Low-Cost Vacation Rental Upgrades Guests Remember

Nobody has ever typed "fluffy robes" into a search filter. Yet robes, a s'mores kit and a pair of binoculars by the window are the kinds of things guests photograph, mention in reviews and tell their friends about. Here is how I think about small upgrades, and how to find the ones that belong to your home and nobody else's.

Two kinds of amenities: searched and remembered

Airbnb publishes the amenities guests search for most. Based on its 2025 data, the top ten are a pool, free parking, wifi, air conditioning or heating, a kitchen, a hot tub, a washer or dryer, self check-in, TV or cable, and a BBQ grill.

Those are searched amenities. They work as filters and get your home into the running. The first job is accuracy: make sure every one you truly offer is checked in your listing. If you have a grill on the deck and the box is not ticked, you are invisible to everyone who filtered for it.

Then there are remembered amenities. No filter exists for them. They do their work in your photos, in the guest's mood on the first evening, and in the review written a week later.

An honest note: I cannot point you to a rigorous study showing that a popcorn maker raises bookings by some percentage, and I would be wary of anyone who claims to have one. The mechanism is indirect but real. Airbnb says the Guest Favorite badge depends on things like star ratings, the feedback in guest reviews and category scores such as value. Thoughtful touches are exactly what reviews get written about.

Searched amenities get you considered. Remembered amenities get you chosen again.

What this looks like at Villa Foresta

Villa Foresta is a five-bedroom Scandinavian-style home near Coaticook, in Québec's Eastern Townships. The listing's tagline is "The house is part of the adventure," and the small additions are there to make that sentence true.

• A fire pit with s'mores supplies. The fire pit is the amenity. The marshmallows turn it into an evening.
• Fluffy robes. A simple way to say "you are on holiday now."
• A popcorn maker and fondue. Ready-made plans for a group that has just arrived.
• New and retro board games, puzzles and books. Rainy days become a highlight.
• Binoculars for watching the woods. They point guests toward what the property already does best.
• A picnic backpack, walking sticks and beach cruiser bikes. Lac Lyster beach is less than five minutes away. The gear turns "there is a lake nearby" into an afternoon.
• A coffee and tea station with Villa Foresta branded mugs. Every morning starts there, and the mug makes a lovely photo.
• Maple treats, local Québec art and treasures from nearby shops. The house belongs to its region.
• Treats and beds for dogs. Dogs are welcome, and they get their own welcome.

None of these items is generic. Each one points at something the property already has: the woods, the lake, the fire, the long evenings.

And in Southborough

The Southborough home is a very different property: a four-bedroom retreat in MetroWest, about 30 minutes from downtown Boston, with a chef's kitchen and a dining table that seats twelve. The same logic applies.

The kitchen has a full spice rack. I captioned that photo "kitchen and full spice rack :)" because for a group cooking dinner for twelve, not having to buy a dozen jars of spices for one weekend is a genuine gift. The patio has string lights, which cost very little and transform the photo at dusk. And the kamado grill on the deck ticks number ten on Airbnb's most searched list.

How to choose upgrades unique to your home

Here is the method I use when I walk through a home for the first time.

1. Start with what is outside the windows. Imagine a lake house: a picnic kit. A house in the woods: binoculars and a bird guide. Dark skies: a star chart and blankets for the deck.
2. Follow a guest through one full day. Morning coffee, the afternoon outing, the evening gathering, the rainy-day backup. Aim for one thoughtful touch at each moment, not ten at one.
3. Ask who is actually coming. Airbnb says more than 80% of its bookings are group trips, so think in groups. Its amenities guide suggests high chairs and travel cribs for families, pet bowls and paw-cleaning towels for pets, and a real workspace for remote workers.
4. Make it visible. An amenity nobody knows about cannot influence a booking. Photograph it, caption it with personality and mention it in the description.
5. Make it last. Choose durable items and put consumables on the cleaner's restocking checklist. A s'mores kit that is empty for the third guest is worse than no kit at all.

Restraint is part of the craft, too. I skip anything that adds clutter, breaks easily or does not fit the home's story. A few well-chosen touches feel generous. Forty feel like a gift shop.

Small budget, real return

Most items on this list cost less than a single night's booking, and many last for years. Their return shows up where it matters: better photos, warmer reviews, guests who come back, and a home that is hard to compare with the one down the road. That last point supports your rate, which I discuss in my piece on dynamic pricing. For more ideas in this spirit, see signature experiences.

Spotting low-cost, high-impact adjustments that set a home apart is one of my favourite parts of the work I do for owners.

Sources

• Airbnb Resource Center, "The amenities guests want" (2025 data): https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/the-amenities-guests-want-25
• Airbnb Help Center, Guest Favorites criteria: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3495
• Airbnb Newsroom, 2024 Summer Release: https://news.airbnb.com/airbnb-2024-summer-release
• Villa Foresta on Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1750027045102271117
• The Southborough home on Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1673175918335572091