Why Interior Design has More Power to Increase your Profit than Anything Else
Last night I was lying awake. Thinking. This doesn’t happen often - I usually sleep like a baby and awaken full of the joys of spring, but last night my mind was in overdrive, and while I still woke with a smile on my face (always do!), I was somewhat puzzled and dismayed by the lack of anyone shouting from the rooftops about the POWER OF INTERIOR DESIGN on your rental profits!
So this is me, shouting from my rooftop in the hope that you can hear me!
Can you?
Let’s go back to the beginning - when you first started considering starting an Airbnb business and saw the glamorous lights shining and the promise of huge revenue glittering like the entire cohort of Strictly superstars… Can you remember that moment?
Was the excitement level high? Did you feel giddy and a little faint at the thought of actually having a profit like that from just one property?! WOW - Imagine what you could do if you built your portfolio to many more!
Fast forward to now.
Is it like you pictured?
May be it is. May be you are making that huge profit margin. Or may be you’re not. May be you’re breaking even or making a small profit in most months, with a few lower than average months in the low season and a small peak of profit in high season? It’s ok, but not great.
Do you feel like you’re just about SURVIVING, when you should be THRIVING? And you’re at a loss to figure out why? Your service is good, the place is clean, there’s the right facilities for your target market, and the location is pretty good, oh and you’ve put some effort into the interiors….
STOP RIGHT THERE!
Only SOME effort? SOME, but not much?
SOME’ meaning you thought about it a few days before having the photos done and spent the day like Dale Winton on Supermarket Sweep frantically dashing round the aisles of Dunelm, The Range and Ikea to find ‘bits and bobs’ for the ‘interior design’?
That, my friend, is NOT interior design. That is panic buying. That is an unplanned collection of whatever is available, in whatever combination you happen to find first, at the very cheapest price, just to say to yourself that you have ‘done’ the interior design.
Now I know this may be a bit extreme (or may be not?!), but in essence, if you haven’t PLANNED or thought about your interior design AHEAD of the last few days of your project, then its a mere collection of accessories, rather than a cohesive, well constructed design.
So, why is it then, that so little attention is (more often than not) given to interior design for a holiday rental? I think it is because it is not classed as ESSENTIAL. Essential things include making sure the windows all close, making sure the heating works, and the electrics, ensuring the roof is structurally sound etc etc… These things are essential because without them, you won’t be able to list your property confidently and accept paying guests.
The thing is: you CAN accept paying guests WITHOUT putting effort into your interior design – you CAN just put the bare minimum of effort required, take some photos and you’re good to go… But WHY WOULD YOU?!
With bad photos and bad interior design, while you think you’ve done everything you need to to attract your ideal guest by putting your listing on Airbnb or booking-dot-com, in actual fact, your potential guest is just going to scroll on by, without as much as a millisecond pause on your property. This then results in no bookings for you, and therefore no business.
So whilst interior design is not essential in the true sense of the word, it IS essential if you want to run a profitable business. In fact I’d go so far as to say that it is CRUCIAL. Here’s why:
“Nothing else you do in your business matters, unless your potential guest clicks on your listing. The ONLY way to get them to do this, is by standing out from the crowd with a scroll-stopping interior design and a professional-looking photograph, styled to perfection to look like something out of a magazine.”
They won’t even have chance to learn about your great facilities, the top class service you provide, or the little welcome hamper for every guest UNLESS THEY CLICK ON YOUR PHOTO FIRST!
I’m not sure I can put it any other way!
YOUR INTERIOR DESIGN MATTERS
to your potential guests
to your business, and
to your PROFITS.
It is an INVESTMENT which will be paid back multiple times over. And it’s a ‘trick’ that you are certainly missing out on, if you don’t take advantage of it.
So remember…
Don’t be one of those panic-buying Airbnb hosts who end up with an interior that looks the same as your neighbour’s and only have a barely-breaking-even business.
