Designing for Vacation Rentals

I have bought, renovated, and managed three short term vacation rentals in the last five years. Throughout this process, I’ve learned that designing for vacation rentals is very different from renovating and designing for a home. While I’m always looking for ways to maximize the ROI for a homeowner, it’s even more crucial to strategically consider your design investment with a vacation rental. Today, I’m sharing my top 5 considerations when designing for a vacation rental.

Is it Memorable?

The first thing to remember about your vacation rental is that people are usually coming for their vacation- guests want the space to feel special, even though its not a hotel. They want it to be a place where they create memories, so the experience matters. Vacation rentals have the unique opportunity to do bold and ambitious designs throughout the space, and this permission should open your mind to exciting new options.

Living room design at 2 bedroom beach condo, Pipeline

At our beach condos, I chose famous beach destinations across the globe to help drive the theme of the design. Pipeline is inspired by a vintage Hawaiian beach shack with a bold and bright palette of Teal, Pink, and Goldenrod Yellow. St. Tropez is all about the famous French beach town St. Tropez. The palette is wider and the vibe is more sophisticated and posh on the inside. In both spaces, I wanted the first impression to transport you into beach vibes and set the tone for a memorable stay.

Beachy sophistication of St. Tropez

Investing the time and creativity needed to create a memorable, cohesive design is well worth it. Rental statistics show time and time again that design drives up your nightly rate and your occupancy rate.

Is it Durable?

I would love to say this is lower down the list, but honestly, renters are hard on furnishings, even when they don’t intend to be. For example, if you host a high occupancy space, your linens and towels will be washed more than once a week. This significantly reduces the usable life span of the linen. You need things that can be washed a lot and maintain their quality and appearance.

You also need to choose furniture and accessories that are durable and sturdy. I once had a renter break the seat of a chair. The frame was fine, but the seat board was made of particle board and it split in half. We replaced the particle board with a 1/2 piece of plywood and the chair has been good to go ever since. Look for furniture that has a solid wood frame or steel frame and choose fabrics that can be easily cleaned in case of spills.

Another great example of durable accessories are towel bars in bathrooms. Ideally, you would be mounting these into at least one stud, but the real secret is it’s much easier to choose hooks. Not only can you mount into a stud, but you also don’t risk the bar become loose and falling out.

Hooks in an elevated bathroom space.

Is it Replaceable?

One of a kind items are risky. The unfortunate truth is items will get ruined or stolen from time to time, so whatever you put in your space needs to be replaceable- both emotionally, and functionally.

On the functional side, I’m a huge proponent of area rugs over wall to wall carpeting in a vacation rental, especially if the rental is pet friendly. It’s much easier to roll up an area rug and replace it than it is to tear out carpet that’s been ruined.

Custom built furniture can be a gamble as well. While theoretically it will be longer lasting, a piece of furniture with a warranty is a huge benefit. Stores like Rooms To Go offer furniture with a warranty and if it can’t be fixed, they will often just replace so long as its within the terms of the warranty.

Sofa and coordinating chair from Rooms To Go.

Is it Functional?

Especially when you are working with smaller spaces, every items needs to add function to your space- either because of its usability or it’s usefulness. One of the biggest value adds for a vacation rental is extra sleeping space. Sleeper sofas, bunk rooms, Murphy beds, trundles, daybeds. that double as a couch- these are all examples of high function design choices.

Book nook with extra sleeping space in our 1905 mountain cottage

In our 4 bedroom beach condo, the kitchen, living, and dining space are relatively small. We needed a dining table that could seat at least 6-8 people, but any table of that size was so large it was really tight in the space. We decided to do a built in banquette with a round table. This let’s 6 people easily sit at the table and there is still space to move around. We added some TV trays for extra eating space as needed.

Dining banquette with seating for up to 6

Another functional decision in a vacation rental, especially smaller or older rentals is space for clothing storage. Older homes have notoriously small closets, or no closets at all. Adding a closet removes square footage from your bedroom space, limiting the size (or number) of bed(s) you can use. In our 1905 mountain cottage, we opted to take out the closet in favor of larger, more comfortable beds, and instead invested in ceiling mounted hanging bars and dressers for clothing storage.

Is it Valuable?

The last consideration is about return on investment. The design choices you make should be driven by whether or not it will allow you to drive more or higher cost rentals. In the mountains, a great example of an ROI driver is a hot tub. It’s a $6k+ investment, but it drives higher occupancy and a higher nightly rate. At the beach, having access to a pool has been a huge benefit for rental. Neither of those are particularly cost efficient, but they are extremely valuable and have led to much higher rental.

When renovating rental kitchens, another easy way to save money but add a ton of value is to opt for open shelving for your upper cabinetry instead of traditional closed cabinets. Its visually appealing and a huge savings.

Removed upper cabinets and went with simple open shelving.

In a bathroom, it can be really costly to replace your tile and shower/tub enclosure. Vanities are much more cost effective investment. Purchasing a new vanity and mirror and light fixture can take a bathroom from outdated to stylish for less than $1,000. If the tile and tub/shower are old and in need of a refresh, resurfacing the tile/tub using companies like Miracle Method is time and cost effective and it can transform a space.

If you are currently a vacation rental owner, or are thinking about purchasing one, Vibe can help you makeover your rental. We’ll work through each one of our considerations and transform your space, creating a vibe where guests can create special memories for years to come.