Hi there, we are looking to rent out our home as we will be purchasing an RV and traveling a lot. That being said, all the houses I see online look so put together and not lived in (like no kids live there). How do people handle renting their house where there are kids rooms? I don’t want to make their rooms look like hotel rooms! I think our home would rent well, it is 4 bedrooms on 11 acres with a pool and close to lots of wedding venues. I would appreciate any advice about renting while having small children who live in the house when not being rented out. Thank you in advance!!
The host that I know who is doing this does clear out the house substantially when it is rented out, but she markets to other families. Here is her listing, if this gives you some ideas.
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My friends did this. They only have one child, and the house is pretty big, so they just tucked all his stuff to one side of his bedroom and asked folks not to mess with it. I think they would have had trouble if they rented to another family or large group, but they were lucky to get a single woman and then a couple with a young baby.
I would look through the archives to get a sense of whether you’re comfortable hosting wedding parties/large groups if you’re not there to do damage control.
We say that this is a family home.
There are children’s books in the room… I clean it really well, but it most certainly isn’t a hotel room!
One business man once complained about the lack of the computer desk, but otherwise we’ve had guest of all age groups without complaints about the decor.
Good luck with the renting experience!
I’ve stayed in homes with kids. There were toys pushed into the corner. I imagine it would be hard to make it hotel room style and wonder if you should try…as soon as your guest steps out of their bedroom door the illusion is shattered.
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For some reason I would never want to stay in a home that a host actually lives in with all their crap I like the hotel look, clean and uncluttered .Which is one reason why I prefer to stay in hotels. I would never consider having a guest to stay in my house that I live in I feel like my place there’s no way I could ever get it clean enough and I feel I just have too much stuff, a little too cluttered .
You can always lock the rooms you prefer not to declutter or clean so that guests are not subject to them. Even parents who travel expect the house to be clean and decluttered.
Parenthood sometimes blinds the parents to the reality that their homes are messy or ‘relaxed’. Even airbnb suggests that you can personalize the space but you cannot ask a guest to relax their standards of clean and messiness simply because kids are living there when guests are not renting.
One good idea is to have a dispassionate friend look at your place and then suggest to you what, to them, stands out as issues. Or, do a cleanup etc and post it here - lots of folks are happy to suggest improvements.
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I rent out my house has master bedroom and one kids room, I get families and All sorts, the kids toys and decor always seems to be a bonus! Parents love it when there kids have something to do!