How to stage a vacation rental

Take it from us: looks do matter. Especially when it comes to prepping your vacation home for photos. After all, no matter how expensive the camera or skilled the photographer, if your home isn’t thoughtfully staged beforehand, your photos can look underwhelming. Before whipping out the camera, set the scene to appeal to the widest range of potential guests.

Alicia Lafon, a Revenue & Marketing Specialist at Vacasa and former member of our home onboarding team, has prepped dozens of our homes for successful high-quality photo shoots. She offers these 10 short-term rental staging tips to both boost revenue and make your Airbnb or Vrbo photo-ready.

1. Spruce up outdoors

At Vacasa, we always shoot exterior images for our vacation homes. These give guests a sense of the environment and the outdoor spaces. Alicia recommends hiring a professional landscaper to trim greenery and create a manicured, welcoming scene. Another suggestion: use a pressure washer to clean up any dirt or noticeable grime from your roof and siding.

2. Use natural light

The best way to brighten a room is with natural light. So, throw open the curtains to illuminate your photos. This also allows you to show off the surrounding scenery. If your home has slat blinds, Alicia advises to leave them down, but open the slats so they are flat and parallel to the floor. This makes them less visible on camera, she explains. Not enough natural light? Turn on overhead lights and lamps.

3. Remove personal items

Vacation rental owners should hide any personal items, such as family photos, framed diplomas, or mementos (not every guest will appreciate a collection of angel figurines or rubber ducks). Instead, replace them with artwork or decor that have universal appeal. “Guests want to feel like this is their private getaway, not a visit to someone else’s home,” Alicia explains.

4. Rearrange furniture

One common design faux pas—pushing furniture against the walls to make the room feel larger. Instead, open up the room by “floating” your furniture away from the walls. Place sofas and chairs in cozy groups (think about your guests gathering over drinks or a board game). Also, consider removing larger furniture pieces that block guests from seeing some of your home’s best features, like your windows or fireplace.

5. Declutter the space

Take a cue from hotels—keep surfaces clear and clutter-free, Alicia advises. Everything in a hotel is placed intentionally, with an aim to create a relaxing, calm space free from unnecessary stuff.

6. Turn off TVs

“Screens can look blurry and be a distraction in photos,” Alicia says. Don’t use screensavers, either.

7. Pay attention to unsightly details

Alicia suggests hiding any messy cables, such as phone cords or TV wires. “If they’re too long to hide, remove them for the photo shoot and reattach afterward.” Another noticeable vacation home staging detail—the seams on your lampshades. Turn them toward the wall, so the camera just captures a smooth surface, she recommends. Don’t forget to straighten any tilted lampshades, too.

8. Give your bathroom spa vibes

Hang towels neatly on a rack, straighten the bath mat, tuck away any trash bins and plungers, and close the toilet lid, Alicia recommends. For glass showers, leave the door closed. Or, if you have a shower curtain, push it all the way to the side so the shower head is visible.

9. Create a serene bedroom experience

The focal point is the bed, so make the bed beforehand, tuck sheets in, and smooth out any wrinkles. For the finishing touches, Alicia advises to:

• Remove extra items from nightstands.
• Hide trash cans.
• Pull back any curtains to show the view out the windows.
• Fluff the pillows and make sure to sit them upright, rather than laying them flat on the bed.

10. Hire a professional house cleaner

Above all, make sure your home is shiny and spotless for every photo. Before every photo shoot, our Vacasa team has each vacation home professionally cleaned and staged.

Want even more help marketing your vacation home and standing out from the rest? Let’s chat about all the ways to get your home more visibility.