Spring cleaning season is just around the corner, and it applies to more than just straightening up around the house. If you own a vacation rental home or condo, you'll want to make sure the space is clean and up to date for the coming round of travelers.
Part of that process involves evaluating the state of the furniture in your vacation rental. You know that you should stay up to date and replace some items from time to time, but when?
This depends on a number of factors. Here are some tips to help you identify a good time to update your vacation rental furniture.
Use These Tips To Replace The Furniture In Your Vacation Rental
Know Your Audience
One of the first things to figure out when it comes to deciding when to replace vacation rental furniture--if you haven't already--is what type of clientele you would like to cater to. There are a number of various traveling audiences, such as business travelers, group vacationers, travelers with pets, families, and so on.
The type of furniture you end up getting will be determined by who you'd like to stay in your rental. If it's travelers with pets, you may want furniture that's a bit more pet-friendly and can be cleaned easily. If you're looking for more upscale business travelers, you'll most likely want furniture on the trendy and sleek side.
If you've been renting to family vacationers in recent years but would like to target a different segment, you'll most likely want to upgrade your furniture.
Understand Furniture's Life Span
Even if you're not looking to target a different group of vacationers, it may be time to update your furniture for a different reason: it's simply too old. This is where knowing the preferred life span of each piece of furniture you own is key.
For example, mattresses generally last anywhere from five to 10 years without a need for a replacement. This can vary, of course, based on a number of factors, but it's a good rule of thumb to keep in mind.
Sofas can be a different story. It's a bit trickier to determine how many years a sofa has left. But one advantage here is that sofas can be reupholstered, adding a few years to their life span.
When it comes to other furniture such as dining room chairs and tables, it's a bit easier to tell if they've seen their better days. An abundance of scratches or other blemishes probably means it's time for you to make a move.
Keep Up with the Joneses
When it comes to your family home, the only thing that matters is what you like and what makes you comfortable. It doesn't matter what types of furniture your neighbors have, you can go with anything that pleases you and your family.
But when it comes to your vacation rental, it's important to compare and contrast the furniture you have to other rentals in the market. This is a business, after all. The goal is to bring in as many paying customers as you can, and one way to do that is to make your home as attractive as possible.
In this case, there isn't anything wrong with being a copycat. If you see something you like on one of the vacation rental websites, do what you can to translate that look and style to your own property.
Know and Maintain Your Budget
Depending on your financial situation, it may not always be feasible to purchase new furniture for your rental, even if it seems necessary. One way to avoid that situation is to use a portion of the money you make from your rental to invest back into the property.
One solid guideline is to reserve 10 percent of your rental home income to invest back into it at the end of each year. It's a good way to ensure that you always have some cash on hand should you need to replace a piece of furniture.
It's not easy to know when the right time to replace your vacation rental furniture is. But keeping in mind your desired customer base, your furniture's life span, what others are doing in the market, and your financial status will help you be prepared for any situation.
Kacey is a lifestyle blogger for The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us. Kacey graduated with a degree in Communications while working for a lifestyle magazine. She has been able to fully embrace herself with the knowledge of nature, the power of exploring other locations and cultures, all while portraying her love for the world around her through her visually pleasing, culturally embracing and inspiring posts.