Hi, great start. I would have to agree with some of the comments. The pictures you have seem a bit stale, or maybe you were going for a 'vintage' style. _*The wall paper you have is pretty amazing! , BUT, my first impression is it looks a bit too vintage... Beautiful wood work though! The pictures are dark. Just make sure it does not smell vintage. A fresh coat of bright white paint on the walls could brighten up the space.
We operate out of a 1911 4 level Craftsman in a historical neighborhood in Portland, OR [Irivington], so I get the vintage vibe. Our rental is the entire lower level [basement] of our house, which we completely built from scratch. There was nothing down there when we started, no plumbing, no walls, nothing. [I'm a designer, and builder, did everything myself, fully permitted]. We tried to keep that old house look, but at the same time, tried to make it 'modern / classic'. Been at it for 2 years, booking at 85% occupancy [basically rented all the time, every week of the year] _, 90 guest stays so far [between the to platforms] every guest has given us 5 star gleaming reviews, so we must be doing something right. super host for 6 quarters, and in the top 1% of rentals on the platform.
Some things that I feel have been a reason for our success. _ I created a 'Welcome book' 55 pages, that goes over all the workings of the space, and details for check out, but also highlights all our favorite things to do and see, and LOCAL restaurants around town, and in the LOCAL neighborhood. Almost every guest comments on how great that resource is. I used Canva to create it, and they have templates you can buy for not much $, then adapt it to your needs. We also have gifts or products that are all LOCALY made. Chocolate bar, Coffee, Tea, etc. We really try to promote local small business and restaurants in the area as much as possible, which our guests love. We include menus for a bunch of local restaurants.
Comfort is KIING! We have been told we have the most comfortable bed that our guests have ever slept in. Nice bedding, down comforters and pillows, nice bath towels etc. [we also have a 2nd set of everything], so when we do the flip, we just switch out, makes it SO much quicker. We can do a full cleaning and flip in 2 hours. Cleaning is also a major thing for our guests. 100% spotless, not a hair to be found. We do not allow pets, and this helps tremendously when cleaning. Also, with all your wood floors, I wouldn't advise pets unless you up charge for a cleaning fee/ damage deposit for pets, and expect there to be messes. Thing is, dog hair gets everywhere!
Our apartment rental is only a 1 BR with a sofa bed, so we avoid the party situation. We also have a rule, only registered guests are allowed on the property unless they ask first. This is also a security concern for us. We live on the top floors, so people don't even try- no issues so far. *one trick I learned, perhaps you can say you have a 'caretaker' that lives in the basement... Being a college town,,, you might run into party situations... Also, IMO, I wouldn't allow instant bookings. I review and authenticate every guest.
Our only issues so far- 99% have been with our 'smart locks'. Some people don't know how to work them- enter the code wrong, or batteries going dead. Just switched to a Yale lock, and much better. I always try to be around when a guest arrives, just to make sure they get in, but i'd say about 20% have issues. We are always on top of any problems with in minutes. I also have a back up plan for everything, in case we are not around. We have a lock box with real keys, just in case, and back up for all critical things. _ last guest blew a breaker and the tv didn't work, stuff like that.
Last, We feel communication with the guests has been our hallmark. If it's someone visiting for the first time, I send them links to the Travel Portland site, and the Eater Portland site. The vast majority are here to see family or friends that live in the neighborhood, so they are easy, and hardly ever here. The other demographic are first time visitors, also hardly ever here, but they REALLY appreciate our knowledge of the city and our recommendations of things to do and see in the area.
I hope some of this helps. Once you get up and running, you will fall into a routine, and know what to expect. For our first 6 months, I always followed up with our guests- did they need anything we didn't provide, or how can we make it better for them, which really helps identify the little things to improve on. Our business model is a bit different than yours, [being a smaller apartment] but many of the learnings are still there.
We have really enjoyed running this business, meeting new people, and sharing our knowledge of the city with our wonderful guests.
Cheers, Bradley and Corinne
Irvington Garden Suite LLC
