By Caron Golden
For The Union-Tribune
According to an Airbnb report released in July 2024, 1.7 million hosts and guests in the San Diego metro area contributed an estimated $1.6 billion in economic activity in 2023. And while short-term rentals have become controversial in a region with a longstanding housing shortage, not only are they not going anywhere soon, but they’ve also become an established business model for thousands of homeowners and investors. A report by AirDNA showed 16,754 total available listings in 2023.
That’s a lot of homes to design and decorate.
Furnishing a short-term rental is different from furnishing a residential home, said longtime Airbnb host Donna McLoughlin. She started an online group called New Airbnb Hosts as a pandemic project. Four years later, the group has nearly 30,000 international hosts.
“We get all kinds of questions on how to redo properties for Airbnb rentals. I generally suggest hosts aim for midrange furnishings for most Airbnbs as inexpensive ones do not hold up with guest use and they find themselves replacing inexpensive furnishings quickly,” she explained.
Sure, there’s a market for upscale vacation rentals, but practicality still has to be front and center. The bottom line, as McLoughlin noted, is that guests want to feel like they’re the only guests who have stayed at a property and want a pristine five-star experience every time. It has to be sparkling clean and nicely appointed.
And, added interior designer Vallerie Dalrymple, co-owner of The Designers Firm, which has a specialty in deg Airbnbs, it also should be “Instagrammable.”
But how do you even get started?
In Dalrymple’s experience, the most important aspects of deg an Airbnb is sourcing furnishings, fixtures, and accessories that will withstand different types of use and last a long time.
“We source from our trusted vendors, always items that have 5 star reviews, as well as choosing from those retailers and merchants that align within their budget, and of course, aesthetic,” she said. “Something we say, (and not just for our AirBnb designs, but all), first we design for our client, making sure efficiency and functionality are the priority, and lastly comes the ‘pretty’.
“We have always told our AirBnb clients to make your place stand out,” she continued. “We need to make it memorable! No one wants to stay in a place that looks like their house, nor will they it, but [guests] will that place with the flamingo wallpaper. This is [the owner’s] chance to have fun with it and give people, not just an aesthetically pleasing place to stay, but an experience.”
Both McLoughlin and Dalrymple emphasized that the rental design should also reflect the tastes of the guests, not necessarily the owner. They need to understand who their renters are or who they want to attract and go from there.
But there are exceptions. Dalrymple is a military spouse so many of her clients are in the military and making property investments in San Diego. They may be stationed here but travel a lot, going on deployment or training trips.
“They’re gone eight months out of the year but when they’re here they’d like to stay in one of their own units and then just rent out the others, so it can serve a dual purpose,” she explained. “It can be a little tricky, but we know how to maneuver it, and we love the challenge.”
But generally, Dalrymple starts with an in-person client consultation, notes their wants and needs, visits the property, and develops concepts and ideas.
Sometimes the property’s architecture lends itself to a concept — a modern-style apartment building or a Spanish-style house. Sometimes it’s historic. Sometimes it’s the location, like the beach or downtown. These all lend a certain aesthetic that a host or designer can play with and then they can market the property accordingly.
McLoughlin, for instance, purchased a property in Hillcrest called Alcazar Court in 2014. It’s a collection of five bungalows that date back to 1924. She made renovations and updates right away, starting with one bungalow and moving on to the rest. She based her design on research she did on the property.
“When I was shopping for furniture for Alcazar Court, we worked at marrying vintage and modern to stay in the realm of our 1920’s bungalow court,” she explained. “Guests do appreciate modern conveniences and appreciate an inspired vintage vibe.”
She also happened to inherit a large collection of San Diego Panama Exposition souvenirs from 1915 and 1935. They’re preserved in shadow boxes and frames displayed in each bungalow.
“They tell the story of Balboa Park during the expositions and the tourists who visited — a perfect theme for our guests visiting the area.”
The bungalows’ origins are honored with hardwood floors, classic white subway tiles in the showers and as kitchen backsplashes, and small but charmingly impactful details like old fashioned shower fixtures. In one bungalow, McLoughlin spread back issues of the magazine The Silent Film Quarterly on a coffee table. The furniture mixes a retro esthetic with old-fashioned carved wood lamps and curved armchairs with sleek sofas.
McLoughlin has another Airbnb rental in Bay Ho that’s a midcentury-modern home, the Luna House: a four-bedroom, two-bath house that can sleep six people. She converted one bedroom to an office to keep occupancy down as a way to be sensitive to the neighbors. And even though she rents to families, you won’t find bunk beds in her rentals.
“I think bunk beds are a terrible option for rentals,” she said. “They’re hard for the cleaners to change and there’s a liability of falling. And I always err on the side of lower occupancy. You make money on the experience, not being able to shoehorn more people in because then the kitchen’s crowded, there’s a line at the bathroom, and that ends up in poorer reviews.”
At Luna House, the decor reflects the house’s architecture. The rooms are airy and light with pops of cool colors and clean lines, and furniture that has those distinctly simple modernist lines and upholstery.
Dalrymple’s projects have been more whimsical. There’s a bohemian surfer-themed unit in Golden Hill with a mural of a huge sun and breaking wave behind a tufted blue sofa and white melamine dining table and chairs. It’s all very light and airy, with even a turquoise refrigerator and oven in the kitchen and summery patio to hang out on.
Then there’s a pink-and-green Barbie-like unit that she created for a client she described as a “military guy.” It has a bedazzled swing in the living room, pink fabric sporting palm leaves as upholstery for chairs placed by a green upholstered sectional sofa. The primary bedroom has a green-and-pink wallpapered feature wall behind the bed sporting zebras with a (fake) zebra head mounted on a wall on one side of the bed while across the bed is a large, framed picture that says, “You Look Great.” The bed is upholstered in dark green while the comforter is a paler green and at the foot of the bed is an ottoman upholstered in pink fabric. Dalrymple said that guests frequently take photos of themselves in front of the picture and post them on Instagram.
Pro tips to create a must-stay getaway
Regardless of the concept, both women stick with some basic rules for furnishing short-term rentals and offered tips for hosts about to embark on property design.
• Dalrymple said it’s important to factor furnishings costs against profits. “We start by adding up all expenses for the furnishings. Then, with estimating the rental income, the client can subtract the furnishings costs from the potential income to find their profit. They can then estimate how long it will take them to see their ROI.”
• Balance cost-effectiveness with quality, said Dalrymple, to ensure that the property is attractive to potential tenants. That means researching the local rental market, including comparable rental properties, to understand what tenants are looking for and what they’re willing to pay. Create a detailed budget, from materials and labor to permits and contingencies.
• Choose durable, easy-to-maintain materials to minimize maintenance costs. Dalrymple pointed to vinyl plank flooring over carpet as an example of materials that can withstand wear and tear.
• Consult with your property manager about materials their cleaners prefer—even when it comes to color. Some prefer white linens and towels instead of prints. Others prefer dark colors. McLoughlin also found that having gray hand towels in bathrooms were more durable in dealing with makeup than other colors.
• Look for ease of use in fabrics, said McLoughlin. They should be easy to clean or to have professionally cleaned, something she does annually. Fabric protection is a must for furniture. She’s purchased most of her sofas and chairs at Living Spaces. Sunbrella outdoor fabric is a useful option, as is faux leather, she added.
• With beds, McLoughlin said, it’s very important to have a zippered fully encased mattress, box springs, and pillow covers to help protect from dust, dirt, mites, bed bugs, and “human-ness.”Make sure you have a budget that includes replacements. Retailers like Target, Walmart, and Ikea are great for dishes, glasses, towels, and sheets. Replacements are less expensive and more consistent in of evergreen styles.
• Do invest in important items like quality mechanisms in sofa beds and front door locks, lighting, and durable materials like kitchen and bath countertops and fixtures. You don’t want guests to complain on social media about problems they’ve had.
• Do yourself a favor and create a thorough spreadsheet of all your purchases, including a link to where you bought them so when it—inevitably—comes time to replace them you know the model name, color, size, and where they came from. That will be especially useful if you have a professional property manager, and they are in charge of that responsibility.
• If you add heirlooms or other personal property to the rental, take photos of where they have been placed so if they “disappear” you can keep track of that and follow up with the renter.
• Dalrymple is very conscious of the marketing the rental properties she designs and likes to add cute signage with a QR code in the dining area if the property has some local amenities renters would appreciate — like in a walkable neighborhood a list of restaurants, markets, theaters, or parks, for instance.
