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I’m renovating a duplex for airbnb right now and am torn about the room set up
I have 2 large rooms - 14’x15’ each - and a smaller 10’x12’ , in addition to kitchen and bath.
I’m wondering, if I should make both of the larger rooms bedrooms (with each having their own tv) and the smaller room a small sitting room or whether I need to make the living room one of the larger rooms, the smaller one dining room , so that it’s only 1 bedroom?
What is your suggestion?
I am in a similar situation at the moment. We’ve decided to have one room as a bedroom and one as a living room with a good quality sofa bed. Therefore, in theory 3 to 4 people can stay where but our experience shows that hosting two people rather than more is less trouble and causes less wear and tear. Yet we still have the option to host additional people if they have good reviews.
If you haven’t got a clue about what a good logical layout is for your place, I would have a professional (architect, interior designer,…) have a look at it. Maybe give you a few choices to chose from. Your place will feel better and you will be able to charge more.
I am an interior-Architect, I know that lots of people think they can do it by themselves and I know that quiet a few of these people totally fail.
It depends on your market. How many total do you want to host per night? What kind of bookings do you hope to attract?
I think the sofa cum bed to accommodate a third person I see best. If you have two bedrooms and can feasibly have 4 people, then a dining space is important… but that’s no longer as easy to have if it’s converted to that second bedroom. Of course, the annoying paradox then becomes that 2 people seldom use a full dining room.hence, the sofa/bed suggested earlier is the best happy medium.
Jaquo, thanks,
that’s what I’ll likely do. Just wanted some feedback from regular airbnb hosts.
Well, I’m very close to our convention center and since I have 2 sides, I was thinking that I would start emailing companies that have upcoming shows there and let their HR dept know that I have connecting units. If I had 4 bedrooms, it might be more interesting to companies to put their people there, than if I had just 2 bedroom.
GutHend,
it’s not that I don’t have a clue , in fact, I’m a real estate investor and have done my share of rehabs and sold and rented my properties. But airbnb guests are different than a normal tenant or a buyer, so, I wanted to have some feedback from experienced hosts to see, if they’d think it’d be more important to have a 2nd big bedroom and a small living room or rather have a large living room and small dining room.
We have a similar set up and have listed as 2 bedrooms plus a very small lounge are with a corner with a fridge and microwave. Nowhere to sit and eat except the sofas but we decided this layout would open it up to a wider market. 2 people can book and have lots of space, or 4 people can book and have less lounge space but at least everyone has a proper bed. I think most people will eat out anyway
It really depends on WHO do you want to host. Couples, families? I have a 1 bedroom with a futon. I get about half couples and the rest is a mixture of families or 2-3 friends or family members. The best guests are couples. Once you switch to 2 bedrooms I would imagine you’d turn away most couples and get mostly families or groups of friends.
If this is your intended market I would think it unlikely to include couples so I would go for more bedrooms and less communal space. Convention attendees are more likely to be out most of the time, I would have thought, and a nice private bedroom is more important.
I would have the 2 large rooms as bedrooms, one furnished with twin beds (ensembles that can be joined to make a king), small room as lounge with 2 small armchairs (danish style are super comfy and compact) & 2 seater small couch, small extendable dining table. This will get you max profits and suit groups of different combos too. You don’t need a big dining room, most people eat out a lot or at least take away when travelling.
If you want max max profits put locks on bedroom doors and rent rooms separately-I stayed in many successful ABB like this in flats in Europe.