The 7 Sins of Airbnb Decor That Could Be Hurting You

There’s no way to sugar coat it – these following Airbnb decor mistakes are making you lose bookings.

You may think, after reading this list, that these seem minor and petty, but keep in mind that today’s guests are looking to stay in places that have a WOW factor, or at least looks very nicely put together, no matter what their budget is.

The good news is that it’s not too difficult to fix these decor sins with the following suggestions:

1. Swan Towels on the Bed

These are a big NO-NO. It comes across tacky and surely wastes your time putting it together.

Try this instead: There’s really no reason to leave towels on the bed. Your guest is not expecting to find it there so it doesn’t need to be the focus of your bedroom listing photo.

If your heart is set to feature something on the bed – remember that less is more and go for a textured or patterned throw blanket to add visual interest, such as these options:

2. Yellow Walls

Yellow is a happy color. But too much of a good thing is bad.

Try this instead: People don’t want to stay in a sunflower house. So using yellow for your walls is really all about moderation. Try it as an accent wall or if your painting entire rooms, try these shades to create a more calming space.

Yellow goes very nicely with dark warm wood tones so try to choose furnishings that will complement your walls.

3. Poor Lighting

Dark or poorly lit photos do not make for an appealing listing, especially if reviews indicate they are actually dark in real life as well.

Try this: Make sure your rooms are well lit and remember to include ambiance lighting (floor/table lamps) around your property, especially around the tv area, where it’s better to watch with lights on the side of the tv rather than a fully lit room.

Bonus lighting strategy tip: Only put a chandelier/pendant light above the dining area and/or island and keep the rest of the space looking clean with flushed ceiling lights. This helps to keep your space looking less cluttered with a variety of matchy-matchy or mismatched lighting.

Here are some great picks for pendant within a reasonable budget:

Here are some examples of flushed ceiling lights. Remember the idea is to keep these neutral and have them play “second chair” to the pendant lights.

4. Red Anything

Don’t get me wrong, red is a great color. Unfortunately, it doesn’t photograph well and can make your space look outdated.

Try this instead: If you want to add some red color try more muted shades, or choose artwork that has some red in it and add some patterned decorative throw pillows to balance it out (remember it shouldn’t be a solid red pillow).

Another option is to keep your reds balanced out by pairing them with additional complementary tones.

5. Art Placement and Sizing

Hanging art too high or low, or having art that is too small or big for the area/furniture can make your space look out of proportion.

6. Window Treatments

Printed curtains can often look tacky, especially if they are in bright colors/patterns as they are competing with all the other elements of the space.

Try this instead: Curtains should be a neutral shade to match the overall decor of the listing (beige/white if the decor is mostly warmer tones or grey/white if in cooler tones).

Window treatments that are hung too low can make your space look smaller than it is.

Try this instead: Hang curtains as high as you can to the ceiling as it creates the illusion of higher walls, as you can see in this example:

7. Having Zero Personality

Lastly, while you do want to appeal to a wide variety of guests, this doesn’t mean your listing should be just a boring case of shades of grey or beige.

Add some personality with bold art or funny quotes that show your personality.

Like greyhounds or have an impressive egg collection? It’s great to have them show up in your decor but be sure to keep it in moderation and not make it look like your obsession is taking over the space.

Affiliate Disclaimer: These products contain Affiliate links. If you buy through these links I will receive a small commission (at no extra cost for you) and you get to create beautiful spaces that will attract more guests.