Setting up any new short-term rental or Airbnb will require purchasing furniture. With that in mind, what should you consider when buying furniture for your next short-term rental? What type of furniture you buy for your Airbnb can be broken down into two categories: Form and Function.
Your first job is to consider what is important to your guests. If your house is within walking distance of the beach, it probably needs different amenities than one in downtown New York. Another question to consider is what type of ambiance are you trying to create? The last important things are going to be your budget and time.
Functional Furniture
When getting any piece of furniture, ask yourself what it will be doing and what benefit it will provide.
All guests will have needs and it is your responsibility to make sure those needs are met for them to have a great experience. Put some time into considering which pieces of furniture your target renter will use the most. For example, a studio apartment targeting business travelers would do well with an amazing bed and a sweet desk setup. You want to have your target guest looking at your place and thinking, “This was set up just for me!” It’s important to allocate most of your money to items your guests will use the most.
Some great examples of functional furniture: Beds, Desks, Entertainment Centers, Stove, cooking essentials, and much more.
Furniture with Form
What does it do and will it make my place look better?
So this is where things get tricky because you have to consider the perceived value against the cost of a piece. Spending a couple of extra dollars to make your place look better can pay big time if you get an increase in bookings. Your furniture’s appearance can absolutely affect the price you can rent your Airbnb for as well. If everything inside looks amazing, people are willing to pay a premium.
Pictures are the single most important thing when it comes to the success of your Airbnb or short-term rental. Before you buy anything, think about how it will look in the pictures. Any large purchase should stand out to you as something that will make your pictures pop. Don’t save a little to get the cheap couch… get the couch that looks amazing but is still within your budget. This is where creative shopping will come in.
Heavy-duty furniture is something else to consider when buying furniture for your Airbnb. Due to the constant traffic coming and going from your Airbnb, your furniture is going to take a beating. Replacing furniture can be a time-consuming and expensive process, so when you do make a purchase, try to get something that will last. An easy way to validate if a piece of furniture looks heavy-duty, try to think of all of the ways you could break it. If you can’t think of many ways to break it, then that’s probably a piece worth buying.
Cleaning oddly shaped furniture can be a real-time sink. Keep in mind that time is money and the longer it takes to clean, the more it costs you. Things like your stove can take a long time to clean but are super necessary. Buying a giant 1,000-piece chandelier to accent a room that takes forever to clean, is probably a little too much. Avoid complicated items that have little crevices for dust to collect.
Tips and Tricks
- The majority of vacations are planned by women. So think about staging your area for what a mom, wife, or girlfriend would want to see.
- To save cash up front, you can apply for 12-18 month 0% interest deals at furniture stores. This can help you get started with minimal cash.
- Pretend your Airbnb is a person with four personality traits. What four traits would people say about your short-term rental? Fancy? Rugged? Clean? Outgoing? Take your answer and let them guide you through all of your design decisions.
- Make sure that you are staging your rooms to be “Instagram worthy.” You really want these pictures to be something special, that’s how you will attract guests.
- Don’t spend too much time reinventing the wheel. Before you start setting up your Airbnb, look at what other hosts in your area are doing. Those hosts have already figured out what works, take some inspiration from them!
