HOW TO ELEVATE YOUR AIRBNB RENTAL AND GET MORE GUESTS
I have done some traveling in my life, and I love the experience and inspirations that are brought back with me. Recently I prefer to choose Airbnb over a standard hotel option for a couple of reasons that you may agree with: it feels like home when you are abroad; and I am obsessed with discovering how people design their homes (or sometimes their investments slash homes).
For my friends who rent their homes already or who are thinking of doing it, I have listed 10 thoughtful tricks to elevate the experience of their guests’ stay. These are not interior design tricks, although they are important as well. For my friends who are looking to make improvements or know someone who are, you can always contact me in person.
Photo Credit @misssinterpreted
1) White sheets, comfortable pillows and a duvet cover. It is a common sense to show that the sheets were washed. I know a lot of places use synthetic fibers, but natural sateen or cotton feel a whole lot better! And please wash the duvet covers.
2) White towels and a robe. I actually love waffle towels. It is easier to clean them thus better for the environment, and they dry faster. If you would like to take it a step further, offer a couple of bath robes to your guests. Do not forget about a foot towel. For myself, I’d prefer it over a bathroom mat. I have to confess, I am a bit of a germaphobe… So I ask myself how many times if any a bathroom rug has been washed before my stay. Does anyone else think the same?
3) Soap, shampoo and shower gel dispensers. It shows you care if you can offer some bath products to your guest. I feel like doing it in a triple chamber dispenser is very neat. Don’t forget to inform your guests what products you use: Brand, Ingredients etc.. It breaks my heart how much waste individually packaged products contribute to, and the standard package does not look as immaculate. You can also add cotton swabs, cotton pads etc.
4) Shoe policy. I actually have a shoe policy in my house, and I know not all cultures are accustomed to that. Knowing that the previous guests were asked to follow the same rules, will make me more comfortable to walk bare feet, and your place will stay cleaner.
5) New dish soap sponge for each new guest. I would recommend a recycled scoring pad. It just feels so unpleasant to touch a saturated sponge from the previous guest. Besides, you do not know if this sponge was used only for dishes or something else.
Photo Credit to @haticehuma
6) Pantry basics: Good quality Coffee, Tea, Sugar, Olive Oil and Sea-salt. For coffee, please go one step above the standard drip coffee machine or Keureg. A lot of you might disagree with me, but apart from how much plastic waste Keureg creates, it also tastes like plastic. I can go on and on about the taste, so I will just stop. I love such options as the classic Bialetti Moca pot for a gas stove or a pour over coffee makers such as Hario or Chemex.
7) A welcoming bottle of wine and a special treat from your region. It feels like someone really waited for you and knew that the road might have been long and tiring.
8) Drinking water. Update your guests if it is safe to drink tap water or if you have a filtered water dispenser installed. Being a bit of an environmentalist, I would prefer one of these options. If not possible, provide a bigger size bottle since a small bottle is more of a waste.
9) List of suggestions of your favorite places for coffee, drinks and food, as well as grocery shops in the nearest proximity. I stayed in one place where the host was a graphic designer. He created such a useful map of local places he himself goes often to.
10) Spotless clean and NO harsh chemical smell! This is by far the most important thing. Who would not like a clean place. Also be mindful of harsh smells or strong fragrance of cleaning supplies. They are overused and overpowering! They are harmful in the first place for our health, but they also tarnish the enjoyment of the stay. I have also observed that the level of cleanliness depends on the country of visit. And I generally notice (and I might be totally biased) that the places in Europe are generally cleaner.
I hope you enjoyed reading these food for thought ideas, and I’d love to hear your comments. Perhaps, it is good to pause for now and reflect on your life journey in pictures.
BEST PRACTICES TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT FOR AN OFFICE SPACE
Working for so many years in the corporate design (tenant improvements as they call it), it breaks my heart seeing how much waste each build out generates at the end of the life cycle . Yes, in California we have strict waste management regulations, but why not to strive to do more. As occupants, we can also adopt practices to reduce the environmental footprint. I have thought of 10 ways to do that. Some of these tips may be applied in dining, retail and home improvements.
credit to Jilbert Ebrahimi
Choose modular movable partitions vs stud walls for the interior space. For starters, it is considered a furniture and your company will get a tax rebate which will offset the cost of it. You will most likely need to rework your space to accommodate the growth of your company, and it is a lot easier to rearrange the space with the flexibility of this system and it will be much cheaper. The same principal works for the next tenant who will most likely have different space needs and may reuse the partitions. Bottom line, they are movable and do not need to be trashed after each move-out.
Opt out from the custom cabinets. I have rarely seen a tenant who reuses cabinets from a previous build out. You may ask why? Well, it may not be exact size, location or finishes that are preferred. My answer to that will be to choose the modular kitchen cabinets (for the sake of the price you may even choose IKEA). The faces of the cabinets can be easily changed. The cabinets can be easily relocated or swapped. You may add more or reduce the size. It is just that easy.
Do not have your carpet or LVT glued down. If you decide to go with a carpet finish, it will be better to use carpet tiles, since they can be easily replaced. If your carpet is installed with the glue dots, you may actually reuse it and give it a second life. If it is an LVT finish, opt for a floating installation method.
Reuse or resell furniture. Quality furniture is always in high demand even the used one. Ask your furniture dealer if there is a way to buy used chairs and desks. You will safe money and help the environment. You may even use your local craigslist to see your options. It is so much more sustainable to give the furniture the 2nd, 3rd or 4th life cycle.
Windows are a must for everyone. Do you know that our productivity and happiness are directly correlated to the daylight. When you put your offices at the window line and still have staff working with no daylight exposure in the core of your space, it is a slowly demotivates them. You are as successful as your weakest link.
6. Install a dish washer and opt out from using plastic or paper plates, cups and utensils. I know it is an extra inconvenient step in your daily life to put your dishes in a DW instead of trashing them after each snack or meal. But imagine how much less waste you will generate every day. More than 100 million plastic utensils are used every day.
7. Install reverse osmosis water filters. Why not to encourage your staff to drop the habit of using plastic bottles and instead use filtered water. More than 60 billion plastic bottles end up in landfills everyday.
8. Strategic planning and upkeep . When you are working with your designer or client, think creatively. What can be reused, recycled, reworked? Once the space is occupied, taking care of it is a key to longevity of the surrounding.
9. Set up your climate control to 72 F - 74 F room temperature. How often have you seen the place with a running AC when it is a comfortable temperature outside? I always wonder if it is a clueless habit or a personal climate control ego. The ozone layer is destroyed and we contribute to the global warming every time we run an AC. So be mindful and if the weather permits open your windows and let the fresh air in, do not be an AC climate egoist.
10. Cloth towels. I know this will sound strange and not hygienic. When I travelled to Netherlands, I was astonished that they use cloth towels even in public restrooms. Obviously it is on a roll for a sanitary use and to be rewashed. But how progressive it is.
If you are a client, talk to your design professional and how you would like to make a difference for yourself and your business practice. The moral of these tips is that we can all come up with creative ways to reduce our footprint. I would like to know if you have other strategies to share with all of us.
FLASHBACK TO 2010 OSCARS ECO LOUNGE design
Back in the days, Vik Devicheva has designed eco lounges with RC GREEN at the ECO Oscars and ECO Emmys. Organized by an LA’s leading sustainable producer, each lounge is created with environmental responsibility while benefiting Charity and environmental causes. It is a great opportunity to educate a high profile audience on the novelties in the sustainable production and choices we can make. With their big platform of fans and supporters, they can in turn influence the masses on the sustainable choices and lifestyle. It is a win win.
Here is Vik back in 2010 speaking with Sam Worthington, Sam Levine and Adam Busch.
My Experience of Studying in Italy
It is not easy to separate yourself from the comfort of the established life and shake it for some changes. However, I chose to and went to Florence to immerse the artistic side of me in the magical world of Italy. And here is why:
Why did I decide to study in Italy?
I have been longing to study in Italy since my first trip there when I was 10. Even though I have been dreaming about it, and from time to time, exploring my options, I never pulled the trigger until recently. It is never the right time, unless you just do it. So I just googled “Study in Italy”. I had a few criteria: It had to be ideally in Florence, the course had to be in english, and I wanted to focus on the furniture design. So my choice was FIDI (the Florence Institute of Design International).
What did I learn?
I had the amazing professors architects (Federico Grazzini and Leonardo Rossano) who guided me in the furniture design process focusing on the history of italian design and how it shaped the so known sophisticated taste of Italians. There were amazing trips organized to furniture manufacturers and museums. It is a priceless experience to learn about the furniture design process: starting from just an idea and seeing the final result in production. What a dream! And it would not be the reality if not for the talented architect Marc DiDomenico who founded the school.
Cultural immersion benefits.
With globalization it is hard not to be touched by the trends from all over the world. However, it is different when you experience them in person paring with the taste of local food and sunshine, and a different language. I made some amazing fun friends who are also talented designers and architects who I am looking forward to collaborating with in the future. They all came from different part of the worlds with different backgrounds (Mexico, Jordan, Russia), but we shared the passion, travelled and learned together and made the memories of a lifetime.
As a result, I have proudly completed the furniture design course, and my mind is full of Italian inspirations that I can not wait to implement in the projects I am working on.
