Host Resources
How to Prepare a Property for Longer-Stay Guests
Prepare the home for the second week: storage, laundry, a usable kitchen, and a clear note about who cleans and who replaces supplies.
A long stay apartment host checklist is what still has to work after the first weekend: somewhere to put clothes, a way to wash them, a kitchen people can use more than once, and a written note about who cleans and who replaces supplies. A welcome basket does not answer those questions.
Guests planning the same kind of booking use the longer-stay guest guide. This page is the host side. It does not set a ShamStay cleaning rule or a required amenity list. Say what this home actually provides, and leave out anything you will not maintain for the whole booking.
Image note: all three images are AI-generated photorealistic editorial images of fictional rooms. They are not ShamStay listings, supplied equipment, or a required setup.
Start with a long stay apartment host checklist for week two
Walk the home as if the guests have already been there for ten days. The suitcase is unpacked. Someone has cooked several times. Laundry is waiting. The table may also be a desk. Note what fails in that picture: a closet with no hangers, a bathroom with one towel per person and no spare, a bin that filled on day three, or a sink with nowhere to leave clean dishes.
- Count hangers, shelves, and a place for bags that is not the dining table.
- Count towels and bed linen for the stated guest count, plus a spare set if you offer one.
- Name who washes linen during the stay, and how often.
- Name which kitchen items guests may use, and which stay locked or absent.
- Write the cleaning and restock arrangement in the same place as the house rules.
The Host readiness checklist covers joining and the first listing. Use this pass when the booking is long enough that ordinary housework becomes part of the stay. A two-night setup can be tidy and still be a poor fit for three weeks.
Leave room for clothes, food, and work
A furnished apartment host who prepares for a weekend often clears surfaces and hides spare items. For a longer booking, guests need some of that space back. Empty a shelf or a drawer they can use. Leave hangers. Show, in a photo or a sentence, where bags can sit so the living room stays usable. If the only table is also the only desk, say so. Do not imply a separate workspace because a chair faces a window.
Guests comparing layouts use the monthly apartment guide. Your job is to match the listing to the rooms you have: a studio used by one person is a different offer from a home where two adults need privacy after work. Do not raise the guest count to fill empty nights if the beds and the storage do not support that count for weeks.
Stock the kitchen for repeated meals
Name the monthly rental amenities you will actually leave: a hob that works, a fridge with space for more than a bottle of water, a pot, a pan, plates for the guest count, and a way to wash up. A kettle in a photo is not that list. If you provide coffee, oil, or cleaning liquid only at arrival, say that the rest is for the guest to buy. If something is shared with another unit, say that too.
The amenities checklist for hosts is the inventory for a normal turnover. For a longer stay, add the question of replacement. Who buys washing-up liquid after the first bottle is empty? Who replaces a blown bulb? Write the answer before a guest has to ask in the second week.
Decide laundry and cleaning before the first bag is unpacked
Say whether there is a washing machine, a shared machine, a drying rack, or no laundry in the home. If you offer a wash of linen halfway through a month, name the day and whether someone enters the home to do it. If the guest is expected to wash their own clothes, leave the machine usable and say what they must not put in it. A basket in a photograph is not an instruction.
Cleaning needs the same sentence. A weekly visit, a mid-stay refresh, or no cleaning until checkout are different offers. Record which one this booking includes, whether the guest must be out, and what the guest is still expected to do, such as washing dishes or taking rubbish out. Put that next to the house rules so it is not a surprise in a message after arrival.
Ask before you add equipment
Extended stay guest needs are specific. One person wants a desk and a quiet room. Another wants somewhere to dry clothes and enough pans to cook. A third is travelling with a child and cares about beds with doors. Ask which of those matter for this booking before you buy a monitor, a crib, or a second drying rack. Equipment you cannot keep safe and in working order should stay off the listing.
One adult working from the home
Consider it for: A real surface for a laptop, a chair they can use for hours, and a bedroom or living room that can stay quiet.
Verify: A kitchen table can be the desk only if you say so, and if meals still have a place to happen.
Two or more people sharing the month
Consider it for: Separate sleeping when you have it, enough storage for each person, and a note about shared bathrooms.
Verify: Do not describe privacy the floor plan does not have. A sofa bed removes the evening seat.
Family bookings have their own preparation. The family-property guide covers beds, washing, and hazards for children. Use it when the group includes children. Do not copy that setup into every longer booking.
Put the week-two facts on the listing
On a long stay property Syria guests will read before they request the dates, state the length you accept, the linen and cleaning arrangement, and what the kitchen includes. Say what is absent when its absence would change the decision: no washing machine, no workspace, no parking, a shared entrance. A longer stay makes a missing fact more expensive to discover after arrival.
Update the live listing rather than a private note only you can see. The property editor is where the public description, photos, and capacity are changed. The ShamStay Host guide covers onboarding if the home is not listed yet. If a longer booking needs a different price or a minimum stay, set that where guests see it before they request the dates. Do not promise a rate in a message that the listing does not show.
- Match the guest count to beds and storage the guests can use for the whole period.
- List the kitchen items they may use, and say what you replace.
- State laundry and cleaning: who does it, how often, and whether someone enters.
- Remove any amenity you will not keep working for a multi-week stay.
- Reread the public text as a guest who has already unpacked.
Practical answers
Frequently asked questions
Should a longer stay include weekly cleaning?
Only if you will actually provide it and say so before booking. A weekly visit, a single mid-stay refresh, and no cleaning until checkout are all coherent offers when the listing and the house rules match. Do not imply a visit you have not scheduled.
What kitchen items matter after the first few days?
A working hob, fridge space, enough plates and pans for the guest count, and a clear answer about who replaces washing-up liquid and similar supplies. A photo of a kettle does not establish that list.
How is this different from preparing for a weekend?
A weekend can rely on a reset at checkout. A longer booking needs storage, laundry, and a written split of housework while the guests are still there. Prepare for an ordinary day in the second week, not only for arrival.
Where should these details appear?
On the public listing and in the house rules the guest sees before requesting the stay. A private message after booking can repeat them. It should not be the first time a missing washing machine or a cleaning visit is mentioned.