Vacapedia Vacation Rentals Blog

When you first arrive at your vacation rental, you may be so eager to chuck your bags in a corner and head out to explore that you may forget to do a few things in the vacation property itself. Now, the home’s owner or management company should have left the house ready for the next guests, and you shouldn’t have to do too much to prepare it for your stay, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be done. After all, the vacation home stays the same for everyone, and one size doesn’t necessarily fit all.

With that in mind, here are five things you should do when you first arrive at your vacation rental.

1. Check the fridge. Depending on the rental situation, there may be some foodstuffs in the fridge and the cupboards when you arrive. You’ll want to take note of what’s already in the kitchen before you start making your shopping list. And make sure you know whether you’re supposed to leave the food supplies as you found them - if you are, you’ll need to make sure you know what’s there so you’ll know what to replace before you leave.
2. Check the kitchen. This is related to #1, but deserves its own mention here (in my opinion) because appliances can vary so much from house to house. You may know much of this in advance - whether the vacation rental has a dishwasher, for instance - but just because it has one doesn’t mean it’s the same one you’re used to at home. Taking a look around the kitchen to determine whether the tiny, antique oven will even accommodate a lasagna dish, whether the coffee machine has seen better days, or whether the freezer has a thick layer of frost are all good things to do when you first arrive in the vacation property. This isn’t to say that you’re going to go out and replace an appliance if it’s not up to the standards of your home appliances, but knowing what you’ve got to work with before you run to the grocery store is a good idea.
3. Check the heat. When a vacation rental is vacant between visitors, the heat may be turned way down to save energy. If it’s cold outside, you’ll want to turn the heat up in the various rooms you’ll be using. And incidentally, going to the grocery store to pick up supplies is a great thing to do while the house warms up.
4. Check the equipment. This depends entirely on what “extras” your vacation rental comes with, but the general rule is the same. If there’s a boat, make sure there are life jackets in the sizes you’ll need. If there are bicycles, make sure they’re in good shape and there are helmets available. If there’s a barbecue, make sure you’ve got the necessary fuel. The idea is that the owner may not have a chance to come out and inventory all of this between each guest’s stay, so it’s a good idea to see what’s what. The alternative is to have the burgers and hot dogs all ready to grill and only then realize there’s no charcoal.
5. Check the checklist. You may have been given a property checklist by the owner or management company before you arrived at the vacation rental, or you may find one when you get there. Either way, you’ll want to go over it so you know if there’s anything that needs to be done upon arrival (besides the usual stuff). Each vacation rental is going to be a little different, and could have some quirks that you wouldn’t know about otherwise.

Of course, on the other side of things, remember there are also certain things you’ll want to do as you’re preparing to leave your vacation rental - you should leave it as you found it, so many of the departure to-do items will be the reverse of the arrival to-do items. If you haven’t been given a departure checklist from the homeowner or management company, just plan to leave the vacation rental as it was when you arrived.