What amenities should be included in an Airbnb?

Understanding Airbnb essentials isn't just about checking boxes on a listing — it's about making deliberate choices that directly affect your bookings, reviews, and revenue. The difference between a property that sits half-empty and one that stays booked solid often comes down to amenities.

Get them right, and guests not only book once — they come back and tell their friends.

Watch the full video above or keep reading for the complete breakdown.

Must-Have Airbnb Essentials

Every short-term rental needs a baseline set of amenities — things guests simply expect to find when they walk through the door. Skipping any of these is a fast track to bad reviews and lost repeat bookings. Here's the Airbnb essentials list that every host should have locked down before their first guest checks in.

Fast, Reliable Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi isn't optional in 2026. It's as expected as running water. More importantly, it needs to be fast — not just technically present. A growing share of Airbnb guests book STRs specifically to work remotely, and a sluggish connection will show up in your reviews immediately.

Test your speeds before listing. If you're offering anything under 50 Mbps download, consider upgrading. Display the Wi-Fi name and password prominently in your welcome guide and on a card near the TV or router. Small detail — big impact.

Potable Water

This one surprises many hosts, but it's critical in certain markets. If your property is in a region where tap water isn't safe to drink — common in parts of Mexico, Southeast Asia, Central America, and beyond — you need to provide bottled water from day one.

Guests arriving late on a long-haul flight with nothing to drink is a guest who will mention it in their review.

You don't need to stock enough for their entire stay. A few bottles on arrival is enough. It's a small cost that removes a real frustration.

Bedding and Towels

This seems obvious, but it's increasingly common for hosts to skip it — particularly budget listings. Don't. Guests should never have to bring their own sheets or figure out if the bed is actually going to be made when they arrive.

Stock quality bedding in the correct sizes for each bed at the property. Same goes for bath towels, hand towels, and washcloths. Keep extra sets on hand so turnover between bookings is clean and fast. For a deeper look at how to manage linen logistics at scale, check out BNB Mastery's advice on cutting Airbnb operational costs without sacrificing quality.

Coffee, Tea, and Basic Cooking Essentials

A kettle, a coffee maker, and a few mugs go a long way. Most guests expect to be able to make a morning coffee without hunting for a café at 7am. Stock basic supplies — ground coffee, tea bags, sugar, creamer — and refresh them between stays.

For any listing with a kitchen or kitchenette, also stock cooking essentials: olive oil, salt, pepper, and basic spices. Asking a two-night guest to buy a full bottle of olive oil just to scramble eggs is an unnecessary friction point. These items cost almost nothing to maintain but show up consistently in positive reviews.

Smart TV

A regular TV with a cable box is becoming obsolete. Guests arrive expecting to log into Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, or whatever streaming service they use at home. A smart TV makes that easy.

If you can't replace the TV right now, add an Apple TV or Google Chromecast — either gets the job done. The smart TV is the cleaner, simpler solution for most hosts.

Nice-to-Have Airbnb Amenities

These aren't absolute deal-breakers, but hosts who skip them are leaving money and reviews on the table. If you want to operate in the top tier of listings in your market, the following Airbnb amenities are essentially expected by discerning guests.

Phone Chargers and Charging Stations

A USB charging hub or station on each bedside table is a low-cost, high-impact addition. Guests forget chargers all the time. Having one available means they don't have to scramble — and it signals that you've thought about their actual experience, not just the listing photos.

IKEA and Amazon both sell affordable multi-port stations. Budget $20-40 per room and move on. It's one of the easiest wins on this list.

Bedside Lamps

Overhead lighting in a bedroom is harsh and impractical. Guests reading in bed, winding down for the night, or just trying not to wake a partner don't want to flip the main switch. Bedside lamps solve this immediately.

More practically: guests shouldn't have to navigate a pitch-black unfamiliar room after turning off the light. A lamp next to the bed is a safety and comfort item, not a luxury. Add one to each side of a shared bed.

Kitchen Appliances and Cookware

Beyond the basics, think about what guests actually use at home. A blender for smoothies, a toaster for breakfast, a microwave for leftovers — these are things people miss when they're not there. Stock your kitchen so guests can maintain their routines without compromise.

Pots, pans, and baking sheets round out a functional kitchen. A well-stocked kitchen is also a searchable filter on Airbnb, which means it directly affects how often your listing appears in search results. To understand how amenities connect to your broader listing strategy, the post on 7 keys to a great Airbnb listing covers the full picture.

Hangers

If your property has a closet — and it should — it needs hangers. Full stop. Guests who arrive for a four-night stay and want to hang up their clothes shouldn't find an empty closet rod. This is a two-second fix that avoids a completely unnecessary frustration.

A Dedicated Workspace

A proper desk and chair isn't just a nice-to-have anymore — it's a booking driver. Airbnb allows hosts to list "dedicated workspace" as a searchable amenity, which opens your listing up to a huge segment of remote workers and business travelers.

Business travel bookings tend to be weeknight stays — exactly the inventory most leisure-focused properties struggle to fill. Adding a desk doesn't just improve guest experience; it directly addresses a revenue gap. Pair it with a strong Wi-Fi setup and you've got a listing that appeals to an entirely different traveler profile.

Hosts building out their listings to attract more of these bookings may also find value in connecting with others doing the same. The BNB Tribe community is a good resource for sharing what's working and getting feedback from experienced hosts across different markets.

Bonus Amenities That Win More Bookings

This is where good listings become great ones. Bonus amenities are the things guests don't expect — but love finding. They're the items that show up in five-star reviews, get shared on social media, and make a group of friends choose your property over four similar alternatives nearby.

Games: Board, Yard, and Beyond

Games are universally useful for almost any guest profile — families, couples, friend groups, and corporate retreats. A shelf of board games costs very little and adds a lot. Yard games like bocce ball, cornhole, or spike ball work especially well for properties with outdoor space.

For properties targeting larger groups, consider stepping it up: a ping pong table, foosball table, or arcade-style game (Pac-Man cabinets have performed particularly well) can become a genuine draw. These are the kinds of amenities that end up in the listing title and in every review.

Sports Equipment

Think about what guests can actually do near your property. Near hiking trails? Offer trekking poles and microspikes for winter hikes. Near water? Have a kayak, paddle boards, or fishing gear. Large yard? A basketball hoop, Frisbee, and soccer ball cover a lot of ground.

Sports equipment is inexpensive relative to the value it adds. It solves the "what are we actually going to do there?" question before guests even ask it — which is one of the biggest factors in group booking decisions.

A DIY Movie Theater

A projector setup doesn't require a full renovation. A quality projector ($400-600), a decent soundbar ($150-300), and a comfortable couch in a room that can be darkened out — that's a movie theater. Basements are ideal for this since they're otherwise underutilized space.

Guests love it. It photographs beautifully. And it gives guests something to do on a rainy night or a lazy morning that they wouldn't get at a hotel. The investment pays back quickly in higher nightly rates and better reviews.

Hot Tub and Sauna

These are the bigger-ticket investments, but in many markets they're practically non-negotiable. Hot tubs are a searchable filter on Airbnb — guests can specifically exclude listings that don't have one. In competitive cottage, cabin, or mountain markets, a missing hot tub can eliminate your property from consideration entirely.

Saunas have surged in popularity and are now a genuine differentiator in markets where they're not yet the norm. Both amenities command meaningfully higher nightly rates and tend to attract longer stays. The upfront cost is real, but experienced hosts consistently report that hot tubs and saunas more than pay for themselves within the first season.

For investors analyzing whether these upgrades make financial sense, the short-term rental cash-on-cash analysis framework is a useful starting point for running the numbers.

Geodesic Domes and Unique Structures

For hosts who want to go a step further, adding a geodesic dome to the property serves two purposes: it adds a genuinely unique, shareable amenity that guests will talk about, and it functions as additional sleeping accommodation — which allows you to increase your max guest count and your nightly rate.

This isn't a fit for every property or market, but in the right context it can be a significant revenue driver. BNB Mastery has covered the full process and costs involved in adding a geodesic dome to an Airbnb for hosts who want to explore this option.

Think Year-Round, Not Just Peak Season

One of the most common mistakes hosts make is building a great summer property and then wondering why bookings dry up in the off-season. A lake house with a dock and kayaks is great in July. In February, what does it offer?

The best-performing listings in competitive markets have something for guests regardless of when they show up. A hot tub works in January. Board games work on rainy days. A movie room works any time. Snowshoes and fire pits work in winter.

Think through each season and ask honestly: if someone booked this weekend in February, what would they actually do here?

Properties that answer that question well don't just perform better in the off-season — they also attract more group bookings, because groups want to know there's enough to keep everyone entertained. For more strategies on keeping demand strong throughout the year, the post on increasing Airbnb demand covers this in detail.

Building Your Airbnb Amenities List

So what does a complete Airbnb amenities list actually look like when you put it all together? Think in three tiers:

• Must-haves: Fast Wi-Fi, potable water, quality bedding and towels, coffee and tea setup, cooking essentials, smart TV
• Nice-to-haves: Phone charging stations, bedside lamps, full kitchen appliances and cookware, hangers, dedicated workspace/desk
• Bonus amenities: Board games, yard games, sports equipment, projector/movie room, hot tub, sauna, unique structures like geodesic domes

When reviewing your current listing, go through each tier and identify what's missing. The must-haves need to be there before you accept your first booking. The nice-to-haves should be in place within the first few months. And the bonus amenities can be added strategically over time as revenue grows.

It's also worth auditing what the competition in your specific market is offering. What are the top-rated listings nearby including? Are there searchable amenities — hot tub, pool, workspace, EV charger — that your competitors have checked and you haven't?

Understanding what guests in your area expect is the foundation of a smart amenity strategy. The post on finding the best Airbnb amenities in your market walks through exactly how to do that competitive research.

Hosts who want a more structured approach to improving their overall listing performance — including amenities, pricing, and guest experience — may benefit from the resources available through the BNB Investing Blueprint, which covers how to evaluate and optimize short-term rental properties from top to bottom.

Understanding what are essentials on Airbnb isn't a one-time exercise. Guest expectations shift. New amenities become standard. What was a bonus in 2020 might be a must-have in 2026. Staying current on what the market expects is part of running a competitive listing.

Platforms like the BNB Tribe community help hosts stay plugged into what's actually working right now, across different markets and property types.

Final Thoughts on Airbnb Essentials

Getting your Airbnb essentials right is one of the highest-leverage things you can do as a host. The must-haves protect your reviews. The nice-to-haves elevate your guest experience. And the bonus amenities are what make guests choose you over a dozen similar listings — and come back next year.

Start with the basics. Fill the gaps in the middle tier. Then think strategically about which bonus amenities make sense for your market, your property type, and your target guest. Not every property needs a geodesic dome, but every property should have fast Wi-Fi and a lamp next to the bed.

The hosts who win consistently aren't the ones with the fanciest properties — they're the ones who understand what their specific guests need and deliver it better than anyone nearby. That starts with getting the fundamentals right and building from there.