Interior Design of your short stay let

You may have a Shepherd's Hut, or a large 10 room Holiday Home that you are looking to let. 

You get all excited about the impending books and the new guests your going to be welcoming into your new venture. 

The important part, some Property portfolio holders make, is to assume that a fresh coat of paint and a few new ornaments will result in a full booking calendar.  Interior design is so much more than the aesthetic look of a space. In the first instance take a read of our Blog; Interior designer v Decorators. 

They consider what type of business your going to be running, who are your likely guests going to be (Young adults, Corporate professionals or Retirees), who are you looking to attract and have them returning time and time again. It is up to 20 times more expensive to acquire a new guest than to retain an existing one.

As well as this, it's worth scoping out an Avatar of your idea guest. Considering:

*What Careers they have 

*Where do they shop

*What car do they drive 

*What are their wishes and desires. 

* Where have they holidayed previously?

This can actually help you with clarity in terms of their expectations.

Someone booking a shepherd's hut for a family camping trip, will have different expectations to a investment banker who is looking for an exclusive 5 star holiday get away.  Of course cleanliness, & first rate housekeeping is a must be, whatever establishment your looking to let.  

The actual interior design Style will be influenced by you the owner, the property or building/structure and like I have illuded to above, the type of business. 

Here's my top tips for your Holiday Let.

1, The most important aspect of a overnight stay has to end & start with the Bed. The quality of the mattress in terms of comfort and the bedding and pillows. Cleanliness has to be a top factor, whatever establishment your offering. 

2, Do you want to create a coherent space, where design flows throughout your business venue? This can enhance the atmosphere and help guests to unwind and familiarise themselves with your surroundings. Cleverly curated colour palettes will definitely help here.

3, If you have a Property that has more than 5 rooms, do you want to create a theme. This prevents duplication of room decor, and yet has the same luxurious flow & feel.  This is a great way of confirming repeat visitors. If they have been delighted by their room, they are sure to want to experience the rest. 

4, Embrace local, it's definitely worth doing your research about local suppliers, tradespeople and home furnishings stores in your local area as they can be valuable in terms of being your referral friend.  Plus if you stock items from a local producer, you can benefit from different factors ie replenishing items quickly during busy periods. 

5, Unique touches: This tends to fly in the face of what I wrote about above.  The world has become a smaller place with so much creativity and beautiful crafts being made in the different corners of the world. You can find some amazing pieces that will be completely unique and not found locally. 

6, Anticipate & Exceed: It's definitely worth under promising and over delivering. You will have a opportunity to connect with your guests ahead of time.  Use this as an opportunity to learn as much as possible about your guests and the reason for the trip or stay. Adding personal touches will make them feel valued as people and not just a guest number.  This will also help you when it comes to other aspects of allocation of rooms.  Someone who enjoys views may prefer the penthouse suite to a ground floor room.  It's certainly the little touches that make the biggest impact. 

7, Room panfranalia: I for one, love a leaflet, menu or hotel information left in a room, with one caveat, they must be clean, replenished if damaged or torn. 

 Or take a reading light for example.  Picture the scene, you have had a wonderful day exploring the local area and you have had a soak in a wonderful bubble bath and you reach for your book while climbing into bed, only to find the light bulb is defunked.  All lights go on. Atmosphere has changed immediately. Another example was when I was whisked away for a weekend in the Cotswolds, before Boutique hotel, checked in, totally delighted with the welcome and customer service only to enter into the room to find a decanter of sherry with just a few drops in the bottom.  This may sound pretentious, I'm just saying, it didn't matter what was in the room, glass bottle of water or a bottle of Moet Champagne, this is just attention to detail.  Or remove it completely. 

8, Embrace Biophillic: Plants, fresh or dried flowers immediately sets the tone.  Once they have passed their best, remove and replace.  

9, H&S, You absolutely must consider wear and tear.  Nothing says trip hazard like a frayed rug or loose fixtures & fittings. Again remove & replace. 

10, And finally it goes without saying that the most important element of anyone's visit to your establishment is YOU. After a career working in hospitality for the Hilton Chain, the biggest difference that has guests returning is the customer excellence and that's above & beyond beautiful aesthetic interiors. 100%.

Thanks for reading and I hope you found this useful, if you're going to be moving into the short stay industry and would like the help of an interior designer that has also worked in hospitality and learnt all the pitfalls then get intouch.  

#Countrylife #Interiordesign #interiordesigner