From vacation homes to the college world series, to just getting out of town for the weekend, people from around the world love to use Air BnB. And while most people primarily focus on getting a nice play to stay for the night or weekend, other considerations also matter. That's where the Groundscapes Team has some important insights for both customers and renters when it comes to navigating landscaping for rental homes and Air BnB users.

Step 1: Look at the Landscape!

Astonishingly, the quality of a landscape at a vacation home, or weekend getaway says a lot about the overall quality of the rental and what the renter has to offer. Step 1 is to take the time to look at the landscape! If you are a renter who has multiple Air BnB properties, the first step for you is to consider if you are doing the bare minimum in maintaining a standard yet healthy looking landscape. Meanwhile, as a customer, your first impressions will largely be determined by the aesthetic appeal of the home or complex you will be staying at. By paying close attention to the landscape, you are doing due diligence towards the overall value of your stay and experience.

Step 2: Does the Landscape Increase the Value of the Stay?

As a renter the next step is to look at the landscape of the potential home, and evaluate if it has enough to satisfy your needs. Does the cottage possess a hot tub? What about a backyard swimming pool, or outdoor kitchen? Patio and fire pit? For renters, there is no question that a fine hardscaping feature will most definitely increase the value to stay at your location for the night. Why? Having a fine landscaping feature increases not only the appeal, but also the functionality of the landscape in question. That means that as a homeowner and renter, a landscaping improvement should be seen as an investment in your business, and a major source of appeal and value to the customer.

Step 3: Using Your Landscape To Attract Customers/Visit A Destination

The best way to make use of a landscape as a renter, is to advertise it for a specific event or experience that your rental home can offer. In the Omaha Metro Area this may relate to preparing an outdoor kitchen to host dinner before a college world series game, or a fire pit to relax late into the night. The underlying value of your landscape in such situations, is as a more valuable way of experiencing the place or event that people have come to town to experience. This may be for a luxury vacation home on the beach, or a suburban home outside of a metropolitan area. Regardless of the situation - the landscaping will make a huge difference.

For customers, keep an eye out for vacation homes that go above and beyond with the extra features they include: this might be a fine patio and outdoor dining set, a water feature, or a fire place. Even if the price is slightly higher the experience that you can derive from a finely landscaped rental home is much greater than without.

What's the Overall Value of a Landscaping Feature?

For Air BnB rentals, landscaping can significantly and positively increase the overall travel experience, as well as the value of a night's stay at a home. For both the customer and the renter such landscaping improvements are beneficial: Whether you are looking to get more out of your Air BnB stay, or looking for better ways to increase your rating and customer experience (as a renter) looking into an outdoor kitchen, hot tub, swimming pool, or fire feature will go a long way over time!