Getting your home guest-ready: a host’s checklist
Whether you let your place on Airbnb or Vrbo, take paying guests now and then, or simply want the spare room to feel special when family come to stay, the difference between a nice stay and a five-star one usually comes down to small things. I have spent years in hospitality, and I now get homes ready for guests for a living, and what I have learned is that people notice the details, warmly when they are there, and rather less warmly when they are not. Here is the checklist I run through every time.
Start with a spotless clean
Nothing else matters if this part is not right. Guests will forgive a tired sofa or a dated kitchen, but never a hair in the bathroom or a sticky surface. Be ruthless here, above all in the bathroom and the kitchen, the two rooms people quietly judge a place by. Fresh, properly laundered bed linen and towels, every single time, are non-negotiable. And do the smell test as you walk in: a home should smell clean and neutral, never of the last guest, last night's dinner, or too much air freshener.
Walk in as if you have never seen it
This is the trick that changes everything. Before each stay, come in through the front door the way a tired guest arriving late would, and notice what you meet. Is there an obvious place to put down a bag and hang a coat? Can you find a light switch easily in the dark? Is there a clear surface, not covered in your own bits and pieces, to set things on? Those first thirty seconds set the tone for the whole stay, so make them calm and welcoming.
The little luxuries that earn five stars
Small, inexpensive touches punch far above their weight. A tray with good tea and coffee, and fresh milk in the fridge. Proper towels, folded well. A spare blanket left out. A few nice toiletries rather than a sliver of old soap. A little more loo roll than anyone could reasonably need. Some fresh flowers, or a bowl of fruit. None of it costs much, but together it says someone has thought about you, and that is precisely the feeling a five-star review is made of.
Leave them the information they need
Half of a guest's small frustrations come from simply not knowing things. Save everyone the flurry of texts by leaving a short, friendly welcome note or guide with the essentials: the wifi name and password somewhere obvious, how the heating and the trickier appliances work, when the bins go out, how and when to check out, and a number to reach you on. Add a few of your own local recommendations, the good coffee, the nice walk, the shop that stays open late, and you turn a place to sleep into a proper stay.
The last ten minutes
Just before they arrive, a final pass makes all the difference. Empty the bins, put the flowers or fruit out, heating on if the day is cold, and a lamp left glowing if they are coming after dark, so they walk into warmth and light rather than a cold, black hallway. Then have one last look with fresh eyes for anything missed. It is a small effort right at the end, and guests feel it the moment they step through the door.
If it all sounds like a lot
Because it is, particularly the turnaround between one guest leaving and the next arriving, which is the part most hosts quietly dread. It is also exactly what I do for owners around Guildford and the Surrey Hills: the clean, the fresh linen, the welcome, the check-in and the check-out, so a place stays five-star and the owner barely has to think about it. If taking that off your hands would help, I would love to hear from you.