you leave out for your renters in the way of supplies?

[iwishiwasthere]

Reading these posts disturb me, because I had no idea how many people were so thoughtless. While you may choose to rent your place, it is still your place and should be treated with respect. I cannot imagine taking anything that did not belong to me. Many folks these days just aren't concerned with others.

 

[Miss Kitty]

One of my favorite stories happened last October when I was at our place. I did a count of glasses, dishes and silverware. I expected a few missing items, but what I didn't count on was the strange silverware in the drawer. Turns out it was from Fish Out Of Water (Flopping Fish) and I returned it immediately! The one missing item that really steamed me was the first Guest Book that ran off. So, I put out another one and it ended up stuck in the armoire all summer!

As far as extras at WC, I have found they like you to stick to the package you pay for that is consistent with all the other rentals. I did help them decide to put Teflon type pans in the units after scrubing hot dog scum from the "pretty" pans!

 

[Jdarg]

Let me give you vacation renter's perspective- but I may not be a typical renter. (OK- I know I am not)

Since day 1 of renting houses in Grayton, I have never expected there to be anything other than toilet paper and a roll of kitchen towels left for our use. We have stayed in some beautiful houses, and we have stayed in a few dumps, and none of these places had all these toiletries, cleaning supplies, DVDs,etc.

It is very nice that you, as owners, want to make your guests' experiences nice, but I look at it a bit differently- I am setting up house for a week. I have rented YOUR house, but I don't expect you to provide anything but the house, beds, sheets, towels, and basic dishes- a little more than a hotel, but in some ways a little less. We have always brought everything we need, and our friends are the same way. We have never played with the games (although we haven't been down there in bad weather, so maybe we would), the kids bring their own movies, and I even bring my own chef's knife and giant iced tea pitcher.

All that I ask is that the house is clean, the beds are "sleepable", the grill is not too nasty, the showers work well, and there is room for 3 bikes, a car, and a kayak.

 

[Miss Kitty]

jdarg...I agree with you completely. I remember a similiar thread a while back and was blown away at the number of folks that put so much thought into the extras. This may be because we have never rented a home except through Seaside.

 

[Jdarg]

jdarg...I agree with you completely. I remember a similiar thread a while back and was blown away at the number of folks that put so much thought into the extras. This may be because we have never rented a home except through Seaside.

I've tried really hard to be a princess over the years, but this is one area where I don't expect the frilly extras. The beach is the frilly extra. My family is the frilly extra.

Other extras? My first cup of coffee of the day and the last glass of wine after a full day at the beach. Cookng a great fish meal, or not cooking at all. Sunset drinks at B&A's. Sitting on the big couch at the Red Bar with Kate watching a band. Watching Will and Bdarg head out in the kayak. Falling asleep the minute my head hits the pillow. Let me improve on that one- my kids' heads falling asleep the minute THEIR heads hit the pillows!

 

[Ocean Lover]

As a renter, I don't expect a lot. I do expect for it to be CLEAN, to have tp, paper towels, garbage bags, dish detergent, and a broom. A bottle of all purpose cleaner would be great but not totally neccesary. Any little extras would be a welcome surprise and it could be those added touches that would make me want to stay at the same place again.

 

[Wastin Away]

As a renter, I don't expect a lot. I do expect for it to be CLEAN, to have tp, paper towels, garbage bags, dish detergent, and a broom. A bottle of all purpose cleaner would be great but not totally neccesary. Any little extras would be a welcome surprise and it could be those added touches that would make me want to stay at the same place again.

That's a great observation as a renter. It's the extra's, whether their expected or not, is what you may remember about the home you stayed at and what you will remember when you plan your next vacation. My husband tells me that I have way too many extras, but the extras are things that I, either use when we are there, or that my guests have made suggestions about. I have not had any problems with major things being misplaced. For those talking about wine glasses, I have a pantry set up with breakable wine and tea classes and have found some great ones (at Target, of course) that are microwavable and dishwasher save and very reasonably priced (wine, tea, and water). I put the Target one's with my major dishes so the guests will see and use those first.

 

[pokey]

We have wireless Internet in our houses and the guests love it.

Regarding books/dvds etc - I made the mistake last year of giving an ample supply of DVD's and games for the Xbox. Low and behold, at the end of the season we were missing about half of the DVD's and every Xbox game (about 10) were missing (including a controller for the Xbox). This year, I'm only buying <$5 DVD's, etc.

I have now started looking for homes with wireless internet; my family loves it!

Philip- I'm sorry you had such thoughtless guest that would take things that don't belong to us. I am so anal, that while staying at your home, I took all the dvd's, cd's, and games out and put each back into their own boxes. I found a couple of games in a bedroom drawer, a dvd under the sofa, and cd's in the wrong boxes. See, I told you I was anal!! I do know that sometimes people might accidently take home a book, movie or something that doesn't belong to them. I remember when my kids were younger and were would take playstation games on a trip with another family, the kids would get the games mixed up. Lets hope that the items each of you are missing from your home was due to carelessness, not on purpose.

As a renter, I only expect to see toilet paper in each bathroom, a started roll of paper towels, and a trash bag at least in the kitchen. Extra light bulbs are a plus as many of the cleaning services don't notice a bulb is out as they come during the day. I am not calling the management company for a light bulb, so I just buy them myself if they aren't available. I would rather the home have extra just in case so I don't have to buy them. As for the rest of the items, I either have them packed in the car, or they are on my grocery list to purchase that day. I bet I leave way more stuff than is supplied by the owner. I usually buy cheaper products while on vacation so I leave the trash bags, ziplocs, foil, etc. unless I have tons of car room.

 

[Unplugged]

Mermaid:

This is useful information. Thanks! Another reason to work on getting a locked owner's closet!

Best,
Paula

Oh, we love our owner's closets. Each time we check out, it's such a challenge to shoehorn all our personal items back into the closets. But well worth it when we return and unpack all our 'creature comforts'.

Regarding supplies, we keep them to a minimum. Our guests would rather furnish their own. If the guests are family, then they have full access to the owner's closets.

_____________________________________

 

[dbuck]

We are renters and not homeowners in Florida. I too bring everything I can fit into the vehicle. My husband has been telling me for years that there are stores in Florida. There are two things that I look for the minute I walk into the rental, 1) dish washing detergent and 2) plastic pitchers. I normally have to go to a dollar store and buy a couple of extra pitchers. I do like my rum punch. By the time you make tea, punch, etc., there are no more pitchers. I freak out when I see 3 or 4 remotes sitting on the coffee table. I just know I will never get the TV on, plus I?m afraid I will get everything screwed up, which is VERY possible. Oh yes, I love it when there is a CD player, plus extra light bulbs. I always put my makeup on in the bedroom and many times the bedroom is so dark it?s hard for me to see. I do need a broom and vacuum, because as much as I love that beautiful white sand I don?t particularly like having it on the floors. Oh well, that?s just my 2 cents.