Airbnb 101

By Michelle Ferguson -
The Internet always tells me, “With your level of extroversion combined with an undeniable knack for interior design, why haven’t you opened an Airbnb yet???” 

Because I aim to never disappoint the Internet (except in approximately 98% of my parenting), we hosted our first official Airbnb guest this week! (aka my husband’s friend Clint who was in town for a wedding).

After following the delightful @arrowsandbow and her Airbnb adventures, I’m excited to show you all of my tips and tricks for creating an Instagram worthy guest space! 💁🏻‍♀️

First, you’ll need to go to your junk drawer and find the 12 flashlights that reside there.

When none of those flashlights work, you’ll need to use your phone flashlight to locate your plastic “battery bin” in the garage that most likely made it over with you in your recent move.

Once you have a properly working flashlight, you’ll want to head back out to the garage to locate your fanciest air mattress! Because “glamping” is so popular now, people will praise you for your trendy inflatable accommodations rather than express their disappointment over not staying at a hotel.

Once you’ve fully inflated your air mattress, you’ll want to keep an ear out for a subtle “whooshing” sound which is a gentle reminder to you that you DEFINITELY have no idea where the tiny mattress repair kit is. 

Now is the time to pause and take a picture with your quickly deflating bed, but keep it classy with your best @cottonstem pose and your cuffed sweatshirt sleeve. It looks nice on Instagram and also doesn’t show you making this face 😬 constantly while attempting to set up the room. 

After all of your mattress repair attempts fail, you’ll need to go back to the garage to locate a camping mattress. This makes more sense with the “glamping” theme anyway so it’s fine. Just make sure it’s too large for any of your fitted sheets. Cover it instead with your nicest LOL themed “Rock On!” striped sheet, Minnie Mouse winking face pillow case, and fuzziest blankets that have been stored away for the past 8 years to complete your 5 star guest space. (Also, If the mattress would have been able to fit inside of our kids’ rocket ship tent, I feel confident we’d be on the cover of @Airbnb magazine right now). 

When choosing room decor for your Airbnb, I recommend a MINIMUM of 30 stuffed animals. I can’t stress that enough. We also added a Barbie dollhouse, hotwheels garage, basket of random toys, and a fully stocked pretend kitchen. I always try to fill extra corner space with exactly 2 foam swords ⚔️(3 would be tacky). 

For sure leave some extra toys strewn throughout the room because it makes you relatable as a human, and shows that you are too busy doing other important Airbnb things to clean up extra room decor! 

Lastly, break out your finest calligraphy skills and your oldest chalkboard to leave a special legible message for your guest to potentially interpret! 

Our first run at this was a total success. He left a night earlier than planned because he was worried he would be forever ruined for his own home after his experience here. 💁🏻‍♀️

I hope this has been helpful! Feel free to pin, and book your own magical stay in 2020! We’ll have your pillow and fake cereal waiting. 🛌🥣 


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