Refresh Your Airbnb’s Curb Appeal For Spring
First impressions are everything, aren’t they? Whether you are going on a first date or renting out a property on Airbnb, VRBO, or other platforms, people have a first glance and make assumptions. Those assumptions set the mood or expectation for the rest of your time together.
When I was single, I used whitening stripes to enhance my smile. I made sure my hair was curled and makeup done, again to enhance my natural features. I also brushed my teeth, put on deodorant, and even a little perfume.
Much like getting ready for a first date, I know the importance of my Airbnb's looking their best when guests pull up for the first time! My desire for our curb appeal is to make people feel welcomed and at “home”. I want to share my thoughts with you on how to do that. Even if you don’t have a vacation rental, you can still apply these principles to your own home!
6 Tips for Updating Your Airbnb Landscaping for Spring
Keep it simple. If you’re taking care of your vacation rental yourself, more than likely you don’t want to be spending all of your time maintaining it so keep this in mind as you go through the next few steps.
Put a plan together. First, you will look at your space and take pictures. It would even be helpful to draw your flower beds on paper to make a plan. If your place needs a ton of work, start with trimming back big bushes, pulling out the weeds, and maybe taking out some of the bushes and existing flowers that are overgrown. You can transplant them to other areas of the yard. If any of the bushes look bad or are hard to maintain, just tear them out and start fresh. When laying out the flower beds on paper, you can change the shape of them to make them look more attractive as well.
Ask for help when choosing plants. I can give you advice on steps to take to get your Airbnb looking good, but I’m not a gardening expert. I have some experience, and I’ve learned the most from asking experts at garden centers. A few things you’re going to want to know:
Is the area you’re planting sunny all day, sunny half of the day, or shaded all of the time?
The dimensions of your flower beds
Bring your pictures and drawings
I make Pinterest boards to collect ideas of the style of plants for the Airbnb. Personally, I want the landscaping to match the style of each short-term rental. For example, if it’s a transitional or contemporary style house, I select landscaping that fits those styles. Your local expert can advise you on which plants will be most successful in your area.
See if there are any neighbors who need to divide their plants. This works best if your rental is in an older more developed neighborhood. Check if the neighbors want/need to divide up their plants. If their perennials (plants that come back every year) are getting too big and taking over their flower beds, they will want to do this. You can put in a little extra sweat equity at the neighbor’s house to get some free/inexpensive plants.
Add rock or mulch to upgrade the look. Either one makes everything look crisp and finished, just like a new haircut. I prefer mulch but get your garden expert’s opinion. Mulching does require you to add a little new each spring to “fluff up” what’s already there.
Designate a day or week to freshen up your landscape each spring and then make a plan to keep it up throughout the summer. Every spring, my husband and I schedule a week in May for spring cleaning, touching up paint, and working on the yard. It’s important to keep the inside and outside of your vacation rental clean and fresh. Our outdoor list includes:
Mow the lawn and use a leaf blower to keep cut grass off the driveway and sidewalk
Pull weeds
Power wash the outside of the house
Trim and plant bushes and flowers for that welcoming touch
The goal is to make people feel like they are the first ones to ever stay at your Airbnb. That’s not always possible and slightly unrealistic, however, I try to get as close to that as possible!
Once you get to a point financially where you can hire most of these tasks out, I recommend it. Working on your business and not in your business will propel you further in creating long-term wealth and allow you to expand without burnout.
photo by Jeana Bala on Unsplash
Bring your blooms inside to welcome your Airbnb guests
These suggestions are things my husband and I have learned and applied to our Airbnb. At our Canary Hill Cottage, we have beautiful Hydrangeas, Hastas, Russian Sage, Silvia, and Daisies that come up every year. I also love to plant Zinnia seeds. They grow really well in the sun and don’t need watering once they’re going even though they’re an annual. Zinnia flowers grow tall, full, and gorgeous! They are perfect for cutting and placing on the table. Once cut, they last quite a while. I love adding this personal homey touch to our vacation rental in the summer. It truly feels like a little cottage.
I enjoy learning little things here and there to create a great experience at our Airbnb. If you don’t enjoy it, feel free to hire it out or ask a friend who is skilled in areas you’re not. I promise you that what you invest into the outside of your home will pay off. People do judge a book by its cover. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You just need to enhance your home’s qualities and make it spring/summer fresh for a great first impression.
