During a recent HomeAway.com focus group where we brought in travelers to talk about their travel experiences, one amenity that came up over and over was towels. The travelers loved staying in vacation rentals (cabins, condos, cottages, etc.), but have had some bad experiences with towels at the vacation properties they have stayed in. According to the travelers, towels make a big difference in the quality of their stay.

So just how do you choose the right towels for your second home? Follow these simple guidelines:

Buy light colored towels. You don't have to necessarily buy white towels (though they are fine), but do steer clear of dark colors like forest green, cranberry, or chocolate. These colors tend to bleed (or fade) and can be a lint nightmare.

Buy large bath towels, not bath sheets. Even though your guests may love bath sheets, they take up tons of space in the washing machine and take forever to dry. So if you don't want your housekeeper to fire you, opt for larger bath towels (30x54) instead.

Buy white washcloths in bulk at a discount store like Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, or Costco. Just accept the fact that your guests are probably going to use washcloths to remove makeup and that your housekeeper is going to have to throw a few out after every guest.

Make sure to have at least 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels, and 4 washcloths per guest. If your property sleeps a maximum of 8 people, you need to have at least 16 bath towels, 16 hand towels, and 32 washcloths.

Don't buy towels based on their softness in the store. Low quality towels lose most of their softness after the second or third wash. Even if those $2 bath towels are soft in the store, they won't be when your guests get around to using them.

Don't buy the cheapest or the most expensive towels. Unless you own a “luxury” property, there's no need to pay more than $10 per towel. If you watch for sales at the major department stores and online (SmartBargains.com, etc.), you can probably find good quality towels for $4 to $7 each.

Expect to replace towels often. Even if you buy top-dollar towels, you're going to have to replace them more often than your towels at home.

The bottom line: To guarantee the best possible stay for your vacation home guests, choose quality, long-lasting towels.