Most hosts think about amenities the same way they think about a grocery list. Check the boxes. Cover the basics. Hope it’s enough.
Towels. Coffee maker. WiFi password on the fridge. Maybe a welcome basket if you’re feeling generous.
And then they wonder why their reviews are good — but not remarkable. Why guests check out satisfied but don’t rave. Why the photos they took of their beautifully staged property somehow don’t convert the way they should.
Here’s what’s missing: intention. Not more stuff — the right stuff, for the right person.
This is where your Perfect Guest Avatar stops being a marketing exercise and starts being a business strategy.
Generic Amenities Are Invisible
There’s a version of every vacation rental that has everything and says nothing. The Keurig. The generic throw blanket. The basket of sample toiletries from Costco. The “game room” with a dusty dartboard.
None of that is bad. It’s just forgettable.
Forgettable amenities don’t make it into reviews. They don’t show up in photos guests share. They don’t generate the word-of-mouth that fills calendars without relying entirely on the OTA algorithm.
What does make it into reviews — what guests photograph and text to their friends and mention unprompted in a five-star write-up — is the thing that made them feel like you knew them before they arrived.
That only happens when you build for someone specific.
The Indoor S’mores Maker
I had a client whose perfect guest avatar was families with young kids — the nostalgic outdoor experience crowd. S’mores, campfire, hiking, all of it. She had a cabin with trails right behind it. Perfect setup.
But she was in an area where bad weather could roll in without warning. And she knew from her own experience as a mom that nothing disappointed kids faster than a rainy day with no backup plan. The whole trip could turn on that one moment.
So she bought an indoor s’mores kit from Costco. Tabletop. Maybe $20. Adorable.
Every single review mentioned it.
Not the kitchen renovation. Not the new mattresses. The s’mores kit — because it told those families something no feature list could: I thought about your kids. I thought about the rainy day. I already handled it.
That’s what avatar-driven amenities do. They don’t just add comfort. They communicate care in a way that feels personal, because it is personal.
The Hiking Kits
Same client. Same cabin. She knew her guests were likely to tackle the trails behind the property — and she knew they were ten miles from the nearest town. So she built hiking kits. Four backpacks, one for each kid, with water bottles, juice, bug spray, Band-Aids, a trail map, and a little laminated scavenger hunt board she made herself.
She went all out for her perfect guest. And her perfect guest told everyone about it.
That’s the return on a $20 amenity decision made with intention: reviews that do your marketing for you, guests who return, and word-of-mouth you can’t buy.
The Toddler Room
Another client built her entire brand around families with toddlers — a guest most vacation rentals completely overlook, even though they’re everywhere and they are loyal when they find somewhere that gets them.
She had a dedicated toddler room with a chalkboard wall. Bright, colorful swinging chairs in the living room sized for little ones. A pool with both a locking gate and a safety alarm. She knew that toddler moms aren’t just looking for fun — they’re scanning every square foot for hazards before they even click “book.”
Once she knew who she was hosting, every single decision had a clear answer. Not “should I add this?” but “would this make her feel safe?” That’s a completely different question — and it produces completely different results.
Her marketing practically wrote itself. Every Instagram post showed the experience a toddler mom actually needed to see to trust her. Every review reinforced it. Every booking was the right one.
How to Think About This for Your Property
The framework is simple. The work is in the specifics.
Step 1: Start with your avatar’s biggest worry.
What is the thing that could go wrong on this trip that would devastate them? For Awesome Mom Amy, it’s a rainy day with nowhere for the kids to go. For Aunt Amanda, it’s arriving with a baby and realizing there’s no pack-n-play. For Romantic Rhonda, it’s a property that feels like it was designed for a family reunion, not a getaway for two. Know the worry. Design the reassurance.
Step 2: Identify the gap between what you have and what they need.
Walk through your property as your avatar. What would they notice first? What would make them exhale? What would make them wince? Where does the experience fall short of the promise?
Step 3: Think small and specific before thinking big and expensive.
The s’mores kit outperformed the kitchen renovation in reviews. A laminated scavenger hunt board outperformed a new TV. The most memorable amenities are often the most affordable — because what makes them memorable isn’t the price tag, it’s the thought behind them. That thought only exists when you know who you’re designing for.
Step 4: Let your amenities tell the story in your marketing.
The indoor s’mores kit isn’t just an amenity. It’s a content piece. A photo of those kids making s’mores on a rainy afternoon is worth more than any stock image of a living room. The hiking kit laid out on the porch with little backpacks ready to go — that’s a reel. Your amenities, when designed for a specific person, become proof of your promise. Don’t just have them. Show them.
Step 5: Ask the breakfast question.
I use this one in every workshop I teach. Know your avatar so well that you know what they had for breakfast. Not because you need to stock it — but because knowing that detail tells you what to photograph, what to mention in your pre-arrival message, and what kind of content makes your ideal guest stop scrolling and think: she gets it.
If your avatar is Awesome Mom Amy, you’re shooting kids in pajamas eating cereal on the back porch, unhurried and free. If it’s a health-conscious couple, you’re filming a Saturday morning reel at the farmers market two miles down the road. Same property. Completely different stories. Completely different guests who feel seen.
The Real ROI of Designing for Your Guest
Here’s what hosts miss when they think about amenities as a checklist: the return isn’t just in guest satisfaction. It’s in marketing efficiency, review quality, and the kind of word-of-mouth that makes your calendar fill with people you actually want to host.
When the right guest arrives at a property that was built for them — where someone thought about their kids, their grandma’s knees, their need for quiet, their love of a good hiking trail — they don’t just leave five stars. They tell people. They come back. They book direct next time because they want you, not just a rental.
That’s what the Guest First Framework is built to create. Not just a better listing. A better business.
The amenities are where that philosophy becomes real — one thoughtful, specific, perfectly-placed s’mores kit at a time.
Start by knowing who you’re designing for.
The Perfect Guest Blueprint walks you through the full avatar-building process — powered by a custom GPT built specifically for hospitality businesses. Define your ideal guest, uncover what makes them book, and build the foundation for every amenity decision, marketing choice, and guest experience investment you make from here.
[Grab Your Perfect Guest Blueprint →]
It’s free. It’s the starting point for everything.
And if you want to put the whole Guest First Framework to work across your brand, messaging, and marketing strategy — I’d love to help.
[Work with me →]
Part of the Guest First content series. Start with the foundation: [Who Are You Really Hosting? The Guest First Framework for Vacation Rentals →]
Jodi Bourne is a vacation rental brand and marketing strategist, creator of the Guest First Framework, and host of the Savvy Hosts’ Roadmap podcast. [Learn more →]
