Rental Renovation Tips and Ideas for Short-Term Rental Hosts

rental renovation

By The Hospitable Team

As a short-term rental property owner, maintaining and keeping your rental space updated is important to ensure you stay competitive and attract potential guests. So sooner or later, you’ll have to renovate your vacation rental property.

But you should keep in mind that renovating a vacation rental is quite different from renovating your own home. Home renovation projects are a way to unleash your individuality and create your own style. And when you do a rental renovation, you try to create something that will suit your potential guests while being hardwearing and durable enough to be cost-effective.

If you are considering remodeling your rental property, in this blog, you’ll find some tips on how to renovate your rental space to make it more appealing to travelers without breaking the bank.

You may also want to check out our tips on decorating ideas that will help you enhance your guest experience and get positive reviews.

Remodeling Rental Property: Why Should You Do That?

The most apparent reason why property owners upgrade and renovate their short-term rentals is wear and tear since nothing lasts forever. But it’s not easy to estimate the lifespan of such expensive investments as major appliances or vacation rental decor. Still, it’s common sense to realize that guests aren’t going to be as careful with appliances and furniture around the rental as they are when it comes to their personal belongings.

If you want to build a successful vacation rental business, your rental space should always meet the highest standards of comfort, cleanliness, and convenience. Modern travelers have high expectations when looking for a place to stay, so there will come a time when you’ll need to make some improvements to ensure you meet them.

Your goal is to create a welcoming atmosphere, so you may consider adding popular vacation rental amenities such as a laptop-friendly workspace, air-conditioning, a washer, or a Jacuzzi. Many travelers think they are important for a comfortable stay. That will help you get more bookings. But to make your guests feel at home, you must ensure perfect communication and respond to their messages as soon as possible.

Being available to your guests 24/7 is very challenging, especially if you have multiple listings. But you can answer your guest’s questions faster if you use rental management software like Hospitable, which has a question-auto-detection feature. Hospitable uses Artificial Intelligence that recognizes questions on more than 20 common topics and can craft a personalized response almost instantly

Have conversations with your guests even when you sleep.

We will detect questions and answer on your behalf; send fully custom messages triggered by events, and much more!

You will also need to make a few changes around the house if you are looking to target a new audience. For example, you may want to make your property eco-friendly or pet-friendly to widen your audience or even remodel it to make it appealing to a new segment of customers.

Another reason to upgrade your rental property is to decrease your ongoing expenses, such as utility costs and expensive maintenance. Although energy-efficient light bulbs and water-savvy toilets may cost more initially, they allow you to save money in the long run.

What Are the Renovation Costs for Rental Property?

Renovation costs for rental property may vary greatly. How much you’ll spend depends on the current state of your vacation rental home, the money you’re willing to invest, and costs by location.

To get an approximate idea of your remodeling budget, you should consider the value of your vacation rental property as a whole. You shouldn’t spend more than 10 to 15% of your home’s value on a single room. You can’t renovate everything, so you should consider your renovation priorities and only spend money on making changes where necessary.

It’s important to consider all expenses before you start your rental renovation project, so you don’t go over budget or end up with an incomplete upgrade. You should also brainstorm what additional expenses may occur during the renovation and account for them in your budget.

With a budget, you’ll be able to see clearly what you can afford and when you should stop. Then you won’t get tempted by visions of rental renovations that you don’t need and can’t afford.

Rental Renovation Ideas

There are many ways to spruce up a space for guests. But what renovations add the most value to a vacation rental property? Here are some interior and exterior rental renovation ideas with the best ROI.

rental renovation ideas flooring

Update your flooring

New flooring can dramatically change how a rental space looks and functions. You can install new floors in certain rooms or the entire home. It will depend on the condition and the style of the existing flooring. It’s better to choose durable flooring, like luxury vinyl tile or engineered hardwood, that will stand up to the constant coming and going of your short-term rental guests. Such floors look elegant and are also easy to clean and maintain.

rental renovation ideas bathroom

Remodel the bathroom

Guests traveling for a getaway or vacation look for a clean, up-to-date bathroom with modern touches, so remodeling this area of your rental is really important to ensure it’s attractive to potential guests. You certainly don’t have to recreate a spa in your bathroom space, but sparking fixtures, beautiful tile, and a bright coat of paint on the walls can achieve the desired relaxation effect.

You may also buy large, absorbent, spa-quality towels and add small touches like nice-smelling soaps or candles to make your guests feel special. You can also install lighter, more attractive lighting.

rental renovation ideas kitchen

Renovate the kitchen

One of the biggest reasons why travelers choose vacation rentals over hotels is that they want to have a full kitchen to cook in. This means they look for a kitchen with modern appliances, a table to dine on, stylish cabinets and countertops, and modern fixtures.

So if the kitchen in your rental looks like it belongs in a different century, upgrading the flooring, backsplash, cabinets, and countertops can give it a contemporary flair. A newly remodeled kitchen will stand out in your listing photos and help you earn amazing reviews.

Renovating a kitchen entirely isn’t always the best route. It’s expensive and can take a long time, and you want your vacation home to be available for rent. But by blocking off a week or two to add some quick upgrades, you’ll make up for the time and money spent with more bookings and happy guests. And you’ll be able to charge higher nightly rates for your property.

If you’re planning on blocking some dates off your calendar for upgrading your short-term rental property, you should consider using software with a channel manager feature like Hospitable. Our tool will automatically sync your booking calendars on all your channels, so you don’t have to manually update your availability and pricing. Moreover, with Hospitable, you’ll be able to automate most routine operations, making your business more efficient.

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Don’t forget the exterior

Location and curb appeal are huge factors that travelers take into consideration when choosing their place to stay. The easiest way to completely transform the look of your rental property is to update the paint on the exterior of your home. You may use bold colors to make a statement and separate your house from the rest.

Adding shrubbery, small trees, or flowers to the front of your home will create a welcoming atmosphere for your guests and make a good first impression. And larger shrubs and trees in the backyard can be a great way to add privacy and bring in the shade for your guests.

Final Thoughts

Rental renovation is a way to ensure that your STR property remains in good condition and stays attractive to potential guests. Even the smallest updates to your vacation rental can help you get more bookings and great reviews and increase your income.

But you should remember that your remodeling project is an investment and your goal is to increase your ROI. That’s why you need to identify which renovations make sense for your vacation rental home, put together a plan, and then take steps to minimize the risk of the project going over budget.

You may also want to check out some interesting Airbnb interior design tips and ideas that can help make your property stand out from the crowd.

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Airbnb Interior Design Tips to Style Your Property Like a Pro

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Airbnb Decorating Ideas and Tips for Hosts

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