As the sharing economy grows in popularity, more people are listing their homes, rooms and apartments. Which means that as a current host you have more listings to compete with, making it more challenging to achieve your occupancy goals?
At the last Airbnb Meetup, I attended, the topic of discussion was exactly this ‘How to differentiate your listing and stand out amongst the crowd’. Several solutions were proposed such as: having professional photographs taken and micro-branding you listing, thereby giving your listing the competitive advantage to attract your ideal guest.
These concepts are important and interconnected, but what lies at the heart of it all is Design, or more specifically the Interior Design of your listing.
Let me elaborate on this.
Potential guests depend on photographs, so they are your visual marketing tool. That said, interior design is both an art and a science of enhancing a space, thus making it aesthetically pleasing for the guest who is perusing your listing. The design of the room is what directly influences a persons’ response. The ultimate purpose of design is to create consumer lust and the feeling of βI can see myself in this space’. Every detail is critical, which means decor accents such as plants, flowers, fruit and books create the ambience and the humanness of your photograph and will either create a warm, friendly, and inviting atmosphere or not.
So regardless, of whether you are redecorating your home for the purpose of making your listing more appealing and accommodating to guests; or you have an investment property that you intend to spruce up before creating your Airbnb listing; the fact is that good design is good for business. The more people who see your listing and have the βI gotta stay there feelingβ, the more bookings you will have and therefore higher returns.
Your Budget will determine whether you choose to repurpose old items, perhaps jazzing them up or whether you buy new ones. Regardless, itβs the art and technique of how the furniture, the soft finishingβs and the colours are combined to create a mood. All aspects of design create a sense of it all fitting together in a harmonious, inviting and lustful way. You want your listing to evoke an emotion in the viewer like they have to stay in THIS place and book it.
Being a designer is like being a storyteller, clients hire me to write their biographies but instead of words I use fabrics, furniture design elements and of course personal items to tell a story about their life. In essence, this is your personal brand, your story, your life and who you are. The design elements reflect your personality, interests and passions. Guests who book with your listing have resonated with you: who you are, your passion and interests through the photos of your uniquely crafted space.
If your listing is for investment purposes, the question becomes who are hoping to attract, Businessmen? Or Boho Socialites? Does the design attract the clients youβve intended to target?
Your brand (or micro brand) is what makes your listing unique and helps you to stand out from the competition, branding your listing is of the utmost importance. You want to ensure you are hitting your target market and attracting your Ideal guest. A targeted or ideal guest is someone who has found the perfect solution to their needs in the accommodation you are providing and thus are likely to recommend you through their reviews.
An area of design that is often forgotten is the psychological effects that decor and design can have on a person, including their thoughts and emotions. Believe it or not, the choices that you make when deciding how your home or apartment will look has an effect on emotions and perceptions. Therefore design can be used evoke feelings of being welcomed, and even happy when guest are in your space. All of these positive emotions result in raving reviews and increased bookings as a result.
The other aspect is how the design can influence behaviour. Design can be used to create a sense of private space which is something that the majority of human beings crave. You are therefore able to subtly to convey the message of ‘this your personal territory’, without words. The reverse is also true. The design of space can be used to create the subtle message of this a place to connect and interact. More importantly, it can influence how guests behave with regards to respecting your property. For example, incorporating a mirror in a room means people are less likely to deface furniture because they experience feelings of shame and guilt when they see their reflection. Itβs a very gentle way of commanding respectful behaviour when someone is in your space.
So to end off, the Airbnb slogan of βbelong anywhereβ can be directly traced back to design because you do not want potential guests to belong anywhere you would like them to belong on your guest list. Which, can only be achieved by portraying, real comfort, both visual and physical in every room- comfort created by interior design.
BIO
Urban Savvy Design, based in Cape Town, is a full-service interior design company that specialises in Interior design and Online Social Media Branding for Airbnb listings. E-design services are available, as a result of technology, which enables Urban Savvy Designs to create interior design concepts for clients anywhere in the Worldβnot just locally. We have been fortunate enough to have worked with several international customers who have benefited from high-quality, professional design through our online services. {sharing economy working online}