You are interested in becoming a Certified Short-Term Rental Stylist®, but then what? How do you actually getSTR design business? Where can you find clientswho are looking for your AirBnB Styling services?
More and more people are considering their primary or secondary residence as an opportunity tomake money– and each month 16,000 new hosts join AirBnB. That’s a lot of vacation properties that need to be styled and stocked!
There are a number of ways to connect with investors and Short-Term Rental hosts to provide your Airbnbdecoratingservices and help them get rave reviews. Here are some of our favorite tips for connecting with Airbnb design clients:
Get onour Airbnb Designer Directory.
As a perk of being certified through Staging Studio as a Short-Term Rental Stylist®, you get listed on ourAirbnb designreferral map. This is the easiest way to market–let the clients come to you!
Offer a lead magnet on yourstaging websiteto collect emails.
A lead magnet is simply something that hosts and investors would find useful. It could be a list of things to include in an AirBnB, or 10 ideas to get better reviews, a sample budget - just a pdf that they can download. The lead magnet sets you up as the expert AND gives you a mailing list for your email marketing.Advertise this free lead magnet on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.
**Big news! We have already done this for you. Simply use one of the lists that we have included in the Short-Term Rental Stylist® course. We provide them in a customizable format so that you can adapt and brand them for your own use.
Follow up with an email pipeline.
The value of the lead magnet comes from the email address potential clients give you when they request the lead magnet. Once you have a way to contact potential clients, follow up with a pipeline of emails that offer great information while keeping your name in front of them.
Join local real estate investor Facebook groups.
The keyword here is local. You don’t want to waste your time on folks in another state or province who are unlikely to hire you to design their Airbnbs. You are only interested in the ones that are in your immediate area. Make it crystal clear what city or county you serve.
If there isn’t a Facebook group for hosts in your area, create one! As the moderator of the group, you will be considered the expert. Instant credibility! Again, remember to make it local and specify the area that is served by that group.
Message nearby hosts and offer your Airbnb Design services.
Contact lackluster short-term rentals in your area. Heck contact the great ones, too - they might be planning another property and need help designing it.
Offer to speak at a superhost meet-up.
Getting in front of in-person groups is a great way to gain credibility. Sponsoring the lunch helps too! Many groups will be happy for you to give a short talk on your services if you agree to bring food.
Network on real estate investor websites.
BiggerPockets.com is the most active RE investor site. Think of it as the Staging Studio Society of investors. They are the go-to site. This is the forum where investors ask each other questions. They share information on sourcing, financing, property management, you name it. They sell properties to each other. It is where investors hang out online, so it is a great place to connect with them.
Create an AirBnB Experience.
This last suggestion is our fave. We just love it. AirBnb offers more than just overnight stays. Through AirBnB Experiences they also promote all kinds of activities hosted by locals. Cooking classes, walking tours, adventures of every kind. You could take advantage of this opportunity to provide a workshop or lunch and learn. It could be on practically any topic, but why not one on hosting Airbnbs. Your class is a way to raise awareness in your area about your services. Interestingly, people attending these experiences are more likely to be locals - locals who are interested in short-term rentals. AirBnB will promote the workshop so your business is being seen. What amazing advertising! You are getting paid to connect with potential clients and demonstrate your expertise. AirBnB gets 20% of whatever course fee you charge, but honestly, even if they took all of it, it would be worth it for the marketing potential. Or you may just love getting paid to share your knowledge on a topic you are passionate about. Super fun.
There are a lot of TV shows popping up about STR styling. Notably, one on Netflix called ‘Stay Here’. Very entertaining to watch and you will pick up a lot of pointers, but those homes tend to be very high end, luxury properties. You do not have to break into the luxury market in order to have a career as a designer for Airbnbs. The bulk of STRs are still regular middle-class homes, and even lower-priced homes.
Ready to get started? Become certified as a Short-Term Rental Stylist™ today. Plus, watch our FREE webinar, where we answer your burning questions about styling vacation rentals!
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