Holiday Let - Welcome Basket

Waste of time Georgesgran!!

This thread is 8 years old!!!!! Hopefully NudeJude will come back and tell us what she put in her welcome pack....and if the business has been successful over the last eight years.

Tea bags, some instant coffee, hot chocolate & sugar sachets. Milk, eggs, cheese & some kind of spread in the fridge. A loaf of uncut bread from the local baker's, an unopened jar of jam/marmalade/honey, a fresh cake and/or biscuits, a small bowl of fresh fruit. If your budget extends to it, a tub of fresh soup, a bottle of wine and a carton of fresh juice and maybe a box of everyday cereal.
It's a good idea to ask people's dietary preferences when they book, as you could waste a lot of money on meat, fish, cheese, etc if they're vegans. I hate having to throw food in the bin, whether it's vegetarian or not, and I'd feel uncomfortable trying to give it away to neighbours!
You can get vegan versions of just about anything now, or alternatively, leave a small punnet of fresh mushrooms instead. Just a small personal preference of mine: don't bother with vegetarian bacon or vegan cheese - imho, nobody has yet invented a decent version of either. You can get vegetarian cheese (made without animal rennet) but you'd need to check the ingredients list carefully.
Already-opened bottles and jars (sauce, jam, etc) are a no-no for me, as is sugar, coffee and other loose dry foodstuffs decanted into small containers. I just don't care to use other people's leavings!
I do love to see local produce - we were once left a beautiful little selection of sweet & savoury pastries made by a lady down the road - that alone charmed us into booking a return visit before we left!
Finally, it's a nice personal touch to include a small hand-written welcome card (with directions to the nearest shop so they can stock up on whatever else they need).
Of course, you'll factor all this into your rental tariff - you don't need to make a huge profit on the food but you don't want to lose money on it either!
Hope this helps and good luck with the business!

As the thread is 8 YEARS OLD I’m sure the OP has it all done and dusted now.

What did you decide NudeJude??

Stayed in the Cotswolds a couple of years ago, had tea, coffee, milk and the most delicious lemon drizzle cake. As it was advertised as dog friendly there were also dog biscuits and poo bags.

I didn't see it was an old one until Grannybags pointed it out. Maybe Beverleyk reopened it to advertise.

Helterskelter, thanks for that - I must take more care 🤣

In the Holiday cottages we have used we always appreciate a homemade cake and a bottle of wine! It's a lovely welcome on arrival. Fresh flowers on the table are a great idea too.

I wonder how the OPs holiday let is going. Eight years down the line.

This thread is 8 years old

rosesarered

...and don't forget loo rolls for the bathroom.

Yes! We once arrived at a holiday let with 2 loos - and no paper!
I was bursting - had to send dh straight out on an errand of mercy. Luckily there was a small supermarket close by.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

Reported

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

We went to a holiday cottage in North Wales which had all the everyday essentials supplied but also a fruit basket and a bottle of local wine, it was such a beautiful cottage we've been back twice.

We have a holiday let in the Lake District. I'm beginning to feel a bit inadequate! The thing is, we live an hour and a half away, so I'm not able to pop in with home-made scones and clotted cream,(much as I would like to) and I don't feel I could ask the cleaner to do this. We have only had the cottage less than 2 years and isn't isn't anything posh (3 star) - just a comfy place that allows dogs and is mostly let to couples and walkers. We have carried on with what the previous owner did - coffee and tea bags, a couple of packets of biscuits and some of those little pots of milk. We leave plentiful supplies of washing up liquid, dishwasher tabs, loo rolls etc. We are in the centre of a village, so it is easy to pick up supplies.

Thank you all for such helpful input, and your kind good wishes for our new enterprise. In answer to your question 'PoshGran' we're already open for short breaks and out of season, and definitely for Easter.

Once again, thanks all.

We had a lovely welcome basket in a cottage near Exeter with lots of local produce. We have generally found that the basket is an addition to the basics left in the kitchen.

My favourite self-catering cottage (sleeps 2) is attached to the owner's home.
Her "welcome tray" is simply a jug of milk in the fridge, a plate of 4 scones & butter or other freshly home-baked cake, and a vase of freshly cut garden flowers.
In the kichen cupboard she leaves individual tea/coffee/chocolate/sugar sachets, salt & pepper only. (And loo rolls!)
Being situated in a small Yorkshire village with an excellent general store,a bakery, a choice of three good eating places and a mobile fish & chip van on a Wednesday, all within 200 metres of the front door, there is no need for the owner to do other than provide the personalised "touch" that she does.

The location of your holiday cottage Jude will determine what your guests might need & find useful. Our cottage owner also provides public transport info, parking discs, laminated OS maps,outdoor boot scrapers, brushes & a tap!
Hope all goes well - are you opening for Easter?

We stayed recently in a very expensive property and were greeted with the basics. Bearing in mind the house was for 15 I felt being left 2 dishwasher tablets was rather mean! I would like to find fresh milk, tea, eggs, bread so if we arrived late we could at least feed ourselves. I usually take half the fridge contents with me anyway. In addition to dishwasher tabs I would expect J cloths, loo cleaner, washing up liquid, plenty of T cloths, refuse bags, foil and cling film,

The content ofwelcome baskets varis hugely in my experience. The last cottage we had in South Wales last year was a half loaf of white sliced bread and a punnet of cherry tomatoes - a welcome basket was advertised in the blurb so I felt rather annoyed at that meagre offering.
The year before in the Yorkshire Dales we had fresh crusty bread, milk, tea bags, biscuits, crisps, chocolate, a cake , a bottle of wine in the fridge and some coffee pods which was lovely and we hadn't expected so much. This last cottage was the same price as the first one but much better appointed. the first one even kept the heating controls on their side of the house - never met such meanness - we went home early.

We usually find things like sugar, pepper and salt and other condiments, in a cupboard. Kitchen roll and spare loo paper is also usually provided. Often there's a utility drawer with string, scissors, a torch, local OS map, spare bulbs etc.
Information from other guests, or from the owner, about local restaurants is useful. A few paperbacks or DVDs, though we always have our own.
Good luck with your enterprise.

We stayed a few times at a lovely farm cottage in Cornwall and the lady owner always left a basket of fresh scones, jam and clotted cream for your arrival. It was such a treat and worth going back for