Hi @Scott1957 ! Your place does look amazing! I have a few thoughts and I look at things at tad different, having spent 30 years in the hotel world before I left that to buy my bed and breakfast.
First of all, do you know your local laws about 30 day rentals?? This is huge. I say this because in my state at 30 days the guest becomes a resident. All of their taxes are returned to them and they become tax free from that day forward.
Second, to evict them if they choose not to leave on time you have to go to court and file eviction paperwork. The law is on their side, they get to stay in your home until the court agrees to evict them. Even if they choose to stop paying the rent, you can not lock them out. They have a right to stay until the court orders them to leave.
SO while I understand wanting long term rentals, do you know the laws that pertain to your area and the procedures to evict someone if they choose not to leave?
Second, I am an artist, I do mostly glass pieces, so I truly appreciate all of the art you have in your home. However, I would not book your house because of all of the art. I have an allergy to dust and I know that having that much artwork brings on dust, not anyones fault, just the nature of it.
Also I did read in someone else's comments that you don't know about what make come up missing or more likely get damaged. Accidents happen and you need to be sure that everything you put in a short term rental is something you would not be heart broken if it gets destroyed.
That being said, maybe you take a few pieces of art that you highlight in your space and you tell the history/story behind them.
Art& Garden Home/Central Houston really tells me very little about your space. Your one line title needs to be the selling line to get me to want to click and learn more. By reading it I think I get a home with a garden to enjoy. Which really is not the case. Its a studio or guest suite type of location. A home implies multiple spaces for me to enjoy. In flipping through your pictures I actually see very little useable space for me to use. I am also a genealogist, besides being a short term rental host, so when I go on vacation I travel with my computer, my research books, my booking calendar etc and I like to set up a mini office area I can work at while I am enjoying my time exploring the area. I really didn't see an area that I could set up my "office" and leave it up and running while I stayed in your home.
My husband and I love to enjoy the local cuisine/food specialities of the area. But we love to also cook while we are on vacation. So we are always looking for listings that offer full kitchens, grills, etc. I have some food allergies, so eating in restaurants isn't always as easy/enjoyable for me. So we tend to go to the local farmers markets, butchers, etc, get the fresh seafood/local meats and bring it home and prepare a meal. It would be wonderful to do that and have dinner in your garden, if there was a place to sit and enjoy it while we took in the atmosphere you have created.
I am on oxygen so I travel with a portable supply of oxygen and cords, back up batteries, etc. I have to say that I would be leary to rent a house with so many items on display as I would be worried that my oxygen cord might get pulled across the coffee table and knock something off.
Please look at your rental home as just that, a rental home. Leave me space to make it "my home" for the the brief time I am there to enjoy it. We love to sit and enjoy an evening movie and a glass of wine with some local foods at the end of our days when we are on vacation. I didn't see an area that I could do that. The coffee tables have beautiful artwork on them, but there is no space for me to set up my cheese/meat tray, snacks so we can enjoy a snack and a movie. Does that make sense?
None of the things I or anyone in this group say are meant to hurt your feelings, so please don't take it that way. Just trying to get you to look at your space in a different way. I am coming to your home to make it "my home" for a brief time and to use it to take care of my business, etc. I need space to do that.
You could attract visiting professors, nurses etc that are there for 2-3 months at a time. We have traveling nurses that come to the local hospital here on 3 months intrevals so they rent houses for their stay. I have an international art academy 4 miles from my home that has artists/instructors/teachers from all over the world travel in to teach through out the year. They are looking for a space where they can have room to prepare their lesson plans, to grade their students work, etc. Most of them that stay with me say they get tired of eating out and like that they can sit out on their private deck and take in a meal and enjoy the local wildlife. I live in Northern Michigan on a 1000 acre lake that happens to be a sanctioned wildlife habitat. So we have herons, loons, nesting bald eagles, bears, coyotes, foxes, Canadian geese, etc that make their home on the lake. In the summer your morning wake up call is from the loons. The white tail deer will be in the yard eating all of the flowers I plant 😞 but they are beautiful to watch.
The other thing about having so much artwork in your home is it is going to make the space appear smaller. Leaving some open wall spaces, counter top spaces, etc. will make the room feel bigger to the guests.
Hope this makes sense! Best of luck with your hosting!
