You may have already had this question, but if not we’ll ask (and answer) it for you: how do I restock items for my Airbnb? You’ll need basics such as paper towels, toilet paper, shampoo, and more. And unless you want to keep restocking yourselves you’ll have to work out a plan.
This is usually done with your cleaner. When we first started we were just around the corner from our Airbnb, so when our cleaner let us know we were low we could just drive more supplies over. However, this won’t always be the case for you. Depending on how experienced your cleaner is, they may have a preferred way of restocking in place.
Delegating Someone to Restock
It’s important to pick someone to be in charge of restocking and stick with them. Whether that’s your cleaner, someone from TaskRabbit, property manager, a friend, anyone. Establishing a go-to person for restocking will take one more thing off your plate and prevent any confusion.
If you decide to choose someone other than your cleaner, be sure to have them be in contact as your cleaner will be the one that sees the property the most.
Ways to Restock
- Have your restocker purchase items
The most hands-off approach is to have your designated restocker purchase the items themselves and then bill you. This is extremely easy as they will get everything for you, but be prepared to discuss a fee should you go this route. After all, there’s a bit of work involved with them making the purchases and bringing things over to restock.
They can then send over the receipt and you can reimburse them for their time and money.
- Send items to their house
Another way to keep money from changing back and forth is to have your designated restocker tell you when things need to be purchased. From there, you can send items directly to their house. This is nice as it keeps packages from inconveniencing the guests while they’re staying at your property. When the guests leave they can bring over the items to restock your home.
- Send items to your property
We haven’t done this before, but here’s how we would try it if we did. I recently stayed at a lake house for my bachelor party, and they had a bin set just outside the entryway that said ‘Delivery drivers: please leave all packages in the bin’. Nowadays, you can add special delivery instructions for your packages, and have carriers drop them in the box.
If you’re worried about them getting stolen, you can also have a lockbox installed. The carrier can then unlock and place the packages inside. According to this article, you can add security codes to your Amazon orders.
- Restock yourself
As I mentioned above, this is how we started. It’s okay to do this when you’re first starting out, but I would recommend not relying on it. That makes it hard to scale, and if you ever decide to run a property out of reach it will be difficult to jump into it. Better to work out the kinks while you’re close by.
How To Manage Inventory On Airbnb
Managing inventory can be difficult if you don’t frequently visit your property. That’s why it’s a great idea to have your cleaner keep track of everything. We worked with our cleaner to establish a plan for letting us know when we need to restock items. She sends us a text whenever we are low on items such as laundry detergent, paper towels, all the way down to dish sponges. Since we live nearby, we then purchase and drop off the items in between bookings.
If it’s not your cleaner, you’ll need to communicate with someone who frequently visits your property. Once they’ve determined that an item is low, you’ll want to use one of the methods above to get more items restocked.
Being Prepared
Restocking items is something that often doesn’t get brought up until after it’s necessary. You don’t want to run into a situation where your cleaner lets you know you are out of an amenity and you have no way of getting more. Establishing a workflow before it’s necessary can minimize headaches.