What Should I Know About Staging My Home for Rental Guests

In the short-term rental market, effective staging is key to attracting high-end renters. The way you present your portfolio in marketing photos tells a story about your property and how it can serve your guests. Does it have everything that your renters want in a vacation rental? Is it near the best amenities, and does the setup look inviting?

Staging your investment property shouldn’t be left to amateurs. It takes an expert eye to arrange furniture and style your home to make its exterior and interior design appealing to the broadest audience possible. What should you know about staging your short-term vacation rental? Here are some key points to help you make it successful.

People Decide to Buy (or Rent) in 5 Minutes or Less

In real estate, first impressions matter. When you stage your home, you have less than five minutes to impress the renter or they will be looking the other way. There are a variety of reasons why people make the decision so quickly. If the property doesn’t offer exactly what the renter is looking for, they will move on. Also, the higher the price, the more critical they will be of what they see. If they plan to spend top dollar on a luxury vacation rental, they won’t settle for something that lacks what they want for their dream experience. Therefore, to keep your portfolio competitive, stage it well to help your renters envision a pleasant stay.

Why? It’s An Emotional Thing.

The decision to buy or rent a property is not just a logistics issue; it’s an emotional process. The way your property is staged can appeal to a potential renter’s emotions. Therefore, in your photos and marketing, make your home appeal to your future renters. Imagine what they would want to do at your rental. Here are some ways to make your short-term rental inviting.

• Market all desirable leisure places. For instance, place a rack of neatly stacked floats in your photo of the pool to get your renters in the mood for swimming. A full glass of a tropical beverage placed on a side table or outdoor bar can also enhance the pool area.
• Take a picture of a comfortable spot, such as an active fire in your cozy cabin rental to appeal to a desire for comfort and quiet. Place a small stack of logs next to the fireplace to help your renter envision the moment when they can place another log on the embers and stoke the flames.
• Enhance its biggest strengths. For example, take an exterior picture of your rental on a bright and sunny day in your Southern California beach house so that renters can get in the mood for some beautiful weather.

Work With Professional Home Stagers

There are many tricks to make your home look desirable to a wide audience. To be absolutely sure you’re showing your rental in its best light, use an expert to maximize your property’s full potential. When you work with a professional home stager, you will learn how to arrange your furniture or replace key pieces to make the home look open and inviting. You may be advised to change paint colors or install a mirror to reflect light and make a room look bigger. With a professional eye, you can elevate your property’s visual appeal and tailor it to current marketing trends. Here are some ways a professional staging team can help you:

• Make your property look bigger and more functional.
• Rearrange or replace furniture to boost flow in each room.
• Optimize each room so that photographers can capture it at the best angles.
• Optimize lighting throughout your property to make it cheerful and inviting.
• Declutter and remove nonfunctional elements.
• Remove any decor that can alienate renters to make it appealing to a mass market.
• Make a definitive plan to boost your curb appeal.

The best thing about working with professionals is that they can tailor a plan that you need to beautify your property. Since interior design is not a one-size-fits-all experience, it’s important to approach your home staging on a case-by-case basis. There’s no better way to do this than to work with someone who’s staged countless homes and knows what works for your situation.

Work With the Best

Whether you want to optimize your rental portfolio or look for new real estate investment opportunities, connect with our team at OpenAiRE. We have a robust team of home stagers who will be happy to discuss the hottest interior design trends along with other market updates to maximize your marketing game in 2022.