Storage is key to Airbnb
How storage can help your holiday let business
As the Airbnb industry continues to grow hosts can benefit from using a reliable storage company to be able to optimize their space for guests. Airbnb has moved away from its humble beginnings as a sofa-surfing introduction agency. Now listings can be highly curated with features including Chef’s kitchens and Lakeside views. However, as the market is open to all, there are many levels you can operate at. The upward trend prefers places designed for guests to stay in, rather than a home full of clutter and personal items. This is where storage can be key to helping your home or property transition into an Airbnb.
What is appealing about the Airbnb model is that there is flexibility for change, depending on the use of the property, and if there is a lot of furniture and possessions to move, you need some adaptable solutions. Hosts may have the home furniture in storage and purchase furnishings only for the business as expenses. Families may choose to go away for a year and set up a suitable listing, while storing their personal items until their return. There are many options, and at Instore, we have many storage depots in Dorset and the surrounding areas to provide a reliable service.
Do you want to be flexible with your property?
While owning a property is an invaluable asset, as the cost of living continues to hike, many people are considering how to make that asset bear more fruit. Perhaps you are feeling the freedom of the post-pandemic Spring and are a little restless. For those that work online and can travel, there are many opportunities to turn your home or property into an Airbnb business. As Airbnb offers you the freedom to choose your guests and schedule, you can tailor a rental arrangement around your personal needs and requirements. While it is a business, not to be underestimated in its requirements, for some the opportunity is worth trying out. If you find it is going well, you may want to replicate the model and increase your listings. In such a situation, our storage service coupled with removals could be key to developing the ease at which you can run your business.
Turning a home into a holiday let
It’s not as simple as it may seem at first. Just because there is a property available to let doesn’t make it an instant goldmine. However, with some dedicated work, there are benefits if you have a flair for hospitality and interiors. Keeping up the standard of the property is always a good thing for preserving your initial investment, and it means while you are not living in it, you are investing in its maintenance. Consider these ideas if you are tempted by the prospect, because once you get onboard, you will have to continue within the moving trend of the platform.
Steps to take when setting up an Airbnb listing
- Research your local market
- Consider how you will run the business, will you have a professional team to manage it, or will you run it yourself?
- Decide on furniture, interiors and décor and get some good photographs
- Upgrade features of your house including technology
- Build your listing
Research
Scanning through the listings in your local area will give you an idea of the price range and what is attractive to guests in your location. Reading reviews will show you what people appreciate and desire from a place. One of the key elements to running a successful Airbnb is managing expectations. Not overrepresenting or underrepresenting what it is you have on offer. From the website, you should be able to get an idea to calculate your average profits, and expenditure and create a business plan.
Set up a team
Depending on your situation, you may be keen to run this one yourself, or if you have empty properties, you are happy to let out, you may prefer to cost in a team to do the work for you. Some hosts purchase furniture and fittings for the business and remove all their personal items from the home and put them into storage. This way it is easy to separate out business expenses from personal costs. With a removals and storage system in place, you can have the home transformed into a holiday let in no time, and then back again as required. Its important to invest in good mattresses and soft furnishings for a new listing and to declutter and purge all the clutter that can build up so quickly in a functioning home. A good Airbnb business can create employment for cleaners, gardeners, handymen and a manager, depending on the size.
Interiors
A good interior speaks volumes on the internet. Generally, a theme works well, and interesting furniture and use of space. For this reason, it is important to take out the old family heirlooms and sentimental evidence. You also want to minimize the risk of damage to items that have sentimental value, which is difficult to quantify in the Airbnb dispute centre. Airbnb may send out a professional photographer to capture your listing in its best light. Write a genuine and honest appraisal of the space so that guests know what they are coming to. Make use of any outdoor space that you have, as people love to relax outside with BBQ’s, Hot Tubs, fire pits and garden furniture.
Upgrade
When on holiday in a new place, people want a place which is well functioning and efficient. Make sure that everything in your place is in good working order and improve the appearance of the home overall. Where you have attractive features, emphasize these. A high broadband speed is a must and other smart technology can also help you run your operation more efficiently. A thermostat that hibernates when the property is empty can be remotely restarted when guests arrive. A smart lock helps your guest’s check in easily and ensures flexibility with arrival times. An onsite safe may be an asset in some locations. As a host, you must be available online to answer booking inquiries and solve any issues which may arise during a booking.
Build an online listing
The Airbnb resources section of their website is full of useful guidance and case studies. The Community Centre subpage is a place where you can ask other hosts questions to gather additional advice. Look at other people’s listings to see what you think works or not. The platform is intuitive and designed to be easy to use, so it walks you through the process. You just write about your listing and add photos, set up your terms and conditions and Airbnb does the rest You can easily add and update information daily. Just make sure you don’t go live with Instant book activated before you are ready to host!
Easy to access storage and removals
We are proud to offer personal storage, business storage and home removals in Dorset and surrounding areas. We have easy to access storage units in Gillingham, Mere, Shaftesbury, Somerset, Wiltshire, Wincanton, Yeovil and Dorset. Whether you are considering personal storage, or business storage, we can help. If you are running an Airbnb business personally or remotely, and require your furniture removed and stored, or delivered back to your property, we would be happy to be of service. Our professional service and inventory system can guarantee that the task of transforming a home into a business can be easily and efficiently managed.
Instore
InStore is part of the Master Removers Group, a group of removals and storage companies devoted to excellence. Specialists in storage units and removals we can provide nationwide support in the removals department. As our depots are in various locations, we can help keep costs down when moving people out of their immediate area. In some cases, travelling/overnight costs can be avoided altogether or, at the very least, considerably reduced. The group invests in the newest vehicles, not only improving its dependability but also meeting its environmental goals and targets. With over 100 commercial vehicles of every shape and size at hand, all our customers’ needs can be met. We have 12 storage warehouses throughout the country, providing our customers with convenient, good-value, flexible storage solutions. If you have a situation, we could assist you with, get in touch for a free quote.
