How to Set Up a Holiday Home That Performs — Key Items from Our Home Requirements Checklist

Setting up a holiday let properly is one of the biggest factors in whether it succeeds or struggles. A well-prepared home gets better reviews, attracts repeat guests, and runs more smoothly from day one.

At Red Kite Hosts, we’ve onboarded over 100 homes in and around the Cotswolds. Over time, we’ve built a detailed Home Requirements Checklist that we use whenever a property goes live — whether we’re advising an owner or handling the full setup ourselves.

Today, we’re sharing some of that checklist with you. These are some of the most essential and highly recommended items, broken down by room, to help you get your property ready to host.

Why This Matters

Onboarding a home to Airbnb or any short-let platform isn’t just about buying a few essentials and hoping for the best. It takes time, planning, and attention to detail.

The setup phase is often the biggest single time investment an owner makes. Even once your property is live, there’s plenty to stay on top of: guest messaging, housekeeping, maintenance, pricing — we manage all of that too. But it’s the setup that lays the foundation. If it’s done properly, everything else becomes easier.

How We Categorise What a Home Needs

Not every item in a holiday let is equally important — but many contribute in different ways to guest experience, operations, and long-term performance. That’s why we organise our checklist into four clear priority levels:

Essential

• These are non-negotiables. A property cannot operate reliably or meet guest expectations without them. If you're missing any of these, they should be addressed before going live.

Highly Recommended

• These items aren’t strictly required, but they have a significant impact on comfort, convenience, and reviews. They’re often the difference between a 4-star and a 5-star stay.

Recommended

• Useful additions that guests appreciate, but are less critical. They help create a well-rounded experience and show attention to detail, especially for longer stays.

Nice to Have

• Extras that add charm or a personal touch. These can surprise and delight guests, contributing to memorable stays, but they aren’t expected as standard.

The Checklist

Below are a sample of the Essential and Highly Recommended items from our checklist, with some of the most often forgotten ones included to help you not miss them off of your home set up.

🛏 Bedroom

Essential

• Mattress protector
• Two pillows per guest
• Bed linen (3 full sets per bed - one on the beds, one in the laundry and one spare)
• Hairdryer (in at least 50% of bedrooms)
• Full length mirror (in at least 50% of bedrooms)

Highly recommended

• Fan
• Travel cot (if the home is child-friendly)

‍

🛁 Bathroom

Essential

• Shampoo, conditioner and body wash
• Mirror
• Small pedal bin
• Toilet roll (with plenty spare)
• Stainless steel squeegee

Highly recommended

• Toothbrush holder
• Toilet roll holder or basket

‍

🍽 Kitchen

Essential

• Knives, forks, tablespoons, teaspoons
• Cereal bowls
• Mugs
• Water glasses
• Chopping boards
• Colander
• Sieve
• Baking trays
• A set of cooking knives
• Can opener
• Peeler
• Bottle opener
• Corkscrew
• Cafetiere or Moka pot (essential if no coffee machine)

Highly Recommended

• Serving jug
• Serving spoons
• Salad bowl
• Pyrex mixing bowls
• Knife sharpener

‍

🛋 General Areas

Essential

• Front and back doormats
• Ironing and ironing board
• Clothes airer

Highly Recommended

• Smart TV
• Books
• Playing cards and board games
• Torch
• Shoe rack

‍

🧹 Cleaning & Utility

Essential

• Mop and bucket
• Broom
• Dustpan and brush
• Vacuum cleaner
• Dishwasher tablets
• Bin bags
• Washing-up liquid
• Cleaning cloth or sponge

‍

🔐 Access

Essential

• Lockbox (fully working with full key set)
• Backup/emergency lockbox (fully working with full key set)

‍

🧼 Guest Essentials & Finishing Touches

Essential

• Tea, coffee, milk
• Oil, salt, pepper
• A selection of herbs and spices

‍

Prefer to Have This All Done For You?

We hope this selection from our checklist helps you plan your setup. But if you don’t have the time to do all of this, or want to make sure it’s done properly, we can handle everything for you.

Our full onboarding service includes:

• Purchasing and installing all required items
• Inventory documentation
• Styling and setup
• Pre-photography deep cleaning
• Organising professional photography
• Optional furniture, redecoration and repair coordination

We've helped owners transform unfinished properties into fully guest-ready homes in a matter of weeks — and continue to manage those homes day-to-day with consistently high performance.

Want the Full Checklist and Expert Support?

We’ve only shared part of our full checklist here. If you want access to everything, and the confidence of knowing it’s all handled for you, we’d love to help so please get in touch and we can discuss how we can help you set up and manager your home.

‍