How to Design Your Listing to Look Like a Luxury Hotel
Come take a trip to Imagination Island with me! If it's okay with you, my Imagination Island is a tropical paradise and the registration desk is located in an enormous open-air lobby looking out on turquoise blue waters. But your Island can be wherever you want!
Breathing in the ambiance of the place, you come to your room and look forward to washing away the travel day. You open the door in our luxury hotel to a suite just for you. (My room is across the hall and, if you're in Europe - I'm in another country! Lol!)
A beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers has been left for you, along with a bottle of wine. You pass by the bed made up with fresh white linens, and throw open the windows to drink in the view.
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Wait! It suddenly dawns on you that the bath you noticed out of the corner of your eye has already been drawn for you! You turn to get a better look and are rewarded by the scene of flower petals drifting lazily on the water's surface! Oh my gosh! Paradise!
Don't you wish it was like that every time you came home? That your house would comfort and serve you the way you might be served at a 5-star hotel?
Imagine what your Airbnb guests must be thinking!
Here are some ways you can transform your vacation listing to bring that level of welcome relaxation and graciousness to the guests you serve with ease.
1. Make a Grand Entrance
What can make a serene welcome when you walk through your front doors? When you get this piece right it can set the mental pace from the very beginning!
Let's walk into order first of all. All the gorgeous pieces in the world will be lost to the senses if clutter is afoot. Keep floors and surfaces clear of anything that is not a part of your grand design.
The first thing one should see when they cross the threshold is something that is beautiful and is distinctive of your hospitality! A gorgeous piece of artwork or beautiful mirror over a well-styled table would make an impressive focal point as one steps through the door!
Soften that step with an area rug that compliments the colors in the artwork and you have added another dimension to the scene. Of course, every entryway should include a chandelier or pendant acting as the crowning jewel to their welcome. Again, select one that compliments the general style of the rest of the property.
2. Create Communal Seating Areas
Spread places to sit and hold meaningful conversations throughout the abode. Keep technology at bay in these areas to make more room for relaxing and socializing. In terms of investment, the seating here should be as custom as you can afford to guarantee comfort and a gracious welcome.
Be sure to add table surfaces in each conversation area, be they coffee tables, side tables, garden stools, etc. You want to make sure everyone seated has a place to set their drink or reading material.
Make these spaces even softer with area rugs and stylish afghans. Drapery and lamp shapes will bring softness to the light here, as well.
3. Makeover the Master Suite
Even if the size of the master bedroom may not be so "grand," pay special attention to this room as if it were the star of the whole show!
Never, never go without a headboard in this room, or at least a custom wall treatment that acts as a headboard. I have seen antique doors and screens make a fantastic stand-in here.
The bed is your focal point in this space, so investing in custom bedding and pillows will take it to the next level.
Style your nightstands with elegant versions of necessities such as Kleenex boxes, lamps for reading, decorative cases to stow away incidentals like earplugs, etc. Fresh flowers always make a room look and feel well-attended!
4. Repaint in a Rich Palette
Of course, a white or pale neutral makes it easy to connect rooms throughout the home. If you notice, though, many luxury hotels actually carry a deeper, richer color palette - if only in certain rooms.
The dining room or study are great spaces to consider adding some richer tones. Bring in that pale color you may be using throughout the rest of the house as an accent color on trim, upholstery, or artwork for continuity and cohesiveness.
5. Add Wonder to the Windows
Even a minimalist design will benefit from dressing the windows. A light and airy treatment in conversation areas gives a casual and easy feel. Drapery panels framing a window can trick the eye to think it is larger than it actually is by extending it over wall space and barely covering the true window edge.
Lifting the drapery rod to the ceiling is another easy way to make the room and window appear taller. When you do this, a contrasting shade that covers the bare wall above the window will disguise your sleight-of-hand!
Window treatments in the bedroom with black-out lining will make all the difference in a great night's sleep. Always add custom window treatments throughout the home - they are well worth the investment!
6. Layer Lots of Lighting
This is a broad brushstroke of a statement, but I'll say it anyway! Most people don't have enough lighting in their homes! So indulge here with at least three sources of lighting.
Typically properties may have ambient, overhead lighting and a lamp or two in each room. Break the mold!
Make room for task lighting! Spotlight a wonderful piece of artwork. Uplight a tall plant to cast intriguing shadows on the walls, or wash a wall entirely with light.
Notice how many light fixtures in your favorite resort hotel are drop pendants or chandeliers! How could you upgrade the feel of your listing by using one or two of these?
7. Adorn the Walls with Artwork
An empty wall is a sad wall. It's like a face with its eyes closed.
Luxury hotels almost always feature local artwork or photography to give guests a sense of place and introduce them to sights they can explore.
Offer your listing that same sense of native vitality with a carefully curated collection of art that invites exploration and whimsy. Bring those walls to life with your favorite artwork and add some large decorative mirrors in places to augment your natural, and carefully layered, lighting!
Creating a retreat that feels intimate, comfortable, and luxurious takes time and thought. Remember those high-end hotels were not built in a day. The quest, though, will reward you with a beautiful and personalized place your guests can look forward to enjoying at the end of every long day!
If you need help adding hotel-level luxury to your listing, we would be happy to assist you. Contact us here to find out more!
Warmly,
