The Airbnb market is growing and growing fast. More people are choosing staycations and using the platform as their first port of call when it comes to finding somewhere to stay. With so many properties online, how do you make sure yours is the one they want to stay in?

Deep cleans by expert Airbnb cleaners and a great guest experience are 2 extremely important components of this, something PTK Exeter is sure to be able to help you with, but attracting the guests in the first place is often something new hosts struggle to get right. Here are our top tips for how to make your property stand out amongst the competition.

1. Avoid Magnolia

You may think you’re doing the best thing by painting the entire house in this well-known colour, after all magnolia is inoffensive, simple and makes a room look large, but it’s also rather uninspiring. People take holidays and breaks for a change, often choosing to stay somewhere that is quite different from their usual surroundings. Give them something to talk about by adding colour. It need not be luminous orange (although this may well suit the right property), but think about creating a space that reflects the property's character. An older, Georgian era property would benefit from rich lustrous colours such as deep greens and navy, whereas a City apartment may well be able to pull off brighter tones and a mix of colours. Country homes always look good in traditional neutral palettes, but remember this doesn’t necessarily mean 50 shades of beige. Greys, taupes, greens and wood accents would work well.

2. Bring in texture

No one wants to sit in a room that is like a box; it’s too clinical. Even if your room is box shaped, you can create cosiness through the use of textiles and furnishings. Consider rugs on hard floors, velvet cushions on leather sofas, a fluffy throw over the back of the arm chair, and even wall hangings in place of pictures. Softening your property with texture not only creates the feeling of warmth, but can reduce dreaded echo in larger spaces. This will help people feel at home rather than being sat in a Doctors waiting room. It’s also a great way to protect floors you don’t want to get damaged, or hide any stains. A new rug is much cheaper than a new carpet. Hallway runners are a fantastic way to liven up an otherwise bland entrance and bathrooms can benefit from shelves of towels. This is cost effective and great for creating that ‘spa’ feel.

3. Think about different heights

Much like the previous point, bringing decor in at low and high levels creates interest in a room. You want to draw the person’s eye around the space to make it look really put together. Hang pictures one above another to emphasise a high ceiling, use a floor statue to pull focus into the corner of a room, create a canopy above a bed, or just put something on the ceiling above it to look at when night-time comes. Don’t be afraid to go large either, a big picture in the room could be the perfect focal point. You can then pick out a key colour from this to use in the remaining decor. Weaving this colour high and low in items such as table lamps, cushions, vases, painted borders and anything else you can think of will tie everything together perfectly, and show off every nook of the room.

4. Consider a theme

If you really want to stand out a themed home is a fantastic way to go. You could do something fun like a Harry Potter home, including props you’d find in the film, or something impressive like murals all over the walls to look as though you are in a secret garden, or on the Titanic. These may seem extreme, but done well and you could be booked up for the whole year with film fans or those wanting a little something different. For those who don’t want to go that extreme, themes are still appropriate. Think about where your Airbnb property is and what you can take from the surroundings. Country houses look good with tweed and tartan incorporated into the decor; you could even add some quirky items such as metal stag head to mount above the armchair, or an old fashioned hat stand for the hallway. It may seem cliche, but seaside themes for properties near the coast always go down well. Pale blue walls with boat decorations, beach vibes in the bathroom and stripes on cushions and other soft furnishings are simple ways to achieve this. If you live in a historical city, use some of the history to your advantage. For instance, select a key historical figure and buy a book about them to leave on the coffee table, then get some tea towels with that same person on it and hang their picture in the hallway or downstairs toilet. Keep it fun and run it around the whole property to create something distinctive. You need to stand out from the rest of the homes, so give them something to talk about and remember you for. 

If your home has nothing obvious to shout about, fake it. Take a look at a hotel or interior design magazine for inspiration and steal some ideas. Think about places you’d like to stay and bring it to life. Want to go somewhere tropical? Heck, most people would, so why not give your place some exotic vibes with a botanical theme. Just type it into your browser and let the internet do the hard work. Make sure you include it in the entirety of your property to really get the full effect.

5. Lighting, lighting, lighting!

There’s no point getting everything looking fantastic, then ruining it with poor, or limited lighting. This is the one place we advise to spend a little more. You can find some bargains too, but a feature light can really elevate your home from standard to something special and give that ‘hotel quality’ feel for your guests. It’s also important to consider how your guests will be using the property. There needs to be good clear lighting in the kitchen and bathrooms for cooking and grooming, but other areas would benefit from softer lighting. Make sure you have a variety of lighting for your reception rooms. Floor and table lamps work a treat on an evening for when people are relaxing with a drink or watching a film, but there will still need to be clear lighting for anything like a game or reading a book, so make sure they aren’t only able to cast dim light or that there is an alternative. Feature lighting on bookcases or under worktops can look fantastic and add that pizazz without too much cost, there are many strip lighting options available online. 

It may also be worth considering low level lighting such as floor level lights in hallways and light up mirrors in communal spaces and bathrooms for the night time. If there is a group of people sharing, they won’t want to wake each other up every time someone goes to use the bathroom.

Hopefully, these pointers will help you when getting your property Airbnb-ready. The next step is making sure you run it efficiently and this is where PTK Exeter can step in and take the pressure off. We offer a full end to end management service, covering everything from listing preparation to guest communication to cleaning and linen changes. It means you can sit back and relax, or focus your attention elsewhere, in the knowledge that your investment is in safe hands. For more information visit our website; passthekeys.co.uk or email us; exeter@passthekeys.co.uk