Our Story
In 2021, instead of buying a pandemic puppy, we bought a pandemic cabin in the Allegheny mountains of West Virginia, which was already a short-term rental. It needed a LOT OF improvements, inside and out. I’ve been since scouring the discussion forums, product reviews, and chat groups to curate lists for myself - now I’m sharing them with you. It’s a work in progress and each day and week I continue my research and add content.
Some of the products listed (not all) on this site contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase —at no extra cost to you. This helps support our work in curating and reviewing high-quality items for vacation rental hosts. If a Top 6 item does not have the option for affiliate marketing income, I do not exclude it - that’s my commitment to you.
I’m also a global traveler, having worked in 27 countries, and visited 63 - from good to bad, and have stayed in countless short-term rentals and hotel rooms, so I’ve seen it all, and I know what works and what doesn’t.
Our Vision
To create the insights featured in our Top 6 lists and blogs, we used a qualitative research approach grounded in real-world host experiences and practical use cases. This involved analyzing patterns in host conversations from online forums and social media groups—especially those dedicated to Airbnb and short-term rental management—where thousands of hosts share detailed feedback on products they’ve tested in their own properties. We supplemented this with customer reviews from major retail platforms and manufacturer information to assess durability, ease of maintenance, comfort, and guest satisfaction. The goal was to identify not just popular items, but those that consistently perform well under the unique pressures of short-term rental turnover and guest expectations, and led to 5 star reviews specifically.
Rather than relying solely on brand marketing or sponsored rankings, our method focused on triangulating user-generated content with firsthand anecdotes and product specifications to surface insights that are both actionable and trustworthy. For example, we looked for patterns in which mattress firmness levels and toppers led to fewer guest complaints, which types of sheets struck the best balance between cost and presentation, and what small touches consistently prompted five-star reviews. This research-driven process ensures that our recommendations reflect what actually works in the field—not just what looks good online.