Should You Provide Linens or Have Guests Bring Their Own?

Note: This is an edited transcript of Christine Karpinski's How To Rent Vacation Properties by Owner podcast.

Host, Christine Karpinski: Today's question from an owner is...

Q: "What are the benefits of having renters bring their own linens versus you providing them?"

A: Well in some areas, you actually don't have too much of a choice. There are laws regarding what you can and cannot provide under health codes. Now, that's only a few small pockets of the United States that requires the owners to not provide the linens for the vacation rentals.

However, I recommend that you have the linens provided, and I'll tell you why. Think about when you're traveling and packing, to get ready to go on vacation. It's always difficult to fit what you need in that small little suitcase, and especially if you're packing for a family. Say, you've got two adults and three kids. You're talking the two adults in one bedroom, and the three kids in three separate. So that's four sets of sheets that you'll have to pack, along with the regular things that you've got to pack to go on vacation.

So, I think whenever it's possible you should really try to provide the linens for your vacation homes. If you have a difficult time with your house keeping staff, perhaps they don't have time to clean them or they don't want to, look in your local yellow pages and see if there are linen services.

Often in a lot of vacation rental markets, there are services that primarily work for the property managers however you can also contract with them to bring fresh linens each week. Now, it comes at a little bit of cost. However, I think it is worth it both for you and your travelers.