Changing the furniture in my bedroom-opinions please!

[Paul1255]

Hello wonderful cc people!

After 6 months of hosting, I have learnt a lot! The guest bedroom is a small double- I have never hidden the fact in my pics or the text in my listing. It is cosy for 2, but a few of my (2 guest booking) reviews mention size! - so I adjusted my pricing to be more attractive to single travellers, and this is working- I would say 90% of my guests now are flying solo which means they have more space to themselves and they are fine with the size.

Apart from 2 'longer' stays of 10 days, the bulk of my 45 completed reservations have been between 1-5 days so not very long, and I suppose not long enough to warrant unpacking.

I have a 3-drawer chest of drawers next to the bed, which only contains 3 items: a hairdryer, a first aid kit and some UK adaptor plugs. It doubles as a bedside table as I have a desk lamp and some vases etc on it (I can't find a pic to upload, so please have a look at the pics on my listing if you can be bothered!)

This morning I had a brainwave that I should get rid of the chest of drawers and replace it with a desk and a chair- it would still have the desk lamp on it to double as a bedside table, but I thought the desk would offer a usable versatile workspace, take up a smaller footprint (visually at least) and the chair would offer an alternative to just sitting on the bed when catching up with work etc etc.

My feeling is that guests would get more use from a desk/chair set up than the chest of drawers- would you all agree or not?

Here is a pic of the sort of set up I was thinking about:

I'd love to have some thoughts from you all to help me make the right choice!

[Clara116]

@Paul0the top wooden peice will come off so it is just pipe and that's how I have it right now.

When my guests arrive  I give them a quick tour and point out the major stuff  that's all in the house manual (see my listing photos) -and also I mention and touch the guest book (on the desk) with a pen ready -since we are a tourism town with beaches and much more - I have free brochures, maps and menus of my recommended local merchants and they love that and go there for sure.  Guests write comments, stories and whatever they like - and almost everyone of my guests has written something lovely, funny or such and also they all have left 5 star reviews as well.  I just figured it would be a chance for them to see what others put and also get great suggestions for the review. Plus, and they will see how others have enjoyed their stay and I think it can not hurt.  Several say oh I'm gonna sneak and read em, and we laugh.  I bought a notebook with 3 rings/and regular ruled paper and they can write, tear it up/throw it away or rewrite, use another page or draw or whatever.  I have a cottage in the back behind our house, yet totally private and seperated by a fence and their own driveway.  The desk looks full, BUT guests use the materials and wht they write gives me excellent things to put under the captions in my listing photos - real true quotes from guests - NOT my thoughts but Guests 100%!  Many guests are new to Airbnb and we need to help teach them the correct way to be a guests - that's what my tour is about - with house manual, guest book and guide book and big chalk board - they delight seeing their names written welcoming them and also  with recommendations for places to eat, see and visit.

Hope this helps Paul. Happy hosting, Clara

[Paul1255]

Thanks for the pics and extra insight @Clara116 so appreciated! I really like your desk and hanging space- looks really good.

I shall take yours, and everyone elses great ideas and run with them...I'm placing an order online for everything I need but need a day without a guest occupying to be able to install everything ahaha 🙂

[Clara116]

@Paul1255 one more thought - those 3 things in the chest of drawers - I'd put in a nice luxe basket next to the desk - also, I would put all your personal bathroom toiletries in a plastic white basket and so your stuff is seperated from guests! You might even have a plastic basket for guests to put their bath items. more later Paul

[Chris1884]

I currently have my listing as a 2 bedroom with 2 queen sizes beds.  After some suggestions from previous guest we have decided to make 1 bedroom into 2 single beds that could be pushed together if wanted or separate for family’s that may have older kids or friends etc not looking to share a bed together which I think makes sense.  We also have 2 pull out sofa that are queen size.  I have 1 guest that isn’t thrilled with the idea for the upcoming season but the rest are all for it.  Do I make the change and explain majority of folks requested?  Do I need to wait until rental season is over?  I think pushing the beds together is reasonable if really an issue.  Thoughts?  Thanks.

Chris.   

[Sarah977]

@Chris1884  If you've messaged all your upcoming guests about the proposed change and they're all in favor but one, I think you need to give that guest the option of cancelling if it's going to be an issue for them, and provide them with a full refund. Either that, or leave as be until next rental season. And if you are going to push 2 twins together, you should have a mattress pad than would span both and hold them snugly together if they are combined. That's what I would do, anyway.

[Lawrene0]

We have a desk/makeup table in the room we let, @Paul1255. We built it after a suggestion from a visiting family member, and it has been great. Our stays are max 3 days. No one has asked for a chest of drawers.

[Paul1255]

@Lawrene0 this is a beautiful set up! works perfectly in the space you have and does exactly what it needs to do. The drawers are dead...long live the desk!

[Sarah977]

@Paul1255    Almost unanimous here on the desk option. If you do that, I'd put the UK adapter plugs in the desk drawer, as they're a desk-type item, and maybe put up a nice shelf somewhere with an attractive basket on it for the hair dryer and the first aid kit. I'm a basket lover- they come in so many different shapes and sizes, go with almost any decor, and can be easily moved around and repurposed. 

[Paul1255]

@Sarah977 you are right, it's all about the desk! Thanks for the basket tip- good plan. Now I think, guests always ask if there's a hairdryer and I let them know it's in the drawer...which shows guests aren't even having a gander through the drawers...I know I would 🙂 things will be more visible in a basket.

[Kath9]

@Paul1255, first of all, your room looks lovely! Is that little 'Jenny and Adam' sign custom made for all your guests??? I agree with the others that a desk may be more useful than a chest of drawers. I also have a small room, but it has a wardrobe that my guests can use to hang their clothes, put their luggage into, etc. However, almost no-one uses it! As @Sarah977 has said, you could provide your bits and pieces in a basket on a shelf or maybe somewhere in the bathroom.

I'm just wondering, is there any way of reconfiguring your space to allow for access to the bed from both sides? For example, could you put the bed in the middle of one of the walls, with a small bedside table with reading lamp on either side? This might be more user-friendly for couples and possibly give access to the wardrobe? Or is the room too small for that?

[Paul1255]

Thanks @Kath9 ! Yes the sign is customised for each guest that visits (unless they have a particularly long or tricky name that uses more letters than I have, then I go classic "welcome to London!"

It's the only part of the room turnover I enjoy 🙂 I leave it lit for self check-in guests so even if I am not in, they get a bit of a personal welcome. Everyone loves it, and it's really instagram-worthy and gets their trip off to a good start- good PR for me at review time.

I tried bed access both sides, but then there really isn't enough walkable/dressable space, so I pushed up against the wall- now I have mainly solo guests it's not really an issue.

Some guests leave their bathroom toiletries in the bathroom (i tell everyone they're welcome to do so when I show them round) but lots don't...now I'm wodering what they do if they're not using the drawers ahahah.

My current guest has made the bathroom look like a luxury cosmetics counter and I am happy he feels comfortable!

Maybe I need a basket in there too, to encourage that. Thanks so much for the advice and tips.

[Susan151]

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@Paul1255 wrote:

Some guests leave their bathroom toiletries in the bathroom (i tell everyone they're welcome to do so when I show them round) but lots don't...now I'm wodering what they do if they're not using the drawers ahahah.

My current guest has made the bathroom look like a luxury cosmetics counter and I am happy he feels comfortable!

Maybe I need a basket in there too, to encourage that. Thanks so much for the advice and tips.

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You might consider having something like this in the bedroom:

https://www.amazon.com/InterDesign-Small-Tote-Basket-Handle/dp/B00017UT44

I have one of these in my guest [not AirBNB] room for folks to carry their bathroom "stuff" from the room to the bathroom since the bathroom that we use has no counter space. Some people don't like to display the products that they need.

[Paul1255]

Thank you @Susan151 brilliant idea I like it a lot. I leave the things I use to shower in there, but not my toothbrush razor etc, so these will do great for my guests...and me 🙂

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Paul1255

Yes to the desk!!!! I travel alot and even if I unpack, I never put anything in drawers, only on hangers or shelves that are clearly visible. 

Also the adaptor, hairdryer and first aid kit would still all fit into a desk drawer 🙂 

[Paul1255]

Thanks so much @Jessica-and-Henry0 this makes sense...I also never unpack into drawers now I think about it! And things being visible makes sense, if you can't see it you can't use it I suppose.

Desk it is, and I shall post a pic when I have re-done the room 🙂