The Ideal Getaway: Interior Design Choices That Hook Vacation Renters

If you’ve invested in vacation rental property, you’ve likely had a rough couple of years. The pandemic and its aftermath have hit the tourism industry as hard as any other, with customers too scared to step beyond their front porch, let alone go to a foreign place where infection rates might spike. Fortunately, that’s all about to change.

Throughout the pandemic, people have been planning vacations that they had to cancel at its outset, dreaming of the day when they felt safe enough to give themselves some well-deserved time off. Now, with the vaccine being widely available and boosters being distributed to most groups, that time has finally arrived: and people who have been cooped up in their homes for well over a year are ready to get out there and party hard.

Vacation rental property is, arguably, the safest sector of the tourism industry right now. Not only did they quickly rise to prominence before the pandemic as a customer-preferred way to vacation, but after the pandemic, they represent a COVID-safe alternative to hotels, where numerous people tend to congregate. Vacation rentals also provide the added benefit (not found in any other hospitality environment) of simulating a real home-away-from-home, giving consumers the space and utility they need to perform many functions (such as cooking or doing the laundry) that they also wouldn’t be able to do in other spaces.

If you own a vacation rental property in the proper location, the property will do a lot of the sales work for you: still, if you want your offerings to stand out amidst an ever-growing, ever-lucrative tourism market, you may want to outfit your property with amenities like those below. Let’s get into it.

Photo credit: Pexels

The living room is the heart of the home and should be treated as such when prioritizing remodels and taking photographs for marketing purposes. You’ll want to make sure your living room really stands out, as you want your customers to be able to see themselves and their family congregating comfortably in this space after a long hard day of touring.

As such, you might want to replace the furniture first, as dingy or uncomfortable couches, chairs, or duvets will set the wrong impression entirely. Choosing furniture that’s comfortable, durable, and custom-made will set your listing apart visually and, when the consumers arrive on property, will ensure the kind of glowing reviews that attract others to your property.

You can also choose to replace the décor, updating it for a more modern look or feel. Investing in new drapes, throw pillows and blankets, and the like will also help set the proper tone. If needed, consider replacing the flooring as well: old or worn down flooring can be uncomfortable for guests, and if you’re looking to make your vacation rental a long-time bestseller, an investment in new tile, hardwood, or even carpeting will go a long way.

The next room in dire need of a remodel will likely be the kitchen, as the kitchen (for vacation renters) represents one of the areas they will get the most utility out of. Deep clean and disinfect every surface before attempting that remodel, from countertops to the back corners of cabinets, to make sure that any grime left over from the previous tenants is removed.

Your remodel of the kitchen will be much like the living room, with equal focus on aesthetics and functionality: as such, you may want to invest in top-of-the-line upgrades, such as stainless-steel energy star appliances, new countertops (especially if the current ones are chipped or stained), and even an island. Perhaps the most expensive option on this list, islands are preferred add-ons by homeowners for two reasons: extra counter and storage space and their aesthetic appeal. Installing any of these upgrades will expand the scope of what consumers can do in your kitchen, as well as make it stand out compared to listings without these features.

Photo credit: Pexels

When your guests retire to their bedrooms after a long day of seeing the sights, you want them to feel as comfortable as possible: guests that did not get a good nights’ sleep, after all, tend to leave rancid reviews, something you want to avoid at all costs. As such, you’ll want to outfit each bedroom on the property for maximum comfort.

Start with the mattresses: go as big as you can to give your guests the amount of space they feel they need, outfitting the Master with a King-size bed and any other rooms with Queens. Choose mattresses that are either at a good middle-ground between hard and soft or made of a material like memory foam that molds itself to the user.

Take care to outfit the bedrooms with other amenities that guests may find useful, from flat-screen smart TVs that can connect to Netflix to nightstands and dressers that guests may use while on property.

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With a large number of offerings on the market, you’ll have to go above and beyond to stand out and secure a consistent stream of guests. However, with the right location and the right investments, you’ll find it hard to make it big in this new hospitality business sector.

Published in: Home advice | Author: Lynn