The cleaner finishes at 2pm and texts you: "We're out of toilet paper and the dish soap is nearly empty." The next guest arrives at 4pm. You are at your day job, and now you are also the supply run.
A good vacation rental supplies list stops this. But a list of what to stock only gets you halfway. You also need to know how much of each thing should be at the property, and when to refill it. That number is called a par level.
Why it matters
Running out of supplies costs you in small, annoying ways.
- •A guest finds an empty roll and a bare cabinet on arrival, and the first thing they notice is what's missing.
- •A cleaner who has to improvise either skips the task or leaves to buy something, and your turnover window gets tighter.
- •You overbuy "just in case" and end up with a closet full of trash bags at one property and none at another.
Par levels fix the guessing. Instead of asking "do we have enough?" at 1pm on a turnover day, you ask "is the count below par?" on a quiet afternoon.
The idea is simple. Par is the amount you want on the shelf when a turnover is finished. Reorder when the count drops below it.
How to set par levels for your rental's supplies
Start with the list, then put a number on each line.
1. Write your supplies list by room
Walk through the property the way a guest would and write down everything that gets used up. A starting point:
- •Bathroom: toilet paper, hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, tissues, spare towels
- •Kitchen: dish soap, sponges, paper towels, trash bags, dishwasher pods, coffee and filters, salt and pepper, cooking oil
- •Bedrooms: spare sheet sets, pillow protectors, extra blankets
- •Cleaning closet: all-purpose spray, glass cleaner, toilet cleaner, vacuum bags or filters, laundry detergent
- •Safety and extras: light bulbs, batteries for remotes, a first-aid kit, spare keys or whatever your check-in needs
Skip anything you would never restock. If it is a one-time purchase, it belongs in a maintenance note, not on a supplies list.
2. Split consumables from durables
Consumables get used up: soap, paper goods, coffee. Durables wear out slowly: linens, sponges, a mop head. Set par levels for both, but expect to reorder consumables far more often.
3. Estimate usage per stay
You don't need a spreadsheet. Think about one typical stay at that property and how much of each item it goes through. A two-person condo and a six-person house will differ a lot, so set levels per property, not for your whole portfolio.
For the first month, treat your guesses as drafts. Your own counts will tell you what is real.
4. Decide how many stays between restocks
How often do you or your cleaner actually shop? If you restock every two or three turnovers, your par needs to cover that many stays. If you shop in bulk once a month, cover the busiest stretch of that month.
The working formula:
par = usage per stay x stays between restocks + a small buffer
The buffer covers the stay that runs long or the guest who uses more than expected. Keep it small, or you are back to a closet full of surplus.
5. Count after every turnover
Par levels only work if someone looks at the shelf. Have your cleaner check the count at the end of each turnover. Anything below par goes on the next order.
If you already use a cleaning checklist, add a line for it. Put "check supply shelf" next to "take out trash". It takes a minute, and it is the habit that keeps the system honest. My post on recurring task checklists covers how to build those lines once and reuse them.
6. Adjust after a month
Look at what ran short and what piled up. Raise par on the first, lower it on the second. After a couple of cycles the numbers settle.
If you want more on keeping turnovers calm in general, 5 ways to make turnovers less stressful is a good companion to this one.
Common mistakes
Setting one par level for every property. A studio and a five-bedroom house do not burn through paper towels at the same rate. Fix: set levels per property, even if you start by copying and then edit.
Waiting for the shelf to empty. Ordering only when you hit zero is too late, because the next guest may already be on the way. Fix: reorder as soon as the count falls below par.
Never counting. A list nobody checks is a wish. Fix: make the count part of the end-of-turnover routine, owned by whoever is last out the door.
Buying the premium brand of everything. Guests rarely notice the difference on dish sponges and trash bags. Fix: spend where guests actually look, like bedding and toiletries, and buy plain for the rest.
Forgetting the slow items. Light bulbs, batteries and vacuum filters are not used every stay, so they get missed until the day they matter. Fix: give them a par of one or two spares and check them monthly.
Try it in HostHive
I built Inventory Management in HostHive for exactly this. You track supplies at each property, set par levels, assign counts, order restocks and see what you spend.
Because each property has its own list, your studio and your big house can have different pars. If your cleaners already work through your checklist in Service Reports, the supply check can sit right alongside the rest of the turnover. Whether or not you use HostHive, the method above works on a notepad.
If something doesn't work right, tell me. I read every message.
— Mitch mb@hosthive.io