Running a successful short-term rental business isn’t just about great decor or five-star communication—it’s also about operational efficiency behind the scenes. One area that’s often overlooked but packed with potential savings? Inventory management.

When you’re managing a growing vacation rental portfolio, streamlining how you track, restock, and standardize supplies can lead to significant cost savings, better guest experiences, and fewer last-minute headaches.

In this blog, Breezeway shares how smart inventory management strategies can help you reclaim your time, reduce expenses, and run a tighter Airbnb operation.

Why inventory management matters 

When you think of money-saving strategies as an operator, you might consider things like increasing your occupancy rate or nightly rate. But smart inventory management offers a quieter, behind-the-scenes way to protect your profit margins.

Here’s how:

• Fewer unexpected purchases: With the right system, you know what you have and what you need—no more panicked last-minute ordering.
• Increased guest satisfaction: Running out of basic supplies like soap, trash bags, or towels can lead to guest complaints, refunds, or poor reviews. Avoiding these mistakes protects your revenue.
• Time is money: When you or your cleaning team spends extra time figuring out what’s missing, it costs you labor and efficiency.

In short, a well-managed inventory system helps you stay in control of your operating costs, and that directly affects your profitability.

The hidden costs of poor inventory management

Poor inventory tracking may not seem like a major issue until it leads to real-world consequences that chip away at your earnings.

Here are some common pitfalls:

• Emergency purchases at premium prices: Forgetting to restock toilet paper or lightbulbs often means paying convenience store or rush delivery rates.
• Wasted items and overstocking: Without clear visibility into what’s already on hand, you might overbuy certain items that expire or take up valuable storage space.
• Operational inefficiencies: Cleaners may arrive at a property to find they’re missing essential supplies. This creates turnover delays and sometimes extra charges for supply runs.
• Lost revenue from poor reviews: Guests notice when a property is missing essentials, and bad reviews can reduce your booking rate over time.

Even if these costs feel small in the moment, they add up over dozens of stays each year. A single bad review can cause hundreds in lost revenue. A few unnecessary supply orders can eat into your monthly profits. For professional hosts, preventing these issues through smarter systems is a no-brainer.

Bulk buying vs. just-in-time restocking

One of the simplest ways to reduce costs as a host is to buy frequently used items in bulk. Think: toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products, coffee pods, and travel-sized toiletries. These items have long shelf lives and are used predictably between guest stays.

Benefits of Bulk Buying

• Lower unit cost: Buying in larger quantities often results in a much lower per-unit price—especially when you buy from warehouse stores or wholesale suppliers.
• Fewer trips: You save time and gas by shopping less frequently or scheduling fewer deliveries.
• Reduced supply chain disruptions: With extra inventory on hand, you’re less affected by out-of-stock notices or delayed shipments.

Challenges to Consider

• Storage space: Not every host has the luxury of a dedicated supply closet or garage. Consider creative storage solutions like locked cabinets or a central supply hub for multiple listings.
• Upfront cost: Bulk buying requires an initial investment. But if you budget for it monthly, the long-term savings far outweigh the short-term cost.

For operators with limited space, consider a hybrid approach: bulk buy durable goods, and keep a streamlined checklist for smaller consumables that are replenished more frequently.

Standardizing inventory across listings

If you manage more than one property—or are planning to scale—inventory standardization is one of the smartest decisions you can make. It reduces decision fatigue, simplifies ordering, and improves efficiency across the board.

How Standardization Saves You Money

• Streamlined purchasing: You can buy in bulk more easily when you use the same products at all your properties.
• Faster turnovers: Cleaning teams know exactly what goes where and what to restock, reducing time in-property and chances for error.
• Fewer mismatches and returns: You don’t need to worry about tracking each property's different brands, sizes, or formats.

For example, using the same bedding sets, towels, dish soap, and cleaning products helps your team work faster and reduces the risk of inconsistencies. Guests also benefit from a more predictable, professional experience, which translates into better reviews and fewer complaints.

Think of your Airbnb like a hotel: guests appreciate knowing what to expect, and standardization helps deliver that.

Setting par levels and restocking schedules

One of the most common inventory mistakes hosts make is waiting until something runs out before replacing it. A better strategy is to establish par levels—minimum quantities that trigger a restock.

What Are Par Levels?

Par levels are the minimum number of items you want in stock at any given time. For instance:

• 8 rolls of toilet paper per bathroom
• 3 extra sets of sheets per bed
• 2 backup light bulbs for each room
• 10 pods of coffee per turnover

By setting these levels, you avoid running out unexpectedly and can time your restocking in a more efficient and cost-effective way.

Why It Matters for Your Business

• Predictable spending: You can budget and batch your purchases.
• Cleaner accountability: Teams know what to check for and when to restock.
• Fewer urgent replacements: You’re not constantly reacting—you’re planning ahead.

Operators who implement this system typically report fewer errors, more consistent guest experiences, and tighter control over their supply costs.

Tools and tech to help you track inventory

You don’t have to rely on memory or scraps of paper to manage your supplies. There are tools that can make this process automatic, efficient, and even collaborative.

Breezeway’s automated inventory tracking and management tools allow you to:

• Monitor your entire inventory of supplies from one consolidated dashboard.
• Manage supplies across multiple locations - whether it’s a supply closet or warehouse.
• Connect supplies to tasks - automatically updating supply counts when tasks are completed.
• Get low supply alerts when supplies dip below a certain level.

By automating your inventory process, you reduce human error, create clear accountability, and prevent wasteful re-purchasing. Best of all? You free up time to focus on growth—not groceries.

Inventory management may not be the flashiest part of hosting, but it has a big impact on your bottom line. From bulk buying to standardized stocking and digital tracking, small changes in how you manage supplies can save you money, time, and stress. If you're looking to tighten your operations and run your property management business more efficiently, inventory is a great place to start.

About Breezeway

Breezeway’s award-winning operations and guest experience platform helps vacation rental managers increase operational efficiency, eliminate manual work, and boost service revenue. With Breezeway's mobile app, tailored checklists, and automated workflows, managers have confidence every property is guest-ready. Guest communication has never been easier with Messaging, Guide, and Assist products. Powering over 55M property care tasks, Breezeway’s purpose-built solution drives team efficiency, reduces manual labor, and enhances employee satisfaction.