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I have really enjoyed reading all of your recent blog comments, and it means the world to me that you appreciate my recommendations and input so much!  So many of you read through my Airbnb reviews and know that you can trust me.  I truly believe that in order to be successful as an Airbnb host, you really need to lean on first-hand knowledge from an experienced host and also have the ability to put yourself in a guest’s shoes, which often means staying at Airbnb yourself.   Today, I want to talk about choosing the best coffee maker for Airbnb vacation rentals.  It’s not a glamorous topic but something that I do get asked quite often, and as usual, I have a lot of opinions here!

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Choosing the Best Coffee Maker for Airbnb Vacation Rentals

The coffee maker at your Airbnb is one item that most guests interact with daily while staying with you, so you want to choose a good one!

Does that mean a fancy one?  Probably not. 

Will it need to be expensive?  Probably not. 

Does it need to be easy to operate?  You bet. 

Should it be easy to keep clean? Absolutely.

Will you need to provide a big selection of coffee?  I say no.

So, let’s get into it.  First, I want to quickly discuss your actual Airbnb and your target guest because that does make a difference here.  Next, I’ll share my line of thinking when choosing the best coffee machine for an Airbnb. 

Then, I will share exactly what Airbnb coffee maker I use, how it’s set up, and one very important tip!  Feel free to leave comments on this blog post with any questions, and as always, thanks for reading!

What type of Airbnb do you have?

I want you to ask yourself what type of Airbnb you have.  Describe it in 3 words.  Is it cozy, luxurious, remote, efficient, or something else?  What type of guest stays with you?  Are you located in a remote destination where the majority of the stay is spent right there in your place?  Or are you in a walkable community full of restaurants, bars, and coffee shops?

These things matter because you want everything inside your rental to feel like it belongs there.  This includes your coffee maker.  If you are catering to a very high-end crowd, you may not want to take my advice, but you probably will want to read through my thought process here. 

Most rentals will be absolutely fine with one or two basic coffee makers, and  I will share those below.  But only you know your space and your guest’s needs.  A French press may be perfect for your rustic cabin in northern California.

Most Airbnb’s are in locations where people have access to a small grocer and/or grocery delivery.  If you are in a place that does not, you will need to provide everything for your guests.  Do not expect them to go buy more coffee pods or toilet paper.  Know your market and know your guests!

Is there one best coffee maker for Airbnb properties?

So, on that note, there will never be one single best option.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, regardless of how hard you try, you will not be able to please 100% of people 100% of the time.   While one guest may have wanted something fancier, another guest may not be impressed with your $4000 Jura coffee maker because it’s confusing to use.

So before you start searching for a  “Nespresso for Airbnb,” hear me out!  More features are not necessarily a good thing!

What is the best espresso machine for Airbnb?  I have no idea because it’s not something that I want to provide for my short-term rental guests.

What should you consider when determining the best coffee maker for Airbnb rentals?

In my opinion, the most important things to ask before buying a coffee maker are: Is it easy to use, easy to clean, and necessary?

Keep it simple, stupid when choosing an Airbnb coffee maker

Have you heard the phrase Keep it Simple, Stupid?   This is almost my motto when it comes to Airbnb hosting.  Keep it simple, stupid. The KISS principle, used frequently by the US Military, states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated.  Complexity should be avoided whenever possible, and simplicity will guarantee you the most acceptance and positive interaction by users.

Your coffee maker would be incredibly easy to use.   Most adults can use a regular coffee maker and/or a Keurig pod coffee maker with ease.  I say most because I have had 2 issues of user error over the years.   Nobody wants to read an instruction manual when on vacation.  If you can’t explain how to operate it in one sentence, then it’s too intricate.

Are there coffee shops nearby?

Earlier, I asked if your rental is in a remote area or an urban area.  This is actually important.  If you have a large, luxurious lodge-like rental nestled in the woods,  you may not want to take my advice here.  Go big if that’s what the guests will expect.

But, if you are in a walkable area, like our condos on 30A near Rosemary Beach, you’ll find that many guests enjoy going out for coffee in the morning.  Amavida coffee in Rosemary Beach is so fantastic that nothing I put in my condo could compete – so I am not going to.  Most guests will have their first cup in our place and then head out for a nice walk, coffee in hand.

Is your coffee maker easy to keep clean and easy to replace?

Both of these questions are key.

You want something that can be easily kept clean and easily wiped down.  I actually don’t even like Keurigs with clear water reservoirs because, as a guest, arriving to standing water in there would kind of gross me out.

You will also want to make sure that your coffee maker is easy to replace.   I would anticipate that the glass carafes get broken more often than you would think.  I actually take the same approach here as I do with my Airbnb bedding and our Airbnb mattresses that guests rave about.  Most items get stained or broken before the end of their natural life, so I would rather buy something inexpensive that I can easily replace than invest in a more expensive, higher-end product.

What do I think is the best coffee maker for Airbnb rentals?

As you know, my 4 condos on 30A are all smaller, ranging from 340 to 750 sq feet.  Counter space comes at a premium in my studio condos as well.  In all of my units, I have a Keurig Mini on the counter and a regular old-fashioned Mr. Coffee coffee maker in a cabinet.   This combo has worked out very well for me, and I have never received feedback from guests stating that this was not sufficient.

Keurig Mini Coffee Maker

I think that the Keurig K-Mini is the best overall coffee machine for Airbnb rentals.  The mini, not the K-slim or the K-Surpeme, which look similar, because I don’t like the water reservoirs on those.  The sitting water bothers me, and having different people taking them out to fill is an opportunity for something to break.  This is about as basic as it gets.  The user fills a coffee cup with water, pours it into the back, inserts a K-cup, closes it, presses the button, and viola!  It is easy to use without having to provide ANY instructions.

Disclosure: Twice, out of almost 2000 stays, I have encountered user error and had a guest not wait for the water to warm up.   It’s a single serve coffee maker, but they poured a second cup of water in before the first was made and then reached out to me when it overflowed.  So, if that happens to you, ask them to dump the entire thing upside down over the sink and start over. It always takes a little bit of time to warm up, especially on the first cup of the day.

I have also had one break before when the lid was forced shut too hard. Luckily, I had a replacement in my cleaner’s closet.  And they were nice enough to come and set it out for me.

I use the black Keurig Mini because my countertops are black in the condos, but the Keurig K-Mini does come in a variety of cute colors as well!  We usually buy on Amazon, but you may want to check the Keurig website as well because sometimes they have great sales on them, too!

Mr. Coffee 12-cup Coffee Maker

Inside each condo, we have a regular Mr. Coffee 12-cup drip coffee maker tucked into a cabinet.  I like to keep the counter space as free as possible.  I know that some people (maybe or maybe not Matt and I) like to drink a pot or two of coffee in the morning. 

Providing this second regular brew coffee maker is an inexpensive way to both please those guests and have a backup in case the Keurig breaks.  You may even find that some guests like to buy local ground coffee and make it themselves throughout the remainder of their stay.

Should you provide coffee for your Airbnb guests?

So, this is the million-dollar question.  For a new host, your first inclination may be to search for “coffee station for Airbnb” ideas and want to put together an adorable Airbnb coffee bar for your guests, complete with local coffee and maybe even some hot chocolate. Not so fast.

Airbnb Hosting Reality Check

First, ask yourself, can you keep this coffee station clean and dust-free?  And can you keep this stocked and looking nice 100% of the time?   I will tell you that even the best cleaning teams don’t take care of your place as well as you do.   

Every single time I visit our Seacrest Beach condos, I have to spend time putting things back where they go.   Unless you are personally making sure this coffee spread looks great, I would not count on someone else doing it.  For me, it’s not worth the risk of having it look sloppy.

Here is what we do!  We provide 2 K-cups as a starter, 4 creamers, 6 sweeteners, and a single-use pack of ground coffee.   We make that very clear in our house manual, and guests know that is what to expect. 

When I first got started, I would provide all kinds of K-Cups in a cute display, but then I realized that some people would take all of them home when they left. It’s a weird phenomenon, but what disappears most often from our places (used to be) are coffee pods and the rolls of trash bags.

But, I do always try to provide more coffee via my borrow baskets.  In my 7 Airbnb Must Haves post, I talk about my borrow baskets in the kitchen and bathrooms.  Whenever I am there, I restock coffee pods, creamers, and sweeteners in there as well.  And funny enough, those don’t disappear.  Guests also leave their extras down there for future guests, and I don’t think anyone has even lacked coffee. 

I would rather my guests be pleasantly surprised to find some in there than be disappointed when they expected more. Does that make sense?

What is the best coffee for Airbnb?

For pod coffee, cleaners use the Amazon Brand – 100 Ct. Solimo Variety Pack Light and Medium Roast Coffee Pods (Kona, Breakfast, Donut).   I also buy these and restock my baskets with them.  At 25 cents each, they are affordable, don’t look cheap, and taste good.   

For the regular 12-cup coffee maker, my cleaners use the Maxwell House Single Serve Packets.  I also always try to have coffee filters in the borrow basket or cabinet for guests to use when making their own drip coffee.

My cleaners also provide creamer pods and sweetener packets.   I do think that it is important to ask your cleaners if they provide these or want you to.  We simply don’t have storage space in our cleaner’s closet for a bunch of extras, so they provide them.

Also, you want to make sure that you have nice coffee cups.  Don’t skimp here.  This is an opportunity to either use your brand or your location wisely.  We provide Rosemary Beach coffee cups in one of our units and get a lot of compliments on them.

TIP: Always have backup coffee makers!

Things get broken, and guests usually don’t tell you.   It’s typically the next set of guests who notice, and you need to jump into damage control mode quickly.  So, make sure to have a backup of each coffee maker either in storage at your unit or with your cleaners.  If you aren’t able to do this, my advice would be to use Target same-day delivery and have one sent to your guest right away if needed.

Also, if you want to know how to be a great Airbnb guest or hear about my personal experience with the bad ones, read my Don’t Ghost Your Host blog post!  We have had so many wonderful guests stay at our condos on 30A, but there have been some doozies, and I am going to leave you again with my favorite advice for future Airbnb hosts.  No one and nothing is perfect. 

You can not please 100% of the people 100% of the time.   But you can please everyone else to the best of your ability — and that’s what makes an Airbnb superhost!

Rent our 30A Seacrest Beach Airbnbs

We would love to host you at any of our condos on 30a, in the Florida panhandle,  that we book exclusively on Airbnb.  We love being hosts and providing concierge-style service for our guests!   

You can click here to view all 4 of our Seacrest Beach vacation rentals (located a block from Rosemary Beach, Florida) and check both rates and availability.   

Wondering when to visit?  I have a blog post all about the best time to visit 30A and Florida in general!  And I have a Guide to 30A Airports as well!

Learn More About Becoming an Airbnb Host

Would you like to become an Airbnb host?  If you are considering purchasing a short-term vacation rental and becoming an Airbnb host yourself, I have a whole section here on my blog about our journey so far.  I always welcome any conversations and love to share my experience.  I have a lot of great advice to share, so feel free to leave me a comment or reach out to me on either of our Instagram accounts below!

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