The vacation rental industry took a huge toll during the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel restriction resulted in virtually no one traveling, leaving rental properties vacant. Now with more places opening up and travel restrictions being relaxed, people are ready to make up for lost time.

Luckily for the vacation rental industry, single-occupancy rentals are becoming more popular, since they’re deemed safer than hotels, at the moment. However, that also means that there is a lot of competition in the vacation rental industry.

Here are some things to consider to make your place stand out from the competition, and therefore, increasing your revenue.

Interior Design

Space

It may not seem important, but the design of a room or home affects how people feel about their stay. The phrase ‘a cluttered house is a cluttered mind’ may have some truth to it. Studies have shown that our brains like organization because it increases our ability to focus.

Clutter may mean something different to everyone, so when arranging your room or home for guests, keep in mind that less is more. Sometimes we tend to associate small spaces as being more cluttered, so naturally bigger spaces may attract more renters.

If your space is smaller, consider large mirrors. Mirrors are a natural way to make a smaller room look more spacious. Also, keep the furniture pieces down to the necessities. And even if you do have a bigger space, you don’t have to have furniture and decor in every corner.

Decor

You will want warm and inviting colors, but you also don’t want to go overboard. As a host of a vacation rental, a unique idea would be to incorporate some of the elements of your location into the design.

A beach house, for example, could be designed with the beach in mind. You’ll want to use a lot of blues and greens, reminiscent of the ocean, as well as sandy brown colors. This theme, however, would probably not make sense for a cabin in the mountains. A rustic theme will work better for that type of rental.

Advertising

Now that you’ve gotten your decor taken care of, how do you market your home as the best available place to rent? When listing your place for rent on websites like Airbnb, you’ll post photos for the renters to have an idea of what kind of space they’re going to be renting.

You’ll want to take clear, well-lit photos to highlight your incredibly designed space, but don’t stage the photo in a way that is deceiving to potential renters. You want it to be “what you see is what you get”, but in a good way, of course. No one likes false advertising.

You will also want to have your place listed at a fair price. Consider where your rental is, what it has to offer, and what prices other rentals in the area are going for. Also, consider using an Airbnb Calculator to see how much you can make in your particular area.

Reviews

Believe it or not, reviews (both positive and negative) can help you stand out from the crowd. Obviously, good reviews will get people interested in renting your place, but you can’t please everyone and eventually, bad reviews will come. Luckily, there are some tips on using reviews to boost your business.

So overall, you will want your place to have a design scheme that is pleasing to the eye. The first thing people will notice in your listing is how inviting the space looks. They will decide right then and there if that’s a place they’ll want to stay.

Secondly, good reviews will definitely make your space a chosen place time after time, so first impressions are everything, and the way you market your rental will play a significant role in how it’s reviewed! Just remember that we all fall short sometimes, but we can always work to make things better.