The little things......

[jsaaja]

Hi guys,

We are in the process....(nearly completed) of converting a barn into 2 x 1 bedroom holiday cottages.

I've got the exciting (?!) job of 'kitting' them out and just wondered if people can suggest any little extras I might have missed, especially in the kitchen....do people appreciate a garlic presses, coffee machine, steak knives.....

Don't want to buy anything ridiculous but if it might be the diffence between a repeat booking or not!.....

[Moliere]

Good coffee machine for sure; egg-cups (which we didn't think of); decent kitchen knives; toaster; kitchen scissors; obviously bottle opener and corkscrew(!); iron and board; at least one hairdrier per bedroom; wi-fi; vacuum cleaner (possibly a handheld Dyson?); torch; mini tool-kit (screwdrivers, pliers and strong tape); tin opener. . . .

You could go on forever - a good starting point is to ask yourself what would please you to find in a holiday rental?

Best of luck

Moliere

[greenbarn]

Nobody will expect a coffee machine in the UK, and it could cause a lot of problems with people unfamiliar with their use, plus cleaning, supplies, etc etc so it's not an obvious item to include, but a cafetiere is, as is a teapot.

Worth including a garlic press as a lot of people seem to like them, we've never bothered with steak knives although that may be personal prejudice - if I order a steak in a restaurant and I'm offered a steak knife I'll refuse it and point out that if I can't cut the steak with an ordinary table knife I'll send the steak back.

Somewhere there's a thread with a list of the minimum requirements as laid down by Visit Britain; if it doesn't turn up I'll have a look for the VB info and post it tomorrow.

ETA - I hadn't seen Mols' post advocating a coffee machine - could be hooves at dawn.

[lorca]

often it´s also the small things that are appreciated - eg a small sewing kit with saftey pins and few spare buttons etc

[Sue Dyer]

One of those adaptor plugs that you can plug a 2 pin shaver or toothbrush into.

[Mozzie]

I would suggest lots of books - especially ones guests are free to take with them if they haven't finished. Magazines (I love the decorating ones) and games too.

[CSE]

Knowing the lifestyle in the UK how about a huge plasma screen..DVD player etc.

[Moliere]

Interestingly, GB, for our house (admittedly in France, but overwhelmingly English guests) I initially supplied two cafetieres but feedback told me the guests wanted a filter machine!

Not hard to clean - chuck used filter paper with coffee in bin, replace with fresh one; next?

Mols

[greenbarn]

Interestingly, GB, for our house (admittedly in France, but overwhelmingly English guests) I initially supplied two cafetieres but feedback told me the guests wanted a filter machine!

Not hard to clean - chuck used filter paper with coffee in bin, replace with fresh one; next?

Mols

Ah - I was thinking of one of those "on demand" type of things, beloved of board rooms that have moved on from stewed Cona jugs. In the interests of market research (ie tax deductible), I feel I should buy one and test its suitability for use in the cottages.

I think a truce is in order, pending research.

[lorca]

We get guests from all over - after trial and error we now supply cafetieres and moka stove top expresso makers (between them said to make the best coffee according to aficionados). No machines.

All seem happy, but it does depend on your clientèle i guess

[Giddy Goat]

At home we much prefer Nespresso coffee, but as absentee owners wouldn't like to trust a machine to our guests. There's a knack to using it I found! We sleep 8 and would be expected to provide capsules too since they have to be ordered on line by and large. That's quite a few capsules!

So we leave both a large cafetiere and a stove-top thingy, and a packet of best quality ground coffee to get them started.

[ccazes]

A tip I read on another thread was to have tea cups with saucers as well as the big mugs I favour, and definitely a teapot as well as something for making coffee. That way you keep everyone happy!

[Giddy Goat]

Yes, definitely a teapot for the die-hards although it's been years since I used one. As for cups and saucers, they're just something more to break aren't they? So we offer mugs and also (suprisingly sturdy) bone china mugs by JLewis which are finer than the others but cup-shaped! Very nice to drink from and we have 'em at home too.

[marsh frog]

I found it depends on how much space you have - we would have preferred a coffee machine but worktop space is very tight so we provide a cafetiere.

I have a friend who had a complaint that there was no tea strainer! Seems not everyone uses tea bags so a teapot and tea strainer. Same with mugs v tea cups and saucers - we always use mugs but provide both in our cottage.

Good kitchen knives and pots and pans - we even managed to squeeze in a wok.I wanted one there as we stay there ourselves and do stir fries, but it does get used.

[kg1]

Yes to wok & teapot, both get used in ours. Also a kitchen timer because even if the oven has one they can be awkward to use & not everyone wants to stand reading intructions!