I was approached by a local painter who had stayed with us in the past about possibly hanging their art on our walls and leaving a business card with contact info for purchase of the paintings. Thoughts? I’m not sure there would be any takers for purchasing, but would it be tacky to have such items displayed?
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Not if it’s good art. But I’d make sure the pieces complement your decor.
Also maybe the painter would like to rent the house for a day or two for a proper exhibition?
@felixcat
Not tacky at all but if the art doesn’t sell and you end up with nail holes all over the place when the artist decides to take the work back … Well I don’t know
We have a local politician that is a friend of ours, and he’s a painter. He knows full well what we do, even though it’s in a gray area in our town (as in many towns across the world). Early on in our hosting career I asked him if he had any artwork laying around that we could display as I was tired of generic Ikea art. He happily lent us a bunch of stuff, some of which was a bit too dark in nature for vacation rental, but lots were quite nice. I put a note in the house manual that the artwork was from a local and was for sale. We actually sold one piece a year ago and when the artist got the money, he was beyond thrilled. So for us it served two purposes - giving exposure to a local artist, and establishing another facet to our friendship where the local politician is more sympathetic to our business. A win win!
In your case is the local painter someone that you have a relationship with? If anything ever happened where your business was questioned, is this someone that could sign a petition, give you a character reference, or just offer you some kind of support? If so, and the paintings are not horrid, I’d say it’s worth doing, even if nothing ever sells. Sorry if this sounds mercenary, but if two purposes can be served, why not?
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I hang my own artwork on the walls, though it is for my own enjoyment and not necessarily for sale. Several people have asked about it and one person even seemed interested in helping me market it, but no one has actually ponied up any money. Except for one or two really personal items, I would sell anything in this house for the right price. I’ve had the same furniture for so many years I’m starting to get tired of it.
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I think it’s a good idea. Make sure you discuss what happens if something should be damaged or turns up missing.
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We have my wife grand mother living next door that has her art in our walls. Not yet sells but we will only started air bnb for a few months. We have also postscards of some painting
Not tacky and I have thought of this myself. Wish I had a good artist who was interested!
I have some of my own artwork on the walls in my Air. When I was decorating I was inspired and whipped something up! Hmm, now I want to see if I can sell it, lol.
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from an artist’s point of view, it’s much less exposure than exhibiting at a local gallery. Only a few people are going to see it, and even if one had buyers interested in one’s work, it’s less accessible than a public space.
I think it is a good idea for the host - As a guest I would much rather see real art than mass produced Ikea art on the walls.
Like Artemis, we hang my Partner Sally, watercolors in the cabana, with discrete price tags. She’s sold several in the past 10 months.
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I have a 20 y/o daughter who’s an amazing artist. She’s done a few pieces for the rest of the house. I have suggested to her that she should do something for the wall up in our rental loft with the idea that she might get some commissions from this. She has yet to come up with something, but I’m sure she will when she gets to it on her artist’s time schedule.
I wouldn’t do it, but then again it is my house and I want to look at my stuff that is meaningful to me. I am not really attracted to the properties that are purely income properties. They already run towards the sterile (I’m NOT saying yours does because I haven’t even seen it) but I am also sick of being SOLD something everywhere I look.
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For me in Hawaii, where all guests arrive and depart by plane, any art I offered would have to be suitcase friendly.
It struck me tacky at first, but if attractive art and enhances the place…could be cool.
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Maybe “tacky” is not the right word for it, but I always thought it took away from the pleasure of looking at art on the walls when you looked closer and saw price tags. However, if really depends on the situation, and of course the art itself which can brighten up a place with some visual interest 
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I reckon you could take a snapshot of a Hawaii sunset, put it on canvas, and flog it for a tad more than the canvas cost. As long as it’s a size to fit in their luggage.
Put me down for 2
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Hi,
I own photo4me which offers local pictures as wall art and we have regular Airbnb owners buying from us. I had never thought about offering this as a service.
I’m interested to know if other airbnb owners would be interested in this?
People do this in restaurants all the time. I like that idea that the transaction will be with the artist, not you. The tricky part will be if the artist wants you to a display a piece that you think is awful or inconsistent with your décor.