SHOULD VACATION RENTALS BE STAGED?
Is your vacation rental unit up for sale? Has your unit accumulated additional furnishings and accessories over the years leaving it a bit "overstuffed"? Or are there some under furnished areas that leave buyers confused? I provided a consultation recently for a unit that could answer "yes" to both of these questions.
Typical of most vacation rental units, the owners had purchased this unit furnished. They then added the very long chaise along the window on the right side of the first photo. With the already over-sized furniture in this room there was hardly any walking space. Even though there appears to be access between the chair and the sofa in the first photo, in the second photo you can see that there really isn't any. At my recommendation they did remove the chaise, but did not want to remove any other furniture, since they are selling the unit furnished. I suggested that they move the over-sized footstool to the window and at least open up the flow. The throw from the chaise is covering the corner of the footstool you see in the "after" photo.
Immediately behind where the above photos were taken is the second bedroom. Suddenly we are go from "overstuffed" to "under furnished". The previous owners had remodeled and installed a Murphy bed so that the room could function as either a bedroom or office. This is a very small room. 
You can see from the photo with the Murphy bed extended just how small the space is. When I saw the space the Murphy bed was closed and the room was empty except for a foldable desk and chair along the wall opposite the window. This was how the unit was always shown. Since most of these units are furnished with two beds the owners had a huge advantage in being able to showcase the flexibility of this room as opposed to leaving it as a mostly vacant space.
My recommendation was that the owners stage the room as an office, angling the desk in the center of the room and bringing in one of the extra dining room chairs to fill in the corner. The furniture can easily be moved if the Murphy bed is needed.
I received these photos after the owners had implemented most of my recommendations. I am pleased that they followed my suggestions. "Overstuffed" became more welcoming and "under-furnished" became a multi-functioning space. They even followed my suggestions for staging the desktop. (The framed photo on the desk is the same as the "before" photo of this space. I suggested they do this so that the Realtor© does't need to try to demonstrate the Murphy bed in the staged room.)
One more unit just came on the market in this building which has resulted in more showings of this unit--with a lot more positive feedback.
With so many vacation rental units on the market, set yours apart from the competition by consulting with a professional Home Stager. In small spaces, don't miss the opportunity to showcase every feature of your unit. A professional Home Stager can show you how.
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