Effective Ways to Decorate Your Home Share Property
When renting your home on home share sites like Booking.com, getting the interior design of your space right is crucial to attracting guests. It can hugely impact a vacation experience for travellers. In fact, research from Booking.com, the global leader in connecting travellers with the widest choice of incredible places to stay, reveals that just over half of Canadian travellers say they have stayed in an accommodation where they didn’t like the interior design. Twenty two per cent of travellers have even moved to another property after finding the interior décor was not what they expected.
Key elements that would put travellers off selecting their holiday property include ugly or tired looking furniture, an over-crowded space, a small bed, bad lighting and ugly furnishings. Good interior design can create a memorable experience for travellers. Over two thirds said exceptionable furniture, such as comfortable sofas and luxurious bedding, is one of the top ‘little touches’ that makes a positive difference to a vacation.
To help ensure that you have great interior design that keeps guests coming back, Booking.com has partnered with Toronto Home Shows to provide accommodation hosts with 9 tips on the most effective ways to decorate your property.
Until December 31, 2018, you can use promo code HOMEFEST18 on join.booking.com/offers to get five (5) commission-free bookings when you list your property on Booking.com*.
The Bedroom
The bedroom is one of the most important rooms for guests. Invest extra time and money in making the bed comfortable and inviting. We advise layering the bed with blankets and pillows; that way it’s easy for guests to layer up or remove layers depending on if they are hot or cold sleepers.
Statement Pieces
Always opt for a statement piece of décor versus filling a room with too many things. It can be tiring on the eyes and unrelaxing. Statement pieces could be anything from an oversized vintage mirror in the dining room to a brightly coloured art piece hung above the couch.
Local Inspiration
Introduce a flavour of the local traditions into your home. Leave a note for guests that includes the ingredients to make a local recipe, whether that’s a nice, simple afternoon tea or a locally inspired dessert.
Use of Colour
Whether you’re looking to make a space feel larger or cosier, colour can be an inexpensive way to switch up the look and feel of a room. If you need to open up a smaller or darker room, think about painting one wall only three quarters high and then paint or leave the top quarter of the wall and ceiling white. This creates the illusion of more space and light in a room by ‘raising’ the ceiling and reflecting more light.
Mood Lighting
Lighting is so important in making a guest’s stay feel relaxing and stress free. Installing simple dimmer switches wherever possible means you cater to all travellers’ tastes and travel situations, from a romantic getaway to a more practical business trip. Also, a night light in the bathroom or en-suite is a thoughtful touch because it helps guests find their way around while staying in unfamiliar surroundings.
Personal Touch
Think about safe and thoughtful ways you can add special touches to your accommodation. For example, if your property is in a ski area, why not include a series of remote control LED candles that can easily be turned on and off at the touch of a button? This will create a cosy atmosphere with no effort on the part of your guests, while also being much safer than a naked flame. Or, if your property boasts great outside space, include blankets for outdoor seating areas so that guests won’t get cold while dining alfresco after dark.
Reno Ready
If you’re keen to think big, consider a renovation project to create larger communal areas so that families and guests have the space to spend time together in comfort while on their holiday. Guests will always have their rooms to spend alone time in, whereas open-plan style living areas will be appreciated for socialising.
Professional Home Staging and Photography
Invest in professional staging and photography of your accommodation. Most prospective guests will make a decision on booking a property based on the images. So, investing the money in having a professional photograph your property will pay dividends in the long run. Just be sure to style and shoot the property as it will look when the guests arrive versus using props or rented items to stage the rooms. You want to build trust and transparency with your guests so their expectations from the photographs are met.
Added Touches
Consider the surrounding area of your accommodation and why the majority of guests are likely to be spending time there and how you can make it easy for them. For example, if your property is next to the beach, install an outdoor shower for washing off sand from the beach and/or a shelf by the front door for storing beach towels, umbrellas, pool floats and so on. Whereas, a property near a ski resort would benefit from large storage closets for ski equipment as not to clutter up the property while guests are relaxing in the evening.
*Promotion only applies to properties in Canada.
