We need to buy an electric range for an AirBnB. The ones with coil burners are too old school for us. Most of them have glass tops which worry me as far as scratching and breaking. That leaves induction or certain hybrids with hobs.

What would you want to see in your AirBnB?

And while we’re here, if you rented an AirBnB, what would you like you like to have?

We’re thinking great mattresses (Costco), and multiple TVs of course. Outdoor dining with grill (Arizona). Sharp knives. Extra blankets, high end towels, spices. Lots of little bottles of shampoo and such. Good - even aspirational - pots and pans.

Some kind of coffeemaker? Moki pot? Herbs in a planter? Games and puzzles? Full spectrum cable and WiFi? Instant pot? Slow cooker? Food processor? Books?

Wine, of course. Local beer. List of local attractions.

What else?

I don't have lots of experience, but most people don't seem to go high end or aspirational anything. Not necessarily Spartan, but utilitarian.

Aren't induction stoves also glasstop?

I prefer glasstop for my own use, but tenants might not take good care of them. Mostly, you'd get scratches and staining, which detract a lot from a kitchen's appearance. My son, who does nothing by halves, recently managed to break one. He said that a not-large amount of water was on the stove when he set down a pot. The water got trapped under the pot, vaporized, and the expanding steam (and probably some thermal shock, broke the cooktop in two. He said that the noise was dramatic!

So I don't know what I'd choose. I don't know anything about the hybrid hobs you mention. Old-school cooking elements aren't attractive, but they're hard to hurt.

I don't think I'd do an instant pot. Most people aren't going to do serious cooking on vacation, and they're not quite dummy proof. Ditto for the food processor. The other things you mentioned sound more vacation-y.

Coffee maker and filters - simple is fine. Some places have had makers with the pods.

Blender

microwave

High speed wifi as some are using rentals as remote work options...

I always appreciate access to a vacuum if I'm staying a while.

I'll second the bullet-proof option of old-school stoves. The glass tops will be a problem in a rental...

When can we stay??

I do think Mary Anna is right about induction being glass. I know that you need the right pots to get good results. Also wonder how many people are familiar with them.

Do they still make solid plate elements for electric ranges/cooktops? I think I've seen them referred to as Eurostyle. Maybe they've fallen out of favor.

For ease of use, maybe a Keurig and an assortment of pods? Regular and decaf coffee, of course. I think they do tea and other beverages, but there you can also get boxes of individually sealed teabags so they stay fresh longer.

Maybe an electric teakettle.

Shelf stable milk in the 8 oz containers comes in really handy, especially when paired with individual boxes of cereal. Or to use as creamer in coffee.

Wifi, absolutely. Probably no on full spectrum cable; people have so many options with streaming stuff.

Are you renting out single rooms or an entire house or entire apartment unit?

I'm thinking 'single rooms' would attract business travelers while entire house/apartment would attract vacationing families.

Thinking back on my business traveling days:

• I never pay much attention to the appliances, rarely use them, rarely turn any TV on, rarely use the microwave, never "cook". A refrigerator to keep the beer/milk/orange juice cold would be nice, but not absolutely necessary.
  
• I appreciate good, CLEAN bedding and CLEAN toilet/bathroom/towels for sure.
  
• Must have good HVAC too!
  
• If its in a town where a car is a needed to get around, then expect the traveller to take out a rental car, and parking for said rental car becomes a must.
  
• Good Internet connection is appreciated (less critical if your unit is in an area with strong cellular 4G/LTE/5G signals from all four major cellular carriers because the business traveller can just use cellular Internet)
  
• A good number of electrical outlets, throw in a good surge-protected power strip if you can -- got lots of devices to charge these days
  
• Privacy -- apart from check-in, check-out, just leave me alone
  
• Predictability -- simple check-in, check-out process clearly communicated well ahead of time; make sure the space is ready before your promised check-in time.

Family vacation is a whole different ball game. Too many variables having to do with the number and ages of minors and seniors in tow.

Friends who rented a place were told to buy cheap matching plates and cups because people would not steal them. Matching was important.

I've had several glass top stoves - yes they can scratch and break but I don't know what better alternative there would be. Black seems to hold up better as far as stains/scratching - my inlaws had a white one that discolored badly. My black one hides a lot.

My daughter's landlord just swapped out her coil stove for a glasstop and gave her zero instructions on taking care of it. Turned out she and her roommates were taking hot cookie sheets out of the oven and putting them right on the glass top and moving hot pots from the hot burner to a cold one. The stovetop did not break, so they must be a little hardier than they used to be. But a big trivet (the sort that spans like half the stovetop) would hopefully remind people not to do that. I sent her this one from IKEA: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/l...less-steel-30111087/


Icemaker in the fridge would be nice. Nothing worse than getting there to find unfilled ice cube trays. And filled ones are a little skeevey too - I always wonder when the last time was they were washed.

Coffee pot - yes! Pasta strainer. Basic spices are always nice- salt, pepper, sugar, etc. Blender for mixed drinks if you think your renters will be the frosty margarita types.

I dunno - when I rent an air-bnb, I mainly look for 1) free internet 2) parking 3) washer dryer if it's a long vacation. And if there's a washer dryer, having some laundry pods and dryer sheets available is always appreciated.

I like my glass top electric stoves. The pots need to be pretty flat on the bottom, and you don’t really want cast iron (or they will scratch) but they are so easy to keep clean (compared to the glass stove and the electric stoves I’ve had) There is a liquid polish that gets any stuck on stuff off, but if you are good about wiping off the spills and not cooking on it when its not clean, you don’t have to use it very often. We also have a small induction one burner thing, but honestly I’m not sure the extra cost is worth it. If you are doing an airbnb, you should be able to control the cookwear that is used on the stove, right? I’ve had three glass cooktops, two electric coil stoves and two gas stoves (one propane, one natural gas) and I like the convenient cleaning of the glass cooktop. You learn to cook on what you have - how to use it in the most effecient manner, so it doesn’t matter what it is. Cleaning the wells in the gas stoves and coil stoves is a PITA.

And no effing way am I *EVER* hooking up an icemaker again - after our floor disaster two years ago. That is the second icemaker leak we’ve had in home ownership and we were just lucky the first one went behind and down into the unfinished part of the basement.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
And no effing way am I *EVER* hooking up an icemaker again - after our floor disaster two years ago. That is the second icemaker leak we’ve had in home ownership and we were just lucky the first one when behind and down into the unfinished part of the basement.

Same here. I especially would not do so with a rental property.

Have at least one king size bed. It sets you apart from all the others with queens.

I prefer a gas stove.

Jf

I'm guessing that's not an option.

quote:

if you rented an AirBnB, what would you like you like to have?

A grand piano, in tune, and preferably with good (not mushy) action.

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Do they still make solid plate elements for electric ranges/cooktops? I think I've seen them referred to as Eurostyle. Maybe they've fallen out of favor.

Apparently not. It's either glass or coils. The idea to go with a black top sounds like a good one - the range in the unit has a white top now and it's all stained.

The building does not have gas service - very common in that part of AZ. Luckily, power is cheap.