I never place items in drawers if I'm visiting. It stems from years of work travels along with news stories of bedbugs in hotels. Love my sister-in-law's guest room closet storage....very similar to this, except at the top of the closet has a long cubby where I stow away my empty suitcases.

I have never had guests that unpacked and used an actual dresser. We have shelving in the closet of our guest room a nice bench at the footend of the bed for unpacking the suitcase they hang up what needs hanging use the shelves for other stuff and I have nice low wide nighttables for things like books , laptops etc if they want to store stuff. I hgave a stack of fluffy towels in the closet , robes and a pretty tote with some toiletries if needed and always a new toothbrush for each guest . We alo have a espresso machine and a tny fridge in our larger guest room and a chair for sure in any guest room and in out large one 2 chairs . I always just think about what I like in a nice hotel room and do the same for my guests.

Super helpful ideas! i agree - I never unpack either

Depends on how long guests stay. We don’t unpack for a short stay and neither do any of our guests, but when we rent a house at the beach for a week we do appreciate dressers.

Hi. A friend of mine has a hall tree similar to this in her guest bedroom. I've stayed there up to a week at a time and found it very useful.

72" Industrial Metal and Wood Hall Tree, Barn Wood · More Info

Great ideas! agree on not wanting to buy nice dressers that no one uses and then have suitcases scratch the tops -

@ sue - hall tree is a great idea, thanks for that!

I alway add luggage racks but then a HomeGoods chest of drawers which I had frosted glass cut for the top. Same goes for the nightstands.

I never use dressers either . An open closet with shelves is great for me . Too often when I visit , closets are jammed full.

@paul good idea to add the glass -

You can wait for the inevitable water stains on the wood or the worse, nail polish remover damage. Then of course someone will put luggage up there despite the luggage rack and scratch the finish. I used to wait for the damage to happen then put glass but now I just do it first. If you're picky... sand blast the glass underside to make it white frost and then acid etch the top so the slight texture doesn't show finger prints or scratches. Any glass guy will show you samples.

I don't recall ever using the drawers in a dresser at a vacation rental -- I think I'd have to stay for a couple of weeks or more to do that. I do appreciate a place to keep my suitcase other than the floor. I prefer a bench rather than a luggage rack so I can keep the suitcase open. I also appreciate somewhere to hang jackets and clothes that wrinkle and a spot for my shoes. Typically dirty clothes go on the floor in the closet. I also appreciate a table large enough to park my computer, toiletries, handbag, etc.

Lay in the bed and make sure the lamp light is adequate to read a book... put 3 books somewhere in the room. You also need phone chargers next to both sides of the bed or something like the plug device below on the back of the night stands otherwise they will forever be moving furniture and unplugging the lamps/clocks. Everyone wants a small fan in the room as white noise from the room next door. I found that lavender linen spray from HomeGoods is a nice thing to get a puff of when the renter pulls back the sheets at night. Add a tiny sewing kit to sew a loose button and some bandaids for heels wearing new shoes.

Also, In the years running vacation rentals I found that women leave almost full boxes of tampons all the time... the boxes ripped open like the hulk did it. The maids were always taking them home after a guest left. I finally got a fancy little jar for them and put them under the sink to experiment... suddenly my reviews were "Its a magical place, just open a drawer and you'll find what you need." Haha, funny but true.

My husband and I always use dressers for stays of more than 1-2 nights in hotels. When we stay in a STR, we are usually staying for 3 nights or more, and always want to unpack into dressers and closets. One of the pleasures of staying in a STR is the sense that we aren't staying in a hotel, but in a more "home-like" environment, so we like to have our things put awayrather than stepping around and looking at our rummaged-through suitcases for a week! So I vote for dressers...and also for plenty of hangers in the closets! All the best!

"I stayed in a guest room last year with a long low bench and found it a convenient spot for my things"

Very important to me is a place wide and deep enough for an open, carry-on/roller bag. It can be a bench or a loveseat or even one of the fold-up racks. I like to be able to live out of my suitcase on trips and if I don't have a place to set it while open, it ends up on the floor.

I totally unpack using drawers and closets even for 1 and 2 night stays... although I might be the only one. ;P

I'd get a low dresser such that a suitcase can fit on top. That way, you have the best of both worlds. I often unpack a bit (I'll use one or two drawers).

@sigrid - ^ agreed, that’s my sister’s vote - she thought she’d keep some extra linens in the bottom drawers - I like paul’s suggestion for glass on top to keep it from getting all scratched up, she’s a FB Marketplace pro so can prob score some deals there

FWIW I’d love an AI tool that would scour my local FB marketplace for me and then tell me when they’ve found something based on my key words - does this exist? 😅

FWIWmy son found a search engine that will scan local marketplace, craigs list https://www.searchtempest.com/

Wow, that search is awesome!

I am the rare person who unpacks and uses drawers too. But if a room is large enough or has a designated place for a suitcase, I’m fine living out of a bag too.

A luggage rack like you see in hotels…..

I'd only buy a dresser that had the option of a solid surface top, or you have a glass cut for anything else!

Renters can be incredibly rude - plan on water bottles, spills, scratches. Few are kind enough to treat it as their own...or their own surroundings are not much to brag about?

Some people do unpack, others are likely to live out of a duffel bag. Anyone who flies these days, tends to pack light and the suitcase is small and carry on.

Depends the style you are going for. Who the average renter will be and more. If there is a tv....will it be on a wall? Something underneath it?

My point is in dressers ? Decent enough to hold up. Otherwise? Shelving and hanging BOTH in the closets. Along with the hangers: )

Yes to a nice long hard surface bench for setting down duffel or carry on.

Use yourself as model guest and what you like when away from home - with the idea of minimal upkeep.

A taller, more shallow chest of drawers will prevent people from placing a suitcase up there. Some hooks and a place to hang things are great. We always unpack since we pack up tight (thanks Marie Kondo) and hang clothes so they aren’t wrinkled. I really appreciate a steamer in the space. You can be casual while visiting friends or on vacation and still look put together.

This IKEA LINANÄS Loveseat is wide (54") and deep (23-1/4" bottom cushion) enough to hold an open carry-on/roller bag. Those who unpack could sit on it. Those who don't could put their suitcase on it.

We use the Hemnes dressers in many of our rooms at the beach house. I like to use the bottom drawer for one set of extra sheets.

I’m in the fully unpack camp but I tend to travel distances so will be staying a bit. Pet peeves are rentals that make no provision for storage. Stayed in a huge Airbnb in Quebec and the bedroom only had two hooks (no bench or anything) and two other rentals Downeast with no hangers. Aargh. Rentals need a few basic things and one of them is a place to unpack. Any of the options above can work but it’s amazing you can always tell which rentals the owner has never stayed in. I’ve stayed in every one of my rentals same way I’ve slept in all of my guest rooms to make sure they are comfortable.