Welcome to Seachange Vacation Rentals’ annual Vacation Rental Staging Guide to Kitchens 2021 Edition. Each year we review and update our staging guides and make available to our property owners. This guide is a list of basic items necessary to stock a vacation rental kitchen. Surveys show that a well-stocked kitchen is the number 1 item that guests look for in vacation rental properties and yes, Guests cook. A lot!

2021 Edition we brought the guide in at a total cost of $2031.14.

Here was the cost in prior years:

• 2020 – $1996.54.
• 2019 – $1162.38.
• 2018 – $1614.25.

This may seem like a lot of money, and it is. Remember that your vacation rental property is a business and should be treated as such! There are costs of doing business that are worth the upfront investment and will more than pay off in guest satisfaction, guest reviews, optimal rates, occupancy, and revenue. We assume that an owner is stocking their kitchen from scratch. You may already own some, or all of these items. You may be able to source from alternative suppliers and get better pricing. For this 2020 Edition, we sourced from amazon.com Prime with free shipping. We created a shopping list on amazon.com for these items, however, this guide does not imply support of any one supplier. 

We assume 8 Guests. This means that some items will need to be bought in multiples. We’ve indicated where this is necessary and adjusted costs accordingly.

Please be aware of the following:

• We recommend white, and/or minimally patterned items since we find that these match any decor and are easier to maintain.
• Pay careful attention to the photographs and buy similar items. Where the photograph shows an item with a lid: buy the item with a lid. If the photograph shows ceramic, stainless steel/aluminum, non-stick etc: buy the same finish/coating.
• Pans – saucepans, fry pans etc.. We always recommend stainless steel. Avoid non stick coated pans. Even the higher end expensive non stick pans will not hold up to vacation rental Guest use. They will get all scratched up and hit your reviews negatively after only a few Guest stays. Stainless steel will last longer and can be periodically cleaned by our Housekeeping using Barkeeper’s Friend to remove built up stains.
• We cover small appliances only. We assume the property already has a dishwasher, oven and stove top, microwave, and fridge-freezer with an icemaker.
• Coffee makers. Do not go cheap with this small appliance. No need either to outfit your property with a complicated Italian espresso Rolls Royce machine! Guests overwhelmingly favor amenities that are well made, simply designed, and easy to use. We recommend the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew combination drip and K-cup machine. It retails $79 – $129. It is a multi-functional, well-made, easy to use beast of a machine that so far none of our Guests have been able to break! Regular drip coffee machines in the $20 – $50 range rarely seem to last beyond a few Guests before something breaks on them.
• Acrylic and plastic items are included for outdoor dining and for areas with a pool and/or hot tub.
• If we found a better price buying similar items grouped into a set, then we bought the set. If you see an item with a zero price, then it means it was purchased as part of a set.

Please let us know if we missed anything on this guide.

Vacation Rental Staging Guide to Kitchens 2021 Edition

Bakeware: Cost $188.54

Large/medium non-stick baking trays:
$0 (part of a $72.99 set)

Non-stick rectangular loaf pan:
$0 (part of a $72.99 set)

Non-stick square brownie pan:
$0 (part of a $72.99 set)

24 count non-stick muffin pan:
$0 (part of a $72.99 set)

12 count non-stick muffin pan:
$0 (part of a $72.99 set)

Two non-stick round cake pans:
$0 (part of a $72.99 set)

Large 14″ non-stick pizza pan:
$13.95

9-piece stackable glass mixing bowl set:
$32.32

1-cup glass measuring jug:
$10.30

Set two 9.5″ glass pie dishes:
$18.00

Set two glass casserole/baking dishes:
$31.99

Set four measuring spoons:
$0 (part of $36.99 28-piece cooking utensil set)

Set four measuring cups:
$0 (part of $36.99 28-piece cooking utensil set)

Set three sieves:
$8.99

Cookware: Cost $472.62

Glassware/Barware: Cost $221.82

Tableware: Cost $249.54

Outdoor Dining: Cost $216.06

Storage: Cost $19.99

Small Appliances: Cost $278.94

Housekeeping: Cost $383.63

We also produce and review annually the following Guides:

• Vacation Rental Staging Guide General Advice.
• Vacation Rental Guide to Bedding

Property Owners are also encouraged to follow us in social media. Many of our post are geared towards Owner needs:

• Our Blog.
• Our Facebook Page.
• Our Twitter Page.
• Our YouTube Channel.

If you have any suggestions, comments, or feedback that we may use to improve this guide, or any of our Owner Guide, then please contact us below.