531. Where to Splurge and Where to Save When Furnishing a Short-Term Rental

Thanks For Visiting

Airbnb Superhosts Annette Grant & Sarah Karakaian

Places & Travel, Education, Investing, Society & Culture, Business, How To

4.9 • 589 Ratings

🗓️ 8 January 2026

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Furnishing a short-term rental can feel overwhelming and expensive, especially when you’re trying to stand out in a competitive market. In this episode, we break down exactly where hosts should splurge and where they can save when furnishing their properties.

After furnishing dozens of short-term rentals and helping hosts across the country do the same, we’ve seen the same costly mistakes over and over again: overspending on things guests don’t care about and cutting corners on the things they absolutely do.

We walk through the specific items that have the biggest impact on guest experience, reviews, and repeat bookings—from beds and seating to cookware, rugs, and design moments. Plus the areas where you can save without sacrificing quality. We also share our favorite insider strategy for getting access to high-quality brands at host-only pricing, even when you’re “splurging.”

If you’re furnishing a new short-term rental or upgrading an existing one, this episode will help you spend smarter and design with intention.

Resources mentioned:

Thanks for Visiting Bootcamp: Join the waitlist!

Minoan: a no-cost, all-in-one purchasing platform for hosts, designers, and property managers. They offer insider discounts on 150+ top brands and the ability to track all of your orders, deliveries, invoices, and receipts in one streamlined view.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Thanks for Visiting Podcast.
0:07.8	We believe hosting with Heart is at the core of every short-term rental.
0:12.8	With Annette's background in business operation.
0:15.1	And Sarah's extensive hospitality management and interior design experience, we have welcomed
0:20.3	thousands of guests from over 30
0:22.2	countries earning us over a million dollars and garnering us thousands of five-star reviews.
0:27.9	We love sharing creative ways for your listing to stand out, serve your guests, and be profitable.
0:34.9	Each episode, we will have knowledgeable guests who bring value to the short-term rental industry.
0:39.4	Or we will share our stories of our own experiences so you can implement actual improvements to your rentals.
0:46.5	Whether you're experienced new or nervous to start your own short-term rental, we promise you'll feel right at home.
0:54.5	Before we dive into the content, let's hear a word from our sponsor.
0:59.1	Hello, welcome back to another great episode. My name is Sarah Carrakeyan.
1:03.3	I'm Annette Grant, and together we are. Thanks for visiting. Let's start this episode like we do,
1:07.7	each and every week, and that is showcasing one of you are incredible listeners
1:11.4	who is heading on over to sdr share.com sharing everything you can about your short term rental
1:17.0	so we can celebrate you here on the podcast. Annette, who are we sharing this week? This week we are
1:22.4	sharing at the Goat Getaway. Yes, that's G-O-A-T, the Goat Getaway. Like the greatest of all time? Yes. Hosted by Kimberly. I want to direct everybody over to their Instagram account. First thing, I did not know that you could do this. Their very, very first post, which I love, it's a carousel. It's literally 16 pictures. I didn't know you could add that many pictures,
1:45.0	but it is a full tour of their property. Genius. Love that. There's a lot of things you can take
1:50.5	from this account. Number one, I love that many photos in a carousel. Give the property tour.
1:55.6	The other thing that she's done, she has some drone footage that I love. Show people of the
2:00.7	neighborhood ahead of time.
2:02.6	That's what's really cool.
	...

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