House appearance

[Tiffany102]

my House on the outside  needs a total makeover but I’m remodeling the entire downstairs to host . Would that make guest 100% turned off about renting out rooms just because of the outside? (Putting $$ back into the house for the makeover) 

[Alexandra316]

@Tiffany102 Houses of all different styles and levels of maintenance are listed on Airbnb. I'd say as long as  you're honest about it and price appropriately, you'll be fine. The key is setting clear and accurate expectations with your pictures and description. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Tiffany102  it doesn't metter how your house looks from outside and you don't have to mention it at all. There are many apartment buildings with multiple owners and the facade is not allways nice . Important is how the apartment / room looks like. 

[Gordon0]

If it looks like the Adams' Family house then yes, you should mention it.

Can we see, please? 🙂  

[Tiffany102]

😂 definitely doesn’t, just paint chipping and such! 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Tiffany102

If you feel it might be offputting, then it just might. Could you perhaps afford to do some cosmetic touch-up so that it looks better maintained ?

[Paul154]

As a guest, I actively search for a hovel filled with love and a comfy warm bed 🙂 

[Matthew285]

@Tiffany102, if your listing looks terrific on the inside, but does not look so great on the outside, I would just not include any pictures of the outside.

We have been hosting for a few months now, and I just realized I have NO photos of the outside of my house included in my listing. Our bookings are doing very well.

People don't sleep outside looking at your house. They are going to be inside in your wonderfully remodeled downstairs. Just skip the external photos entirely.

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@Matthew285 @Tiffany102 Purposely I don’t put many pics of the outside of the house because I don’t want to make it easy for people just to say “oh! I know that house” and come over. 

[Matthew285]

@Rene-and-Zac0 that's also why I don't have pictures of the outside of my house.

[Huma0]

@Tiffany102I recently had two storage rooms converted into bathrooms, which means I now have a huge pile of boxes in my entrance hall while I try to figure out where to store all of this stuff. The hall is large so it doesn't block access or pose a danger or inconvenience guests in any way, but it looks unsightly and is not the best first impression.

I have found that as long as the rest of the place looks good and you let the guests know in advance what is going on, then they are absolutely fine with it. 

I message them something like, "I should mention that the entrance hall is rather cluttered at the moment with boxes etc. (then explain why) but please don't be put off as the rest of the house is not like that!" They are then expecting a total mess and arrive thinking, "Well, it's not so bad..." rather than arriving with no forewarning and having their first impression be a bad one. That's just my situation though and not exactly the same as yours.

[Lizzie]

Hello @Tiffany102,

I really like this topic, thanks for starting it. 

I wonder if there are any small changes you could make to the outside of your house which won't cost a lot of money or take a lot of time, but will make a lot of difference to how it looks. Things like adding some flower hanging baskets or flower pots by the door or just giving the front door a quick lick of paint, those kind of things (I suppose it depends on your listing). First appearances can have a large impact on how a guest can feel welcomed into a home, so if you can make even the smallest of changes then this could really improve the experience. 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Lizzie  I think the idea of flower pots (altho that's not really practical if it's winter in a cold place) is a good one, but "a quick lick of paint" on the front door, to anyone who cares about painting correctly, no. To do a paint job that is going to last for any time, the old flakey paint needs to be thoroughly removed, the surface sanded and primed and then repainted. Not a half hour job, more like a full day.

[Emilia42]

@Tiffany96, I have a very similar situation and I was really nervous about it when I first started hosting. My old, very large house is in desperate need of a paint job. We completely gutted and remolded the in-law apartment on the side last summer for about a third of the cost to paint the entire house. I was super nervous that the condition of the outside was going to deter guests from having a good experience. I don’t include any pictures or descriptions of the house just the listing space. Over 60 guests later and it hasn’t had much impact. Some have mentioned it to me or in their review but it’s always followed by something positive about the remodeled space inside. I think that if all the guest’s needs are met on the inside, the outside doesn’t matter as much. I hope you have a similar positive experience.

[Robin4]

@Tiffany102, I personally am not mad about identifying my property to a casual drive by! It can encourage potential guests to attempt to book outside the system....so I deliberately do not have any photos of the front of the house.

We have an older house in a country town, that we host from a cottage in the rear garden. The front of the house, whilst being presentable, we do not put any effort into...it faces west so gets the afternoon sun in the summer time and the driving rain in the winter!

We live in and for the rear of our property and all my listing photos show our garden and the hosting cottage, which visually is far removed from the street view of the property!

Tiffany you can use this situation to your advantage!

I find on many occasions guests will pull up out the front and look at the house....you can see a few words being exchanged, hurried scutinity of the property information they have and in some  instances will drive off looking for another property with the same address in our short street.

Eventually they will get out of the car, she looking a bit apprehensive, he grinding his teeth with a expression on his face that says.."I want a piece of you, mate"!

I let them knock on the front door, introduce myself make a bit of small talk that they are not even remotely interested in and then say, "Well, come and see where you will be staying"! I walk them around into the rear of the property and as soon as they walk through the gate...heaven just opens up and you can see them melt....There it is, exactly as in the photos!

They have gone from feeling totally dudded to being totally elated in the space of less than a minute....

And I tell you what Tiffany, that turns them into wonderful guests, they have gone from feeling screwed to thinking they have indeed made a good decision and that really is a great hosting point and the main thing that is going to govern their review....did they make a good decision?

Tiffany just make sure your listing description is totally accurate....and the guests won't mind being greeted at the front gate by 'Lurch'!!

Cheers......Rob