The short-term rental industry is both exciting and daunting. Whether you're a seasoned host, just starting out in the industry, or looking to expand your portfolio to additional properties, you can consider Minoan your trusty furnishing sidekick. Our Free platform for short-term rental hosts, designers, and property managers offers you access to discounts on 160+ home furnishing, decor, electronic, and consumable brands, and our order management tools will also be sure to save you time as well.
We believe that if you want to be a successful short-term rental business, you must shop like a business owner – not a consumer! Our ‘five truths to furnishing’ represent this business-forward mindset and can help serve as a foundation for STR owners looking for guidance.
Truth #1: The “stuff” you put in your rental matters
While this may sound simple, you’d be surprised how many hosts make mistakes in this category. Furnishing your property with the bare minimum may seem like a cost-saving tactic, but cutting corners this way ultimately hurts your return on investment in the long run.
The items you do (or don’t) provide significantly impact the overall guest experience. You will see this represented in your listing’s reviews and when you browse reviews from other properties. If guests have everything they need in the kitchen, comfortable furniture to sit and sleep on, and thoughtful decor that leaves a lasting impression, you’ll be raking in those coveted 5-star reviews. If you purchase cheap, uncomfortable furniture and uninspiring decor, poor reviews could deter future guests from booking your property.
With this in mind, we recommend you begin furnishing by prioritizing design and filling your property with all the essentials a guest could need. Putting effort into design will help stop the scroll when a potential guest is searching through hundreds of properties that meet their criteria. Once you get guests to book, the items and amenities in your property will provide them with an enjoyable stay. Guests are then more inclined to leave 5-star reviews, which will be sure to increase your bookings – making you more money! That bare-bones furnishing strategy doesn’t seem to be saving you too much money now, right?!
Truth #2: Building a system is crucial
There are many moving parts when owning and operating a short-term rental property and it can be so easy to become disorganized. Whether you’re scheduling your cleaning service, managing guest communications, or replenishing toiletries and cleaning supplies – you’re doing a lot! It’s vital to have systems in place and Minoan can help.
When we say you need to build a “system”, we’re referring to that business owner mindset vs. consumer mindset. There are tools you should be using when furnishing your rental property that are different from the ways you’d furnish your personal property.
Minoan helps hosts recognize opportunities and build efficient systems like:
- Single invoicing for purchases across multiple retailers – no digging through endless email receipts
- Consolidated purchase history for easy replenishment and replacement of your favorite or most used products
- Centralized order management and tracking to ensure you’re on schedule for your go-live date
You can’t scale and build a portfolio of rental properties without developing systems to help you stay organized and think strategically!
Truth #3: You don’t need a high-end budget to be successful
We’ve touched on how important a strong design is, but we don’t mean you exclusively select luxury pieces from luxury brands. We always recommend hosts invest in the places where guests sit, sleep and eat! Furnishing a short-term rental is all about shopping in that sweet spot between functionality and aesthetics while prioritizing quality for high-touch items like sofas, mattresses, dining tables and other seating.
Functionality describes the practical and useful nature of a piece, and aesthetics describes its look and style. Hosts should be investing the biggest amount of their budget on high-touch items that are both functional and aesthetic, and therefore, high quality!
The remainder of your budget can be split into the following categories:
- Cost efficiencies: These are pieces you definitely need, but don’t have to break the bank purchasing. Think kitchen items like flatware, a toaster or coffee mugs.
- Ambiance: Items like light fixtures fall into this category, as long as they look stylish, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Restoration Hardware lamp or a lamp from Wayfair! (Good news is, we work with both of these brands 🙂.)
- Durability & comfort: It’s important that these pieces feel good and will last – like a mattress.
Truth #4: Lead times may be longer than you think
To ensure an on-time launch, the high-touch furniture pieces you’re dedicating much of your budget to should be ordered ASAP. Prioritizing these important pieces helps avoid frustration when things get down to the wire. If you wait too long to order large furniture, you may miss your target go-live date or compromise quality and design by purchasing cheap items to meet your deadline. We suggest evaluating estimated delivery timelines and working backward from your target go-live date to determine when you need to place orders.
We live in a world where you can get just about anything delivered overnight, but that strategy doesn’t always work when ordering large pieces of high-quality furniture. It’s one thing when you’re waiting on items for your personal home, but when you have an investment property – time equals money. Our team at Minoan communicates if the items you have selected have long-lead times, helping you stay on track with your go-live date.
Truth #5: Positioning yourself as a four-walled influencer can improve your economics
Retail brands are hungry to get their products in front of as many consumers as possible, and we believe your rental property serves as a mini showroom where guests get to experience trial runs of everything inside. You are an extension of the brands you’re purchasing from, and we think you should capitalize on that! That’s why Minoan helps hosts turn their property into an online shop for guests to purchase products that they loved during their stay.
You’ll earn commission on everything purchased through your space, creating another revenue stream for your rental property. Over time, your initial purchases could end up paying for themselves!
Short-term rental owners have the unique opportunity to create beautiful spaces that connect people with products they may have never experienced otherwise. By utilizing these five truths of furnishing in your rental property business, you’ll set yourself up for success to create a show-stopping property that welcomes guests and encourages them to form lasting memories.
Hosts, property managers, and designers can all join Minoan (it’s completely FREE) and capitalize on the discounts we’ve sourced from top brands in the industry. We’ll serve as your partner to help you establish systems and keep things organized and on schedule.
We’re thrilled to be your friend in furnishing. Join us today!
