Furnishing your holiday rental – what to consider?
Holiday home decor – what to consider?
An attractive appearance and well thought-out furnishings are the prerequisites for successfully renting out your own holiday home or holiday apartment. This starts with the photos of the accommodation to be shown in the various booking channels, and ends with the furnishings and equipment, which play an essential role in making a guest feels comfortable and wanting to come back again. Below, you can see what to look for when furnishing your holiday home and effective holiday home interior design.
Providing that holiday feeling and comfort using the right furnishings
Basically, the appropriate interior design and furnishings is dependent on the desired target group. However, there are also some general factors to consider when furnishing your holiday home.
For example, the apartment or house should appear friendly and inviting. This can be done, for example, through an original design or special decor, evoking the desired holiday feeling. To achieve this, it makes sense to have an interior design idea, taking into account all aspects such as the choice of colours, (indirect) lighting, the arrangement of furniture or the choice of curtains. Decorative elements with a regional reference to the vacation destination can enhance the holiday feeling.
It is important that the following equipment is available, to make the stay particularly comfortable:
- Fast Wifi
- Smart TV (i.e. with Wifi connection)
- washing machine and possibly a dryer
- modern and fully equipped kitchen with dishwasher, large refrigerator and high-quality coffee maker
- for the number of people more than sufficient amount of cutlery, dishes, cookware and various glasses
- bathrooms as good as new
- enough power sockets
- extras typical for the region – such as a fondue set and raclette in Switzerland
Fondue dinner in a vacation home in Switzerland: cosy and a regional extra for your guests
A smart self-check-in with electronic door or key box is also recommended. In addition, there are other equipment features that depend on the destination. For example, air conditioning (preferably solar-powered), a private swimming pool, and comfortable sun loungers and high-quality, sturdy parasols are recommended for warm destinations. In northern climes and winter destinations, score points with a sauna, a cosy fireplace, a hot tub or underfloor heating.
Garden, terrace, balcony – the right outdoor design
Depending on the location and type of holiday accommodation, the design of the outdoor area can be as important as the interior design. This should generally match the region. For example, a holiday rental can appear traditional or even rustic on the outside despite a modern, comfortable interior design, opening up exciting contrasts with regional features.
A pretty, well-kept garden or a balcony are a big plus – especially in the south with some shaded areas, such as partially covered terraces. As with the interior, outdoors there should also be a cosy dining table where all holiday guests can socialise.
You can make a balcony very inviting with small tables, chairs and balcony plants. A garden or terrace with comfortable seating and a high-quality barbecue is especially attractive for guests. Depending on the location, you can also add lounge furniture, a table tennis table, a football table or similar as a nice feature and unique selling point.
This makes you feel good – with plants, shade and inviting decoration
It is best to include the garden, terrace or balcony in the planning stage of furnishing the accommodation. A garden should also have a well-kept lawn and a privacy screen made of trees, bushes or ornamental hedges. In addition to this natural privacy, when you furnish your vacation accommodation, you should also immediately consider virtual protection: when it comes to Wifi – which should of course also be readily available outdoors – think about a secure password, good encryption and ideally use a firewall.
If possible, make sure there is an easily accessible and preferably covered parking space that also offers enough room for large vehicles. You should also be considering installing a point for charging e-cars as in a few years this will be part of the standard holiday home equipment.
If you are still in the planning stage of purchasing a holiday home, then remember that an attractive location with special features such as sea, lake or mountain views is a great advantage. In addition, the accommodation should be located near tourist infrastructure, but at the same time not too close to (noisy) main roads or railway lines.
The right holiday home furnishings for your target group
As mentioned at the beginning, the intended target group is crucial when deciding on the furnishings for your holiday home. A particularly extravagant décor may appeal to some guests, but others may find it rather off-putting. However, if you have a specific type of holidaymaker in mind and know what they are looking for, you can choose the appropriate décor. However, it is even more important to consider the target group in terms of the functionality of the accommodation, which goes hand in hand with an increase in comfort.
The particular target group also depends on the region where the accommodation is located. For example, a beach holiday requires different features than, say, an active vacation in the mountains. When decorating your holiday home, take into account whether the region is popular for certain outdoor activities such as skiing or mountain biking. In this case, you can score extra points with a heated ski room / ski boot room, a place to store equipment or special lockable MTB parking spaces (also including charging station for E-MTBs). Ideally also with a place where your guest can clean and repair his mountain bike.
Target group mountain bikers – with space required for people and bike
So it is important that you align your facility and equipment depending on the type of holidaymakers coming to the region. Also bear in mind that more and more people attach importance to sustainable travel. In any case, you should consider sustainability of any (possible) new building / conversion and the energy supply used.
Finally, every vacation accommodation should have a unique selling point: be it an incomparable location or a special character. Distinctive holiday homes stand out more easily from other properties and attract regular customers.
Professional support from experts
So there are many things you should pay attention to when planning the interior design of your holiday home. It is important to have an overall concept, consider the target group and to highlight all the advantages of your holiday accommodation. How well this works depends on many factors such as your own budget or the amount of time you want to invest in your holiday rental.
This is where working with a vacation property expert, such as Interhome, can be a crucial help in successfully renting out your holiday home. This does not only refer to the use of the sales platform, but also applies to the furnishing of your holiday home: professional providers know the needs of potential customers very well and know which furniture and equipment are particularly suitable and important for holiday rentals.
By working with Interhome, you can benefit from over 55 years of experience in the holiday home sector. You will receive very specific advice on what type of furnishings would suit your individual holiday rental. This also includes free professional photo shoots, for the best sales image. Special furniture such as cots or high chairs can be provided by Interhome, so you don't have to get them yourself. If you wish, Interhome can also take care of many other services for you: for example, the local service office can organise the maintenance and cleaning of your holiday home, at the highest level.
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