Do you have an extra room, suite or even home that you are thinking about opening for a vacation rental?  At Showhome Furniture we have supplied many home with the right furniture to make a ho-hum vacation rental into a stunning retreat.  In the process of interviewing our clients before and after they have started renting, we have come up with some awesome tips on how to design the perfect vacation rental! The first thing you need to do before renting out your property to others is to clean it top to bottom.  Nobody wants to spend the night in someone else’s dirt.  Not only will you have guests who will refuse to stay at your place, you will also have guests that will leave you a terrible review-which will discourage others from renting your home. Make sure you clean out all the clutter of your house, take down random pictures and nick nacks. Nick nacks tend to make a home feel cluttered and make you spend more time cleaning and dusting them between guests.  Make sure you fix anything that is broken and clean your yard.  You want their first impressions to be the best one possible. After making sure your home is  make sure your beds are comfortable.  At Showhome we sell some of the top luxury mattresses.  We know that a good nights sleep is the most important part of keeping your vacation guests happy.  An old lumpy or stained mattress is not something that guests will be happy with.  If there is just one thing you splurge on, a new mattress is one of them.  Be sure to protect those new mattresses with good quality mattress covers to keep them beautiful for a long time.Next make sure you dress up those new mattresses with some new, good quality linen and bedding.  Everyone likes to be spoiled, and walking into a room that holds a beautiful bed just fills the happy spot in most vacation renters.  Don’t be afraid of adding a few extra decorative pillows, and a soft throw at the end of the bed.  Make sure you get good quality sheets and nice towels to let your guests use while they are with you.  You want your guests to feel special and this is one of the best ways to do it.

 Now you need to assess your furniture.  Go through your home and check each piece of furniture thoroughly.  Make sure the chairs are study and the couches look new. If something does not look new or is broken get replace it with high quality long lasting furniture that you do not have to fuss with.

If your table is badly damaged consider getting a new one.  At Showhome we have gorgeous ‘rustic’ tables that are sturdy, beautiful and hold up well to the wear and tear of vacation guests.

 If your couches are saggy, get new ones.  You guests will complain if things are old and grungy.  They will notice if your furniture does not match.  Having new furniture could be the thing that helps you become booked all year.  One trick one of our clients shared was that she replaced her old couches with two matching sofa beds.  She did that because it helped increase the number of guests who could sleep at her place (letting her charge more) and it also made it easy to get ready for guests because she would just leave the linen out for her guests and they would make up their own bed when they needed to go to bed.  Anytime you can let your guests do some of the work, you are making your business more viable.

We know that replacing furniture can be expensive.  At Showhome we have 1 year free financing available.  This can be a great option for your vacation rental because it allows you to use the new furniture for a year as you rent, letting your guest rental fee help pay for them.  The most important furniture to consider are beds, couches, table and dinning room chairs.  Bookcases, end tables, and dressers are nice too, but not as important as the other furniture we have talked about.

When picking out new furniture, look for furniture that is sturdy and easy to clean.  Leather is an excellent option.  Be sure to get the protection plan on your furniture.  You do not want to have any worries if a guest has an accident at your home.

Lastly, be sure to accessorize your rooms extremely carefully.  Accessories help pull a room together and creates a more inviting home, unfortunately though, they also cause your cleaners more work in keeping them dusted.   Get accessories that won’t break easily and add to the look you are going for.