Does your vacation rental have home staging to ensure you run on 100% occupation?
When staging your vacation rental, you must make it appear more inviting, spacious, and aesthetically pleasing. Having your home fully prepared for first impressions by properly staging your rental will enthrall potential guests from the very first sight. Creating captivating photos through staging might sound like an easy task, but in reality, a lived-in home is better than a photographed home.
What is vocational rental home staging?
Typically, when you stage a property to sell, you prepare it for tours, walk-throughs, open days, and online listings. This is intended to give prospective buyers the opportunity to visualize themselves in the space. Basically, the home is staged to be like a “live-in” home (you can read more about the home staging process here).
The idea is similar when it comes to vacation rental staging. While you are not trying to have guests settle permanently into your vacation rental, you do want them to envision their lives there during their holiday break.
This entails grabbing guests’ attention in the pre-booking phase whilst also creating the perfect setting when they enter the property and during their entire stay leaving them happy, relaxed, and eager to return. Remember, returning customers are the best word-of-mouth advertising!
Why is it important to have home staging in your vacation rental?
Unless you are exclusively hosting repeat guests or have reservations that come in yearly or via referrals, you are going to need to sell to your potential vacationers. This is why it is extremely important to “wow” them with your listing description, backed up by stunning photography. Make sure your photos are updated regularly and not from a couple of years ago.
Vacation property staging adds value without the additional cost of a full home renovation, it might be as simple as repositioning your furniture or changing colours and décor around the seasons. Staged vacation rentals can increase your average daily rate. But, beyond the price tag, you are also far more likely to increase the yield of reservations and ultimately your income.
How do you use home staging in a vacation rental?
If you browse other popular listings in your area, what might they all have in common? Be it local décor, warm lighting, or amazing entertainment spaces with swimming pools, the most popular listings in your area probably kept vacation rental staging in mind.
Create the illusion of space
Beyond the emerging trend of minimalistic travel, all guests are looking for a sleep-spacious stay. Even if the reality of your space is small, you can create the illusion of square footage with the right staging techniques.
Colour plays a large part in space creation. If all your furniture is dark and overly patterned, it is going to make your space look more crowded than it actually is. Always emphasize the use of monochrome colour schemes as it is easier for the eye to navigate and follow neutral, non-distracting colours.
Mirrors are your friend! Include trendy or large mirrors in your spaces, especially narrow passageways or areas that lack natural light.
Focus on lighting
Overhead lighting is not enough. The ceiling lights in your home will not do the trick.
Fluorescents and overhead lighting can cause a vacation rental to look sterile and unwelcoming.
If all the light sources come directly from ceiling fixtures, they are going to cast a lot of shadows which can cause your space to appear smaller than it is. Opt for warmer lighting to create a more inviting atmosphere. Having different lighting options in the room, such as floor lamps, hanging fixtures, and different-toned bulbs ensures evenly distributed light in your home.
Get rid of distractions
Do not get carried away with décor. Two or three conversation pieces, be it art or figurines, is the appropriate limit for a room. Too much décor will shrink a space.
This rule is also valid for furnishing. Use multi-functional pieces of an appropriate size for the space. Do not showcase your personal items such as photographs, trophies, or any family heirlooms.
Try not to over-emphasize themes within the home (e.g. Christmas, Easter or other overly used travel themes).
Outside versus inside
Curb appeal is paramount. Even if your main listing picture is your exquisite master bedroom or luxurious living room, guests will be curious about the home’s exterior, even if it is not the focal point.
Ensure the house is clean: not just on the inside, but outside features like shutters, windows, and benches should also be neat.
Do not neglect your garden. Ensure that there is always a fresh patch of green or colourful shrubbery at the entrance and consider adding a playful welcome mat.
Little touches can make a big difference
Make sure your guests feel at home with a personalised welcome letter, some fresh flowers, and maybe freshly baked bread, mineral water, and some milk for the coffee station.
Ensure that all the bedrooms and bathrooms are freshened up with quality linen and towels. A nice thought is to supply guests with bathroom amenities, and always use 2-ply toilet paper.
Local Directory
Ensure that you add a local directory of places to visit, restaurants, and top local tourist attractions. It will be great to see what produce you could purchase from local suppliers and have available for guests to purchase. In doing so, you support local businesses and ensure that guests have options available to them.
It all comes down to the detail
Staging your vacation rental allows guests to envision their stay in your home. Whether you are demonstrating fun in the kitchen with staged food props, or luxury linen in the bedroom by fluffing and fixing the bedding to perfection, guests will notice those extra details.
Ultimately, you are creating the story of their stay… make sure it is magical because they will be talking about it!
Need help with managing your BnB property?
Live in Taste partners with the Bookings 4U team on vacation rental projects.
If you’re unable to keep up with the numerous responsibilities of a host, hiring a co-host is a great way to optimize the management of your BnB rental property.
Based in the Cape Winelands, Bookings 4U is a friendly team of experienced and highly rated listing administrators for bed & breakfast and self-catering units. They will co-host your vacation rental property investment and manage all the administrative aspects of your bookings.
Their services are available in the Western Cape, including Cape Town (Sea Point and the Cape Winelands), Greyton in the Overberg and surrounding areas in the Western Cape. They also manage the administration of international properties.
Don’t leave your BnB listings up in the air, get in touch with Bookings 4U:
Website: www.bookings4u.co.za
Email (Aliki Brunt): info@bookings4u.co.za