Outdoor shower or foot wash station
Decent outdoor furniture (not the plastic white chairs)

Anonymous wrote:If possible, a small supply of coffee for the first morning and cream and sugar.
I hate arriving late at night to a rental and then have to go out to hunt down this morning essential in blurred state the next day before the big grocery shop is done.

+1 I was just at a rental over the weekend and they had coffee, individual creamers, and sugar packets. It makes everything easier.

Anonymous wrote:Ooh also: empty space for the guest's food. We just stayed at a rental with 16 people and every single cabinet and cupboard was filled with stuff. Your guests need someplace to put their pantry items! We emptied a bookshelf in the living room, and put everything in a secluded corner to give us space for all the pantry items.

Yes! We just stayed at a very expensive rental on the gulf coast. Turned out even the pantry was locked as an owners closet. I don’t want to pay an arm and leg and then have the counters be cluttered.
Things we like: a keurig, fresh, clean dishes and linens. Would rather have everything all white and new than cutesy stuff. No clutter or cheesey decor. No wall to wall carpet. Hangers in closets, hooks and towel bars. No Knick knacks

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good mattresses and sheets. A good coffee maker and at least a starter supply of coffee are much appreciated. An easy to reach socket by the bed for charging a phone is also nice.

What do you consider a good coffee maker, other than those horrible pod things which are terrible for the environment.

I like those horrible pod things. They make things very convenient. You can just stock up on different pods - full caf, decaf, flavored, etc - and people will appreciate it.

Otherwise just any old drip coffee maker will do - but please include filters (if they're needed) and some ground coffee.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dog friendly!

Opposite here, I will only book a rental if it is no pets allowed. Pet friendly rentals are never cleaned thoroughly enough to prevent DCs allergies.

The amount of people who have dogs v the amount of people allergic to dogs is very lopsided. I don’t think OP will miss your booking.

I also prefer rentals where pets aren’t allowed, but if they are I expect excellent cleaning in between guests.

"Pets allowed" are an automatic pass. A hard "no" for us. You never get rid of the hair and dander and dog smell and pee especially since beach houses have such a tight turnaround time with cleaning. Don't kid yourself that your house is clean after a dog has spent a week there.

This. Smells gross. No matter what. Pet owners are immune to this as its a constant.

We need 8+ bedrooms lol. Otherwise a good cleaning crew, well stocked kitchen, beach accessories (chairs, umbrella, toys, boogie boards, etc).

Anonymous wrote:We are superhosts with great ratings. The number one thing our guests love is something you can't control - the location and view. Just steps to the beach. The other things they comment on:

Great customer service/quick response to questions
Updated with fully stocked kitchen including a crockpot, air fryer, and grill tools
Provide supplies like trash bags, paper towels, dish soap, washing detergent, and cleaning supplies
Very clean
Beach towels
Comfortable beds and linens
Beach toys
Easy check in
Only chore is to remove trash when leaving
If someone tells us they are traveling for a special occasion like bday or anniversary we leave a small gift.

+1

OP, I would second and add, new good mattresses in ALL the adult bedrooms (I could careless what I slept on as a kid).

If the house will be occupied by 2 sets of adults (grandparents, family, and kids), please have 2 new mattress bedrooms.
We always defer to parents/ILs on room selection during trips, and many times, even in expensive rentals, get a real crappy mattress in the other adults' room.

Other thought is a coffee machine with a display of k-cups. That was a nice surprise to not have to run out for those.

Anonymous wrote:Question for experienced owners: how much of the stuff mentioned here walks away between renters? I know that I love an airbnb with new-to-the-kids toys and all of the nice things mentioned here, but I also know that we have inadvertently taken things from hotels/airbnbs. And we are very honest people.

We had owned a rental in Duck for years. I personally think that more things get broken or lost (especially beach towels) and thrown away than actually get stolen. My first piece of advice is to label like crazy (especially in the kitchen, linen closet, pantry). If people know where to put things, it is easier for them to put them away correctly. Misplaced stuff in the kitchen can literally be lost for years. I have had renters comment on this over the years talking about how easy it was to find stuff in our house. I would use knick knacks sparingly. These get broken (or people stick them in weird places if they don't like them).

On the listing page, put a floor plan with the pictures. It's helpful when you need to be careful about where kids are sleeping or if two couples are sharing space.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dog friendly!

Opposite here, I will only book a rental if it is no pets allowed. Pet friendly rentals are never cleaned thoroughly enough to prevent DCs allergies.

The amount of people who have dogs v the amount of people allergic to dogs is very lopsided. I don’t think OP will miss your booking.

I have a no pets allowed policy and I am completely booked for summer by February.

You won't be missed.

PP, I’m curious as an STR owner. Do you have other features like a pool or ocean views that cause it to book so quickly?

I’m a different PP ( the one that allows dogs in Rehoboth) but our summer weeks are booked up by February too. The off season rentals are usually closer to the time. E have a pool in the Condo area, back to the bike trail that goes to Lewes and are a lot 1 mile from the beach.

Wow. I guess very limited supply pumps up the demand.

Anonymous wrote:Question for experienced owners: how much of the stuff mentioned here walks away between renters? I know that I love an airbnb with new-to-the-kids toys and all of the nice things mentioned here, but I also know that we have inadvertently taken things from hotels/airbnbs. And we are very honest people.

We had one situation where a photo/canvas of our daughter that was in the master on a wall went missing. We thought it was stolen, but had no idea which renter would have taken it. Then months later we found it under the sink in a different bathroom. Still have no idea why someone put it there.
We haven’t had anything stolen. Been renting since 2019.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dog friendly!

Opposite here, I will only book a rental if it is no pets allowed. Pet friendly rentals are never cleaned thoroughly enough to prevent DCs allergies.

The amount of people who have dogs v the amount of people allergic to dogs is very lopsided. I don’t think OP will miss your booking.

I have a no pets allowed policy and I am completely booked for summer by February.

You won't be missed.

PP, I’m curious as an STR owner. Do you have other features like a pool or ocean views that cause it to book so quickly?

I’m a different PP ( the one that allows dogs in Rehoboth) but our summer weeks are booked up by February too. The off season rentals are usually closer to the time. E have a pool in the Condo area, back to the bike trail that goes to Lewes and are a lot 1 mile from the beach.

Anonymous wrote:Question for experienced owners: how much of the stuff mentioned here walks away between renters? I know that I love an airbnb with new-to-the-kids toys and all of the nice things mentioned here, but I also know that we have inadvertently taken things from hotels/airbnbs. And we are very honest people.

I’ve been renting in Rehoboth Beach for 19 years. We have been very lucky about so few things walking off. A few summers ago someone either broke or took a very large conch shell I had on display on a high shelf. I have one left that I do not put out.

The only things that have consistently disappeared are the small flashlights I used to stock in the bedside tables. I have visions of kids playing light tag all through the house!

This summer, for the very first time, I had someone forget to leave the parking passes, but they fed ex’d them back.

Sometimes I can’t believe how much toilet paper people go through, but that’s it!

By the way, there are still a lot of rentals available in walking distance of the beach, so check it out!

Anonymous wrote:Question for experienced owners: how much of the stuff mentioned here walks away between renters? I know that I love an airbnb with new-to-the-kids toys and all of the nice things mentioned here, but I also know that we have inadvertently taken things from hotels/airbnbs. And we are very honest people.

We only rent to people we know and their friends and only for a couple of summers. So far all of our beach towels have disappeared, as well as all beach toys.

Friend of our who rents out her house in Bethany Beach says most of her lamps have disappeared, as are her friends'. She thinks renters break them accidentally and then instead of leaving the evidence, just put them all in trash.

If possible, a small supply of coffee for the first morning and cream and sugar.
I hate arriving late at night to a rental and then have to go out to hunt down this morning essential in blurred state the next day before the big grocery shop is done.