If you could change one thing about your space, what would it be?

Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

If you could change one thing about your space, what would it be?

After several years of hosting (and much trial and error), I have a much better idea about what works in our space and what doesn't. If I  had a new place to purchase for the purpose of hosting, or was totally going to re-design our space for guests, my first priority would be to offer a "kitchenette" vice a full size kitchen with cooktop, microwave and small fridge/limited utensils. That would greatly cut down on cleaning and turnover while still allowing guests to prepare basic meals. 

 

If you could change one thing about your space, or were picking a new space, what would you do differently?

14 Replies 14
M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Laura2592 

 

I an consistently asking guests for recommendations to make their and future guests  even better.  Sometimes guests come up with some really interesting suggestions and also minor things we missed.  For example, a range hood over the kitchen stove.  Even though there is an open window 6 inches away, they felt it necessary to turn on the bathroom fan to remove their breakfast odors.  Yup, range/oven hood is already to be installed when we get a break from guests.  For us, it comes down to "the devil is in the details" Lol

@M199 we got that feedback early on as well. Our cottage was built in 1850 and has 18 inch thick stone walls so venting a hood outside is mind bogglingly expensive. I looked into a recirculating one but due to the set up of the hand crafted cabinets it would not be possible. There is a ceiling fan near the range that the previous owners installed and that is what we use 🙂 We did institute a "no deep frying" policy which has really helped keep grease down. We had guests deep frying whole chickens during one stay and that was ENOUGH lol!

Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

Bigger pool. Astronomically above all else. And solar heating of it.

 

The one thing that would not only make it far more attractive to guests (especially in the winter), but would add significantly to the value of the property. 

 

A hefty investment though. 🤔

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Laura2592  If I had had hosting in mind when I built my house 13 years ago, instead of just having a guest room for family and friends, I would have designed the upstairs a bit differently, and had part of what is the outdoor balcony area as part of the indoor space, so there would be enough space for a kitchenette. 

 

I don't mind sharing my kitchen with guests at all, and it's always worked out well, but not having room in the guest space for even a mini fridge has made it non-viable to host during the pandemic.

Ted307
Level 10
Prescott, AZ

We bought our place here with Air BnB in mind, but I regret not having Air Conditioning and may still have to find a way to get it installed. This old place does not have the power required for modern AC, so I would have to upgrade the electric service, a huge problem.

Ted & Chris
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

I would bring back more traditional details of the house(s), which or covered through the years by paint or plaster etc.. In one house i recently stripped the ceiling, removed the paint from the ceiling beams and brought back the natural wood color. It is an awfull lot of work to "undo" paint and remove plasterings, so take a deep breath before starting a restoration

Pete69
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

King size bed instead of a queen. In the beginning, I was expecting many solo travelers. 

 

Maybe install an outlet in the hallway closet, so that the refrigerator is not in the bedroom keeping guests awake.

 

After 2 years I finally installed a Honeywell solar light switch to control the lights outside my guest suite. It turns the lights on at sundown and off at sunrise. Guests are free to manually shut off the lights in order to sleep in a darker room. Guests seem to prefer the lights out.

 

I also finally installed countdown timers, one for the bathroom ceiling heater and one for the ceiling fan. The last thing I want is for someone to forget to shut off the ceiling heater. Those heating elements will eventually start to smoke.

We would have Installed ceiling AC units all throughout the house before moving in, if we had plans to host in our apartment. Korean apartments don't have cooling/heating *vents*. We have floor heating, and usually a large AC in the living room for the entire home. Keeping doors open to let cold air in isn't a problem if it's just family...... but hosting in the summer time was tricky. We considered getting a window unit but the guest room has a large sliding window and we'd have to change the layout of the room completely to accommodate it sticking out..... plus the noise, and not being able to open the window..... so in the end we decided against it. 

Ann783
Level 10
New York, NY

Gas dryers. Gunite lap pool. En suite bathroom for all bedrooms.

David7870
Level 8
Vista, CA

This is Debi , Dave’s wife. Hi😀

My dream before we ever opened was to use all three bedrooms ( private entry each of them) as Air BnBs and live in the main area of the house ( ie Murphy Bed ) for retirement income. 

Now that we have been open a month with one of our rooms (private entry), do I still want that as my future residence. Oh Yes I Do👏😃!!

 

We have a great Air BnB home. Three private master bedrooms. Each w/ a private attached bath already. It will be sooo easy to equip each with a small kitchenette and just move myself into the great room. I will have to convert the laundry room /pantry into a bathroom for me is all. 

What do you all think of that? 👍🏼

Tamesha0
Level 2
Savannah, GA

I originally purchased and renovated my property to be used as my retirement home so it pretty much has everything I would want except an ocean view and a pool. I want to eventually build a crow's nest and attach it to my existing deck and install a small above or inground pool. Screenshot_20201113-203008_Gallery.jpg

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

I am certain an added sun deck with a jacuzzi would take us to another level and allows us to charge a lot more, but I hate to even think about it, but I know it would be wise to do one.  We are our worse enemy.

@Fred13 we keep talking about adding a hot tub but after reading these forums I don't think we want to deal with the headache. Certainly we could double our nightly price...but the cleaning and potential for liability keeps us from doing it.

Exactly my fears, sounds like a Pandora's box that be hard to close. 🙂