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If you are new hosting or just getting started, here are a few tips of things to keep in mind when furnishing your place. We started as short term rental hosts for a couple years and have migrated to midterm. And there are some definite differences but a lot of similarities.
1. Avoid clutter like COVID-19.
Guests want to feel like they are coming home. Not that they are a guest in your home. So though I feel like it goes without saying, but do not leave anything personal in your listing.
Clean off those shelves. Empty those cabinets, drawers, and cupboards. If its not an essential - get rid of it. Midterm guests like having places to put their own things if they are staying for a month or more. Leave just enough decor to make it feel "homey" but not too much.
Bonus tip: As you host more, guests may leave cooking items. For midterm housing, having cooking oil, salt & pepper, coffee & tea, and some basics are a big plus. But anything beyond that - find it a new home. Midtermers are there for longer and have their own preferences. So anything more than the basics (in our experience) will more than likely just sit on the shelves and waste away not getting used.
2. Buy quality.
We have our go-to's for finding great deals locally for quality furnishings which we'll include in another post on its own. But you'll regret it if you buy cheap, low quality items. Not to mention, your midterm guests want to feel at home - not like they are back in college. You want your furnishing to hold up to usual wear and tear, but not be so precious you don't want anyone touching them.
Think through who your market appeals to most and aim for it. If you have a lot a families - buy quality but do not break the bank. If you feel nervous about any of the furnishings you buy getting messed up - save yourself the stress and do not buy it.
3. Hang your art at the right height.
If I inherited any gift of interior design it is most certainly passed along from my late mom who seem to have magical powers that made a room tell your soul to feel comfortable as soon as you walk in. I remember her explicit enthusiasm to be sure all wall art was hung at the proper height.
A lot of people get this wrong. So this is for you, Mom.
Wall art should be hung at eye level when standing. According to the Architectural Digest,
"The center of a framed piece of artwork should be 57 inches above the ground—the average eye level, and the height galleries and museums typically hang their pieces. Mark the height using a pencil, then measure to find the middle of the wall from end to end, and mark where the two points meet."
4. Purchase family friendly items and furnishings.
This tip is a MUST for midterm housing. A fully furnished and equipped home for a month is a million times more appealing to a traveling family than a hotel. So go ahead and help them feel even more at home by providing kid friendly dishes and utensils. Have extra baby gates, a mobile crib or pack-n-play (including extra sheets and blankets for it), and an easy to clean high chair. We highly recommend the Antilop high chair from IKEA. It is super easy to clean and the legs can come off for easy transport. Those are the most requested items we have from our midterm families.
Bonus tip: Purchase board games, puzzles, and kid friendly books and toys.
Since we ourselves have kids, these things were easy. We just kept items that our kids were done playing with that were in good condition that we might otherwise give away and we created a "kid basket" with books and toys that we leave at a listing if there's a family staying with young kids. To avoid clutter, we don't leave the basket at the listing full time - just when a family is staying there.
For the games, however, leave those at your listing always.
5. Use WHITE towels and linens. (gasp!)
There are BIG reasons why we use white towels and linens. We know other hosts have other opinions about this but we are pretty firm on it. There's a reason why hotels always use white.
White towels and linens look clean and fresh, setting your guests at ease.
It is actually easier to remove stains from white linens than colored. Just use bleach directly on the spot, then wash it.
Colored linens can get discolored easily from facial products used to prevent acne, lotions, etc. and there's no getting the color back. Bleach marks on colored towels will not go away.
If you have multiple listings, sticking to one color when replenishing helps your inventory. You can mix and not have to keep up with what "colors" go where.
All that being said, accent all the white with accent pillows and even colored blankets. They hold up just fine and add some flare. One extra tip - get textured duvet covers and use textured blankets. They look more quality and add a lot to the overall aesthetic when most of the bedding is white.
If you have made it this far reading - thank you! We hope these tips help you with your midterm rental success. Subscribe to be notified of more articles!
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