Furnishing STR living room with pull-out sleeper sofa

[Matthew Hegewald]

Hello all, we are in the process of converting our downtown Seattle condo to an STR as we move out of the city. It's a two bedroom and we are wondering if changing our current sectional sofa to a pullout sleeper sectional sofa for more sleeping arrangements would be beneficial? We could change the listing from sleeping 4 to sleeping 6? Any insight is appreciated!

[John Underwood]

Absolutely!

[Bruce Woodruff]

Of course! Why wouldn't you? Although the more people the more likely a party....

[Leslie Anne Morris]

Yes 1000000 percent 

[Rod Joseph]

Yes all our STRs have pullout sofas.

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Matthew Hegewald, on another topic, have you checked with your condo association about STRs? So many places in Seattle have restricted STRs in their buildings that it would be good to check.

Here are the cities requirements in case you need it - https://www.seattle.gov/busine...

On the sofa. Yes, drop one in. We have one, but don't advertise it as a sleeping area, but in case someone needs to sleep extra it is there.

[Matthew Hegewald]

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Hey @Matthew Hegewald, on another topic, have you checked with your condo association about STRs? So many places in Seattle have restricted STRs in their buildings that it would be good to check.

Here are the cities requirements in case you need it - https://www.seattle.gov/busine...

On the sofa. Yes, drop one in. We have one, but don't advertise it as a sleeping area, but in case someone needs to sleep extra it is there.

 Hey Michael,

Yes I bought the condo knowing I wanted to STR it one day, and am fortunate it's one of the few condo buildings downtown that allows it. There's certain regulations from the HOA but quite a few AirBnBs in the building.

Thanks for city requirement link! I need to get licensed before I get up and running. 

[Michael Baum]

Quote from @Matthew Hegewald:

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Hey @Matthew Hegewald, on another topic, have you checked with your condo association about STRs? So many places in Seattle have restricted STRs in their buildings that it would be good to check.

Here are the cities requirements in case you need it - https://www.seattle.gov/busine...

On the sofa. Yes, drop one in. We have one, but don't advertise it as a sleeping area, but in case someone needs to sleep extra it is there.

 Hey Michael,

Yes I bought the condo knowing I wanted to STR it one day, and am fortunate it's one of the few condo buildings downtown that allows it. There's certain regulations from the HOA but quite a few AirBnBs in the building.

Thanks for city requirement link! I need to get licensed before I get up and running. 

Cool! That is quite lucky as most downtown buildings forbid STRs. I would be ready to pivot to a LTR or maybe a short stay long term rental if the city finally bans STRs altogether. With 7 seats on the city council up for grabs this next election cycle, it's anyone's bet on where things will go.

[Daniel Nobile]

Hey Matthew, 

I would look at comps and see if there is a a big difference in nightly rate & occupancy % between 2 bed condos that sleep 4 vs 2 bed condos that sleep 6. In my experience guests don't use pull out sofas as much as you would think and it might not be worth spending the money on a new couch if its not going to make a big difference in the numbers. 

[Karl Kieslich]

All of my vacation properties have SS.  A few thing to think of

Can the property handle that many guest's? remember if you sleep 6 in the condo you need to have enough of everything to service 6 guests  Bathrooms, linens, dishes, chairs, parking  etc.

Also keep in mind the extra wear n tear  and noise levels

Good luck

[Chris Henry]

As a follow-up, how do you manage the bedding for sleeper sofas? I’ve thought you’d want a thicker mattress than can fold up, and not sure you’d want the sheets and blanket just folded up in there for however long.  so was planning on keeping a topper and the linens in the closet. Thoughts? 

[Michael Baum]

Quote from @Chris Henry:

As a follow-up, how do you manage the bedding for sleeper sofas? I’ve thought you’d want a thicker mattress than can fold up, and not sure you’d want the sheets and blanket just folded up in there for however long.  so was planning on keeping a topper and the linens in the closet. Thoughts? 

We have a La-Z-Boy sleeper sofa. It has a decent mattress but we store a 1" memory foam topper (queen) along with sheets and the like in ottomans in the living room. Pillows and extra blankets are in the closets in the upstairs bedrooms.

[Eric Yu]

Quote from @Chris Henry:

As a follow-up, how do you manage the bedding for sleeper sofas? I’ve thought you’d want a thicker mattress than can fold up, and not sure you’d want the sheets and blanket just folded up in there for however long.  so was planning on keeping a topper and the linens in the closet. Thoughts? 

 Yep that's a good idea. If you have an extra linen closet somewhere, you can just add it into your check-in instructions for guests that have 4+ occupancy. Same for pillows. 

Note: just another thing to think through, but you'll want to make sure your cleaner is aware of the sleeper couch & check it for cleanliness. I can see that being a spot that a cleaner misses. 

[Chris Henry]

Quote from @Eric Yu:

Note: just another thing to think through, but you'll want to make sure your cleaner is aware of the sleeper couch & check it for cleanliness. I can see that being a spot that a cleaner misses. 

 That's part of my concern with leaving the bed premade. If the linens are separate, you can easily check whether they've been used vs having to pull the bed out.

Thanks for the feedback.

[January Johnson]

Quote from @Matthew Hegewald:

Hello all, we are in the process of converting our downtown Seattle condo to an STR as we move out of the city. It's a two bedroom and we are wondering if changing our current sectional sofa to a pullout sleeper sectional sofa for more sleeping arrangements would be beneficial? We could change the listing from sleeping 4 to sleeping 6? Any insight is appreciated!

You didn't say how many bathrooms your place has.  I have a 2/1 and I don't have a sleeper sofa because I don't want 6 people taxing my plumbing on an older property.  

[Matthew Hegewald]

Quote from @Daniel Nobile:

Hey Matthew, 

I would look at comps and see if there is a a big difference in nightly rate & occupancy % between 2 bed condos that sleep 4 vs 2 bed condos that sleep 6. In my experience guests don't use pull out sofas as much as you would think and it might not be worth spending the money on a new couch if its not going to make a big difference in the numbers. 

 Good point, ran a search of 4 versus 6 people and definitely higher nightly rate and occupancy with 6. The other similar units in the building are run by Vacasa and have sofa beds, so to compete would be best to have a sofa bed to offer. Thanks 

[Dave Skow]

@Matthew Hegewald- yes - spend to get a decent sofa sleeper  as you dont want visitors sleeping on a awful bed / commenting on  your str  review as this would be counterproductive 

[Matthew Hegewald]

Quote from @January Johnson:

Quote from @Matthew Hegewald:

Hello all, we are in the process of converting our downtown Seattle condo to an STR as we move out of the city. It's a two bedroom and we are wondering if changing our current sectional sofa to a pullout sleeper sectional sofa for more sleeping arrangements would be beneficial? We could change the listing from sleeping 4 to sleeping 6? Any insight is appreciated!

You didn't say how many bathrooms your place has.  I have a 2/1 and I don't have a sleeper sofa because I don't want 6 people taxing my plumbing on an older property.  

 That definitely makes sense. It’s a 2 bed/2 bath, so should be able to tolerate 6 people. May be a little tight quarters with 6 adults though. 

[Matthew Hegewald]

Quote from @Karl Kieslich:

All of my vacation properties have SS.  A few thing to think of

Can the property handle that many guest's? remember if you sleep 6 in the condo you need to have enough of everything to service 6 guests  Bathrooms, linens, dishes, chairs, parking  etc.

Also keep in mind the extra wear n tear  and noise levels

Good luck

It’s around 1000 square foot, so May be tight with 6 adults, but doable. Has 2 bathrooms. Other similar units in the building hosted by vacasa appear to have sofa beds, so feel it’s best I give that option as well. Thanks for the insight 

[Brooklyn McCarty]

More heads in beds = more money. 

[Jon Martin]

Quote from @Chris Henry:

As a follow-up, how do you manage the bedding for sleeper sofas? I’ve thought you’d want a thicker mattress than can fold up, and not sure you’d want the sheets and blanket just folded up in there for however long.  so was planning on keeping a topper and the linens in the closet. Thoughts? 

You can find some with storage compartments. This is one I have saved to my email if/when I go this route: https://ztozz.com/products/pro...

That said I have no first hand experience with this specific product. 

[Sherief Elbassuoni]

@Matthew Hegewald, sure it will help, this is assuming your condo association is allowing STR!

[Carson McGee]

Hi Matthew,

My team owns and manages condos in Maui. Every one of our units has a sleeper sofa, it is a great way to add space for an additional two guests (preferably kids). It also helps include your listing when guests filter by sleep count.

[Justin Rademacher]

even if clients do not use it, the fact that you can advertise it sleeping two additional people is well worth the investment.

[Michael Baum]

Quote from @Justin Rademacher:

even if clients do not use it, the fact that you can advertise it sleeping two additional people is well worth the investment.

Hehe, it's funny, we have it but don't offer it as a sleeping area. It is noted in the listing, but it is more of a nice to have if you have extra people above the 10 we list as sleeping. We often get people asking if we can sleep 12 and we accommodate.

Also, we don't charge per head above 10. We wouldn't allow 16 people though.

[Matthew Hegewald]

Quote from @Carson McGee:

Hi Matthew,

My team owns and manages condos in Maui. Every one of our units has a sleeper sofa, it is a great way to add space for an additional two guests (preferably kids). It also helps include your listing when guests filter by sleep count.

 Thanks for the insight. Any good brands/styles you would recommend that have worked well for your properties?