The Four Best Microwaves For Your Airbnb

Airbnbs are often judged by the amenities they provide. It is very important to fulfill the guest’s expectations – even the ones that are not explicitly said. One such expectation that everyone has is the presence of a microwave in the room. You want to make sure that your guests have options and they don’t starve. They might just leave a ‘hangry’ negative review. Here are some amazing microwaves for your Airbnb.

Why invest in a microwave?

Well, the most important reason is that if you fail to fulfill an unsaid expectation the guest will be unpleasantly shocked. The absence of something that they just expected might be present can be quite jarring. The microwave is a common household appliance. They are even provided in most hotel rooms. People just expect them to be present. It is better to have that requirement met from out the gate.

Also, depending on the location of your Airbnb, the guests might not have instant access to food nearby. Imagine coming home from a long day trip just to realize that the nearest restaurant is a mile away. It is best to keep a backup plan for the guests. It is also great for a quick snack or two when the weather outside is bad and the guests just want to stay in watching movies with some popcorn.

For certain properties, if you are not providing access to a kitchen, then a microwave becomes a must-have. Local eateries and restaurants can also be very expensive. The cost of food adds up. If you don’t give your guests an option for preparing food, it might just leave a sour taste in their mouth.

What to look for in a microwave?

1. It has to be low maintenance. You are not going to have a chance to go to the property very often to take care of it. You are only going to see interact with it once in a while. It shouldn’t have a lot of bells and whistles.
2. It should be easy to take apart and clean. It won’t get cleaned by the guests. So you should be able to do a deep clean every time you get a chance to do so. That shouldn’t take up a lot of time.
3. Find something that is inexpensive, sturdy and popular. Extra features will just confuse most Airbnb guests. It should be familiar and easy to use. It should be cheap enough to replace if it ever gets broken. The less fancy the better.
4. Make sure the microwave is very energy efficient and has low power consumption. This will help you save on the power bill.

Microwave buying guide:

Here we will go through some types of microwaves to help you find something that fits for your property.

1. Solo, Grill or Convection: You have three types most commonly used. A solo microwave only has a magnetron. A magnetron is a special part of a microwave that actually creates the ‘microwaves’ that cook the food. If you combine that with heating coils, you get a grill. If you add a fan to spread the heat around faster, you get a convection oven. So a solo oven, grill or convection oven are your three options. What options to provide depend on the kind of property you are selling. If your Airbnb is located in the city then it is unlikely that anybody will be using the grill or convection features. If you are located near a camping trail or anywhere outdoorsy then having a grill or convection oven to heat up old barbeque seems like a good choice. Put some thought into what your guests might eat to select the kind of oven to get.
2. Turntable: This is critical. All modern microwaves should have one but just to be safe, make sure there is a turntable that spins in the microwave. If it is absent you might have to turn your food manually to make sure it gets cooked from all sides.
3. Interlocks: This will make sure that your microwave doesn’t turn on when the door is open. Think of it as a childproof feature.
4. Size: If your guests will be families coming on vacation then you might need a bigger oven to accommodate the needs of the entire family. If your Airbnb is located in the city and aimed at professionals on solo visits, you can go for a smaller size that prepares meals for one. Smaller ovens deliver less power. So it takes more time to cook a meal. This feature is about finding a balance between space, power cost, and convenience.
5. Features: Depending on how much you want to spend and if it makes sense for your guests, in the microwave for your Airbnb, you should consider features like an auto cook menu, child lock, defrost, pre-heat, or a timer. You don’t need to go overboard with them.
6. Panel Types: There are mechanical, feather touch, or tactile panels. I would recommend getting a model with feather touch panels because they are the right mix of convenience and cost.

Suggestions:

All of these are very popular microwave recommendations for your Airbnb and have great reviews on Amazon:

Emerson 1.2 CU. FT. 1100W: The Emerson is a great addition at a very cheap price. It has 9 preprogrammed recipes and 11 microwave levels. It even comes with a grill.

Toshiba EM131A5C-BS: For a little more money, you get this one which is more reliable and from a reputed brand like Toshiba. It has a large digital display and easy to read panel.

Panasonic Microwave Oven NN-SN686S: This one comes with higher power output, 14 built-in menu items, quick minute timer, delay start and child safety lock.

Panasonic Microwave Oven NN-SN966S: This has really high power output. It has a lot of space for large food sizes at a size of 2.2 Cu. It would be a great microwave for family-oriented Airbnbs.

Other important things to remember:

Make sure to regularly clean your appliance or else guests will complain of smells and unhygienic conditions. Even worse you can get pests which will really drag down a place with a review. Would you like to live in a property where you find cockroaches in the kitchen equipment?

You have to keep accessories like paper plates, microwave-safe cookware and oven mitts for handling hot food ready to be used. Absence of these just means that the guests will never end up using your investment and might complain about a lack of amenities.

Make sure your property has enough space to keep a microwave in the first place without it getting cluttered. A microwave machine placed awkwardly in the middle of a room is unpleasing and breaks up the aesthetics of the room.

For foreign guests, it is a good idea to include a list of dos and don’ts next to the microwave. It can have a little note next to it saying that metal utensils should not be used in a microwave. This may seem trivial but you may never know a guest’s comfort level with some sort of equipment. This will keep safe the microwave in your Airbnb

Love,
Scooch and Steve