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When it comes to decorating and furnishing your city vacation rental, there are lots of questions that come up. What should the theme be? What’s my budget? How little is too little? Where do I shop?
It can feel a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s your first time considering listing your property on short stay rental sites like Airbnb. Furnishing and decorating are key to a successful listing, but with a little creativity and some clever tips, you can make it work even without any interior design experience and a tight budget.
Investing in interior design and infusing personality into your property are a guaranteed way to get 5-star reviews and increase your revenue. A study by Beyond Pricing found that when listings increased their ratings from 4 to 4.5, they were able to charge 20% and experienced more demand – thus higher turnover.
So let’s look at the steps you can take to furnish your rental for the best turnover.
Decide your needs and your budget
First off, you need to take stock of what you already have. Do you already have some furniture and appliances or do you need to start from scratch?
Do you have a $700 budget or a $3000 one?
Figuring these things out will help you map out a plan and be more practical and efficient with your purchases. You don’t need to blow your budget (unless you see a great opportunity).
Here’s your basic rental furniture, decor and appliances checklist:
- Bedroom: bed frame and mattress, nightstand, lamps, bed linen, pillows, closet
- Living room: couch, coffee table, TV, artwork, rug
- Kitchen: table, chairs, appliances (kettle, microwave)
- Bathroom: towels, toiletries
Decide on a theme
Rustic chic? Beach bungalow? Japanese minimalism? Vintage?
“When choosing the best style and theme for your rental property, you need to think first about your location and target audience,” says Ioanna Hume, Client Relations Manager at Guested Airbnb Management. Do you want to cater mostly to families and large groups? Couples? Business travellers? Are you located near the beach, in the countryside or the CBD of a large city?
Answering these questions will help you better understand what type of furniture and vibe your place should have. And if you already have furniture in place, but it doesn’t exactly match the style you have in mind, you can always “accessorise” it with the right throw rug, carpet and decor.
Be practical
If you’re on a tight budget or simply looking for more funky and interesting interior design ideas, these are some great places that will help you furnish your vacation rental:
- Facebook Marketplace
- Amazon
- Clearance sales
- Local vintage stores
- Garage sales
- Online groups focused on sustainability where you can get items for free
Alternatively, you can work with an Airbnb management company that provides interior design services from furnishing, styling and photography to listing your property.
Another practical tip when buying: get items that are harder to break, easy to clean and darker in colour. For example, choose fabric lamps instead of glass ones, machine washable rugs and towels in colours that don’t fade away after a few washes (avoid light blue, pink and so forth).
Some other dos and don’ts:
- Choose neutral colours for walls
- Add character with accent pieces
- Make sure your property smells nice
- Have sufficient electrical outlets
- Eliminate clutter
- Avoid political or religious pieces
Be seasonal
You might not have the money and celebrity status of Bobby Berk when it comes to the interior design of your Airbnb, but you can channel Queer Eye’s star approach to detail.
A very clever way to add more value to your Airbnb rental is to consider the seasons in your decor. Guests will see the level of care and will be even more impressed with your property.
In summer, have lighter bed linen, in winter, add cosy accents like candles, dried fruit and different dinnerware. It’s a cheap way to provide extra value.
Don’t forget to update the listing, using the relevant words in your description: Christmas, summer holiday.
When deciding to rent your property, it can feel overwhelming at first. But by following these tips and tricks you’ll be able to provide your guests with a fantastic experience. You’ll increase rental value, get higher guest turnover – and 5-star reviews.
