Airbnb inventory checklist: between guests, consumables and damage

Why short-term rentals need an inventory

In your own home, you notice when the good knife is missing. In a rental, the cleaner may not know it was ever there. A written inventory tells everyone who turns the place over what should be in each room, so missing or damaged items are spotted on the day, not three bookings later when nobody can say which stay it happened in.

It also matters for money. Airbnb’s Host damage protection asks for evidence such as photos or video, receipts and repair estimates, and its terms ask for the date you bought each damaged item and its condition at the time of the loss. Those are easy to provide if you recorded them when you furnished the place, and hard to reconstruct afterward.

What to include in an Airbnb inventory

List what you own in the rental, by room. Record anything a guest could take, break or use up. For each item, note the brand and model where it matters, the quantity, where it lives, and when and for how much you bought it.

• Furniture: beds, mattresses, sofas, tables, chairs, outdoor furniture
• Electronics: TV, streaming device, speakers, router, smart lock, game console
• Kitchen: appliances, cookware, knives, dishes, glasses, mugs and utensils, with counts
• Linens: sheets, duvet covers, pillows, towels and spare sets
• Decor: art, mirrors, rugs, lamps and plants
• Guest equipment: hair dryer, iron, travel cot, high chair, beach gear, bikes
• Safety items: smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguisher, first aid kit
• Consumables: toilet paper, soap, coffee, cleaning supplies, with a par level

Turnover checklist: what to check between guests

Airbnb’s own hosting advice is to follow the same turnover routine before every check-in so nothing gets missed. Build the inventory check into that routine rather than treating it as a separate job. Most counts take seconds when the list says exactly what to expect, such as “6 wine glasses, top left cupboard.”

1. Walk through before cleaning

   Look for damage, stains and missing items while the place is as the guest left it. Photograph anything wrong right away.

2. Count the things that wander

   Towels, remotes, chargers, kitchen knives, glasses, keys and anything portable and useful.

3. Test the essentials

   TV and remote, Wi-Fi, appliances, lights, smart lock batteries, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

4. Check consumables against par levels

   Toilet paper, soap, coffee, tea, dish soap, trash bags and cleaning supplies. Note anything below par.

5. Check linens

   Count sets, look for stains or tears, and pull anything that needs replacing.

6. Record and report

   Log what was missing, damaged or restocked, with the date and the booking, and tell the host or co-host the same day.

Consumables, par levels and replace-by dates

Airbnb lists toilet paper, soap for hands and body, one towel per guest, one pillow per guest and linens for each guest bed as essentials. Running out of any of them is an easy way to lose a good review. Set a par level for each consumable, meaning the number you always want on hand, and restock to it at every turnover.

Some items wear out on a schedule rather than running out. Sheets, towels, mattress protectors, pillows, sponges, water filters, smoke alarm batteries and fire extinguishers all have a sensible replace-by or check-by date. Record those dates when you buy, so replacements are planned rather than discovered by a guest.

• Par level for each consumable, kept in the storage closet list
• Replace-by dates for linens, pillows, mattress protectors and filters
• Check-by dates for alarms, batteries and fire extinguishers
• A spare set of linens and towels for each bed, for same-day turnovers

Documenting damage for a host claim

Airbnb’s help center describes the process this way. Within 14 days of the responsible guest’s checkout, you file a reimbursement request in the Resolution Center. The guest gets the first chance to pay and has 24 hours to respond. If they decline, pay only part, or do not respond, you can involve Airbnb, and Support reviews the request. Airbnb notes that Host damage protection is not insurance, and it does not cover normal wear and tear or routine checkout cleaning. Check the current help pages and terms for your country before relying on any of this, as details change.

The terms ask for receipts, photos, videos and other verifiable proof, the date each item was purchased or acquired, its condition at the time of the loss, and repair or replacement costs. They also state that documents must not be altered in any way. In practice, that means two kinds of evidence: what the item looked like before the stay, and what it looks like now.

1. Photograph the baseline

   Take clear photos of each room and of valuable items when you furnish the place, and again after any replacement or repair.

2. Keep receipts with each item

   Purchase date and price are what the terms ask for. Photograph paper receipts before they fade.

3. Photograph damage on the day

   Take wide and close-up photos or video at checkout, before cleaning, and note the date and booking.

4. Get estimates or receipts for repairs

   A repair quote, a replacement receipt or a cleaning invoice supports the amount you ask for.

5. Message the guest through Airbnb

   Keep communication on the platform, so it stays with the reservation.

6. File within the deadline

   Submit through the Resolution Center within 14 days of checkout.

Sharing the checklist with cleaners and co-hosts

An inventory only helps if the people doing the turnovers can see it. Cleaners need to know what should be there and where. Co-hosts need to be able to update it when they restock or replace something. Decide who can only look and who can make changes, and keep one shared list rather than copies in several places.

Managing inventory across several properties

With more than one rental, the same item names repeat everywhere: three sets of “queen sheets,” four coffee makers. Keep each property’s inventory separate, use the same room names and the same par levels where the layouts match, and record when each property’s linens and consumables were last replaced. A shared template makes it easy to compare properties and train new cleaners.

How Allventory helps with a rental inventory

Allventory is an inventory app for Android and the web, including Safari on iPhone. It is not connected to Airbnb, so it does not file claims or read bookings, but it keeps the records a host is asked for in one place.

1. A property for each rental

   The Portfolio plan holds up to 5 properties, each with up to 200 rooms and storage spots, such as Kitchen / Top left cupboard. Filtering by a location includes everything inside it.

2. A cupboard in one photo

   Photograph a shelf of glasses or a linen closet and Allventory suggests separate items with names, quantities and estimated values. You review each suggestion before saving.

3. Receipts and photos with the item

   Attach up to 20 photos and documents per item and mark receipts, so purchase date, price and proof are together when you need them.

4. Replace-by dates and reminders

   Give linens, filters or extinguishers a replace-by or expiration date, see them in the Tracking tab, and turn on reminders 30 days, 7 days and 1 day before.

5. Cleaners and co-hosts

   On paid plans, invite cleaners with view access to see what should be there, and co-hosts as contributors who can add and edit items. Portfolio includes up to 10 users.

6. Exports

   Export to CSV on every plan, or to Excel and a supporting documents package with photos and receipts grouped by location on paid plans. How Airbnb or an insurer reviews a request is up to them.