How Do You Deck Out Your Short Term Rental?

Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
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How Do You Deck Out Your Short Term Rental?

Mindy JensenPro Member
BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes

I'm staying at an AirBnB in San Diego. I chose it for the location, just a few blocks from the beach.

It's newly renovated and looks nice. Fresh paint, very clean, comfy beds and couch.

But there are no decorations. There are zero pictures on the walls, one fake potted plant in the living room, and 6 placemats on the table. It feels bare.

How do you decorate your AirBnB? Have you had any feedback about your decorations specifically? We stay in them frequently, and they always seem to be decorated for the area, ie Mountain homes are log furniture, old skis on the wall, pictures of bears. Beach houses have pictures of waves, sand and seashells everywhere.

This sounds like a complaint and I really don't mind that there isn't any decorations. We're not spending a lot of time in the home, we're here for the beach. I'm doing research for my own AirBnB rentals.

While we're here, let's talk about entertainment. Do you provide cable/Netflix/Disney or are they on their own?

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Paul Sandhu
Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
6y

All my living rooms have a theme like Hunting, Bodybuilding, Guy Action Movies, Labrador Retrievers, Sports Memorabilia.  Things that would appeal to men.  All my bedrooms are decorated like Hugh Hefner himself did it.

I rent my STRs to contractors.  The guys you see working on the large erections of steel at a petrochemical refinery.  They drive jacked up 4x4s, have neck tats, and chew tobacco for breakfast.

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  • Paul Sandhu
    Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    6y

    All of the properties I've seen in this thread look pristine.  It makes me feel like some degenerate decorated mine.

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  • Paul Sandhu
    Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    6y

    Here is the living room corner of my big house yesterday.  There are 7-8 guys in there working day/night shift.  Sorry, BP posts it sideways.

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  • Stacy Livingston
    Investor · Midland, TX · Member since 2016 · 9 posts · 6 votes
    6y

    I feel like decor is fairly crucial to the overall experience in an Airbnb. Sometimes people stay in an Airbnb because they can do so cheaper than a hotel but most people also like the added value of feeling at home, having a kitchen and/or having a less cookie-cutter vibe than a hotel. I personally am more inclined to finalize my choice based on style if there are a few contenders in the area. If they all feel outdated and/or sparse, I'm might widen my search parameters to find a place that feels more like vacation versus staying at a vacant property. 

    As for entertainment, the vast majority aren't seeking solace at your Airbnb and whether they take advantage of the Netflix/Apple TV/etc, having the possibility is important. All the more if all of the surrounding properties that are available offer it. 

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  • Ginger Hendrix
    Central Coast CA · Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 3 votes
    6y

    I have a vacation rental in Palm Springs and prior have hacked my own home since 2013. My PS property isn't aiming for the same market as @John D. (!) but we're getting really positive feedback about the look and feel of the place. 

    https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3...

    I have the best luck beginning with a color story (I really like pinterest for this) and then moving from there. I always aim for both comfort and looks -- never want to sacrifice one for the other. 

    My take is that the way the home is put together is the primary selling point on Airbnb -- at least in my market. PS is really glutted with STRs and so the way the place is designed and appointed is the primary way to get my condo grabbed over the others.

    I had a great experience with the professional photographer that Airbnb provided -- the pics are gorgeous and he was great to work with. Best of all, they deducted it from my first rental so that I didn't have to pay up front.

    P.S. @Mindy Jensen I am SO sorry you had to stay at a bare bones Airbnb. It's completely worth telling the host that they'd have much better ratings if they leaned in with design. 

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  • Jim Hudelson
    Member since 2020 · 34 posts · 19 votes
    6y

    We have an STR in a small city in Colorado. We've been renting it for over 5 years and it has done pretty well. We decorated primarily as if we were going to live in it (and we do spend some time there). There is art work throughout the house. Fortunately, my wife has great taste and is able to put rooms together that look good and are comfortable to be in. That said, different styles suit different people. I believe that it is important to be consistent to whatever style you are trying to achieve.

    We have had feedback and it has always been positive.  One guest commented that 'the place feels larger than it appears in the pictures'.  I view that as a positive but it also means that I need to re-do some photos.  Another commented 'the home is exactly as represented in the pictures'.  I like that one.  Managing expectations makes my 'top 5' list when it comes to handling rental property/vacation rentals.  You want the guest to arrive with good-to-great expectations and you want them to go "WOW" after the first walk through.  Then, if possible, you want them to continue to discover new things about the house that make them fall in love with it.

    We provide cable or satellite t.v.  Our market is mostly older folks.  In the kitchen we provide an array of spices, some other basics like olive oil / vegetable oil, a few bottles of water in the fridge.  We provide a starter set of amenities (laundry & dishwasher detergent, trash bags, paper products, bathroom soaps/toothpaste/sunscreen) type stuff.  Rarely have we had a guest who cleaned out the supplies.  Occasionally they leave more than we started with.  We have a 30 day minimum on the house in high season, 1 week the rest of the time.  In a typical year we probably rent it 6-8 times for a week or 10 days.

    I would say that what has surprised me most with handling short term rentals in different locations is how each place develops a market and it has never been from where I expected it.  I must not be very good at sizing up a market is about all that I can figure.  The design style comes into play on this, for sure.  If the style doesn't fit the market the property is not going to do as well.

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  • Julie Groth
    Residential Real Estate Investor and Broker · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2016 · 55 posts · 19 votes
    6y

    I see several comments about the 'style fitting the market'. I don't really get that. Personally, I'm not so fond of nautical if I rent a beach house (although I'm a sailor and love nautical) or woodsy if I rent a cabin. Most of the time, the 'upscale' aspect of that kind of design is simply not there, it becomes sort of kitschy/cheapish.                                                                                                                            If one rents an upscale hotel, there is a certain look to that. Obviously, that varies somewhat but not by a lot. Even European upscale and U.S. are sort of the same overall look. People know it when they see it. You walk into a lobby of a hotel like that and words like "wow, upscale, modern, very cool, really really nice, well designed, professional, hip, etc" would apply. And doesn't that have a sort of universal appeal, regardless of where you rent? 

    Why wouldn't you go for an upscale look to maximize the price potential regardless of your market?  (throw out the outliers to answer this question)

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  • Maurice Smith
    Member since 2018 · 211 posts · 164 votes
    6y
    to me, the most import thing to have in your short term rentals is AUTOMATION. from the door locks, to the door bell, to your cleaning crew. you need to automate your system and make it as passive as possible
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  • Jim Hudelson
    Member since 2020 · 34 posts · 19 votes
    6y

    Julie Groth - what you say is the truth.  There is a 'look' that everyone knows and recognizes as modern/current/upscale and it is easy enough to replicate.  What I meant by 'style needs to fit the market' in relation to the house that we rent, goes something like this.

    Our house is a mid-century home in the heart of the city.  It's in a neighborhood that has a distinctively retro feel to it.  To outfit the house in modern suave would not 'fit the market'.  The people that rent our house are typically people in the 50+ age group.  They are looking for warm and comfortable, not sleek and stylish.  We don't get young people renting and I'm sure that it is due to the pictures showing a house that is 'warm and comfortable'.  That's o.k. with us. We are doing a good business with the 50+ crowd and the bonus is that they generally take very good care of the property.

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