What Are Airbnb Furniture Packages?

Last updated on December 4th, 2019 by I. Duckworth / Host FAQs / Leave a Comment

Airbnb furniture packages

The final coat of paint is on, the carpet is down, now I’m standing in my future Airbnb house raring to go. I’m wishing I could click my fingers and it would be completely furnished. Naturally, I Googled it and this service exists! So what are Airbnb furniture packages?

Airbnb furniture packages are a service aimed to suit the floor plan and layout of your property. They cover everything from a rug on the ground to a print that hangs on the wall. You can include linen, electronics, mattresses, even toilet roll holders and all for one package price.

I often get questions from people asking what are Airbnb furniture packages. So I’ve put together this article that will help any of those lingering questions. By the end, you will understand exactly how they work.

There’s even a nifty little info graphic about renting vs buying Airbnb furniture. It’s a real eye opener. It can also be a great way to make a great first impression and improve your Airbnb ranking.

How much does it cost to rent furniture for a 1 bedroom apartment?

Ok, let’s start with one of the most common questions I get asked when talking about Airbnb furniture. How much does it cost to rent furniture for a 1 bedroom apartment?

The short answer is, it should cost no more than $310 per month. I have looked online and found a website that offers to furnish any type of property for any length of time. In this case, I only need one bedroom and I would also like to fit out the living room and dining room for my guests.

Airbnb furniture packages example

For $310 per month, I can have my entire property furnished with styled furniture.

It gets delivered, set up and is ready to go. That may sound pricey, but it’s quite good value. The alternative is spending time going from store to store looking for furniture. Then having to load it in your car, and assembling it. (As much fun as assembling Ikea furniture is).

There is another big benefit of renting furniture packages. If your lease is up, or you’re moving house, you can call the rental company and they take it away for you. No having to rent storage rooms, no hiring moving trucks and no slipped discs lifting heavy sofas.

Buying Airbnb Furniture Packages

Pretty much every country boasts furniture stores with Airbnb furniture packages. It’s a huge market, so there’s a big demand. They are pre-designed packages for for customers that want to start from scratch.

These packages include matching sets of furniture, which you can buy room by room, or as an entire house lot.

Take this whole house package for example. It’s from a store in Australia called Fantastic Furniture. A whole house lot for under $2,000 (which is about $1,400 US).

Here you can tick off your bedroom, living room and dining room in one foul swoop. However, you will have to be handy at putting together flat packs… (Love flat packs!!).

Airbnb furniture packages

Granted the photos of these ads will always look a lot nicer. I mean they’re not about to throw in the rug, the TV, the plants, cushions and blankets. But it is a good start to build from with just a quick trip to Ikea and you’re done.

Big chain stores will almost always offer no interest finance on their packages as well.

This is perfect for when you want to set up an Airbnb with initial outlays being in the thousands. You can buy the furniture and then start paying it off when money starts coming in from bookings.

It will help free up much-needed funds to buy all the other accessories you will need. For example, things like toasters, towels and cutlery, and so on.

By now I bet you’re starting to see the benefits of Airbnb furniture packages.

Renting Furniture vs Buying

There are a lot of mixed opinions about buying vs renting furniture for you Airbnb house.

This depends on your level of hosting. For instance, you should lean towards buying your own furniture if it’s an entire house. Especially if you are starting up your first ever Airbnb.

Buying

I have written an article on ways to furnish your Airbnb on a budget. There are some clever ways to save thousands of dollars if you are thrifty.

One great way is finding bargains online such as Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Another useful way is through garage sales. It’s quite easy to do when you only have one property to style.

Once you have your furniture, there are some good options to spruce things up. Grab yourself some wall art, a couple of vases, some ornaments, then throw a few accent cushions on the beds and couches. All done!

Renting

Renting may be your best option if you run your Airbnb like a business. For instance, if you have high turnover or run several properties. Even if it is just renting your main pieces of furniture like bed frames, dining tables and Sofas.

Keeping things simple and streamlined is a good idea if you run many properties. Especially if they are all around the world.

Companies like CORT Furniture make furnishing you entire place is very easy. And the best part, if something breaks, they will come and replace it. How much time will this save?

Renting vs owning property statistics

The Cost of An Airbnb Furniture Service

Ok, lets break this down, how much does it actually cost and is it worth it?

Let’s use CORT Furniture again as an example. I will now look at furnishing a 2 bedroom home and see exactly how much it will cost. 

And here is what I found…

For a fully furnished 2 bedroom home with a lounge area, dining area, a kitchen stocked with essentials, a TV, a decore pack and even an ironing board, the total come to…

$682 per month. Not too bad for the quality and amount of furniture you are getting. You can furnish your entire Airbnb for less than it would cost to buy a decent sofa.

In summary, it comes down to how much you value your time and if you can justify spending that much money each month. I can see the value in it, but I don’t know if I would wear that cost.

Styling for Airbnb – The Magazine Look

The new Plus Airbnb listings has boosted the quality and competition of homes in a big way. In addition to the high volume of new hosts joining Airbnb, things have changed. If you don’t style your listing to stand out, your bookings will suffer.

So you don’t have a styling bone in your body? This is where such services as furniture rental agencies can play a huge part in your Airbnb success.

They can fill your home with designer products at a fraction of what it would cost to buy. Plus they will set it all up for you and colour coordinate it too. It’s a win-win!

Hiring a stylist per hour could be a good option if your Airbnb is already set up and you want to make small changes. A stylist will help you pick everything from cushion covers to bold art prints. It will give your house the best chance of standing out from the crowd.

Generally speaking, you can expect to pay around $100 an hour for a consultant. That may sound expensive, but believe me $100 is nothing when you can make it back in only one booking!

Airbnb styling examples

Furniture Depreciation & Tax deductions for you Airbnb

Ok, so your Airbnb is now looking spectacular. You have either rented, bargain hunted for or bought furniture as a package. This is where my favourite word in the world of investing in property comes into play – depreciation!

Now this will be a little different depending on what part of the world you live in. Every country will have depreciation on investment properties that you can claim on in some way or another.

With my properties, I hire a company to come and conduct a depreciation schedule on each one of my Airbnb’s. They will make a list of everything you can write off with tax. Things like furniture, carpet, bathroom fittings, kitchen cupboards and everything else that’s claimable.

The surveyor when then forward that depreciation schedule to your accountant. If your accountant is any good, he can save you thousand of dollars.

Depreciation works in a different way for short stay accommodation. Unlike normal rentals, you can expect more wear and tear, so the lifespan of your contents is shorter.

So how do I work out Airbnb depreciation?

The general rule of thumb to work out an items depreciation value is by a simple equation. I will use a sofa for example.

The Sofas current value, let’s say I bought it for $1,000. Now I work out how much the sofa will be worth when it is time to throw it away. Lets say $50.

And how long do I think this will be? Let’s go with 6 years.

Calculating the depreciation for the sofa would be simple. Take the value of $1,000 and subtract the amount it’s worth when it is time to part with it ($50). Next divide the answer by the 6 years of it’s lifespan.

($1,000 – $50) / 6 years = $158.33. So now I know that each year I can claim back a depreciation cost of $158.33 for 6 years.

Depreciation Schedule Example

Depreciation Schedule Example

Now I couldn’t imagine doing this equation for every item in my Airbnb, I have much better things to be doing. Which is why I hire someone who packages up all the numbers into a nice file for me to give to my accountant.

Then when it comes to tax time, you will have a document to submit that will lower your tax, Bonus!

So technically… your furniture is saving you money… Ok maybe not, but I will run with it.

If you are renting furniture though, you won’t be able to claim depreciation as you don’t own it. But, you most definitely can claim on the expense that hiring the furniture costs you.

Key Take Away’s

Ok I promise I will stop boring you with tax talk! Here is a quick run down of all the main points I have covered here, happy hosting!

  • An Airbnb Furniture package is a simple way to furnish and style your Airbnb for the least amount of effort required.
  • Hiring/Renting your furniture is great for time-poor hosts or for people with listings in another city or country to where they live.
  • Style is paramount to stand out from the crowd, so don’t skimp and hire a stylist if you are clueless (don’t worry we have all been there!)
  • Take advantage of a stores 0% financing when purchasing packages
  • When you are set up for business, get a depreciation schedule done for maximum savings come tax time.

In conclusion, you may have to spend some money to make money, but an Airbnb furniture package is a great method.

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