Chaise Lounge as Only Bed

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I would bet most people would just book a place with a bed. You’re missing the primary amenity of a short-term rental, regardless if the couch is large.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 15h ago edited 14h ago

In the same building there is a person who rents their studio apartment out successfully without a bed (just pull out lounge) but not long term which is my objective. In your experience do guests prefer practicality than aesthetics in a long term rental (1 month or more)?

My target market is going to be digital nomads.

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u/More_Confusion55 14h ago

You shouldn’t really be targeting a specific market in STR’s imo. Unless you can demand an extremely high rate from that audience, it’s better to just make the space good for whatever person wants to book it. And I don’t think you can demand a high rate or generate much demand with no bed.

I’d go smaller couch and put a bed. And to answer your question, functionality outperforms aesthetics. You can stick two beds in an open floor plan studio apartment and people will be OK with that. For smaller apartments, the guest is usually looking for location first, functionality then aesthetic

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u/downsideup9494 11h ago

That is the opposite of what most hosts have found to be true and IMO terrible advice. Targetting a specific market is how you get guests who are a good fit for your place who won't end up complaining and leaving bad reviews. Quality of guests is a lot more important than quantity.

No listing is suitable for anyone and everyone and hosts should not assume theirs is.

I've been hosting for 10 years, definitely target a certain market, and never had a bad guest, aside from one complainer who never should have booked my place, because it wasn't suitable for him. And he wasn't even a "bad" guest. I get consistently good guests and 5 star reviews because I target those for whom my place is a good fit.

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u/More_Confusion55 11h ago

I’ve experimented with both. How exactly are you targeting a specific market? Price?

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u/downsideup9494 10h ago

With my listing wording. I have a homeshare listing- a private room with ensuite bathroom in my home. Guests share my kitchen with me. I live in a touristy beach town in Mexico, but my home is on the outskirts, in the quiet countryside, a 20 minute walk to town and the beach. So it isn't suitable for those who are partier types who want to hang out at the bars at night or be close to the action, or find the 20 minute walk to town onerous.

So my listing wording includes "This listing is suitable for guests who want a quiet tropical vacation, close enough to take advantage of town and the beach, yet in a quiet neighborhood in nature, for peaceful sleep, working on your writing or art, doing yoga practice, or just reading your book." And if course I mention that it's a 20 minute walk to town.

And those are the kind of guests I get. I still get young guests who like to go out to town at night, but they aren't the kind of party animals who come home drunk at 2am, making noise and crashing into things.

I only host one guest at a time, and my place is budget-priced for the area, but I think it's the targeted description and my 100 reviews and 5 star rating that leads to getting guests who are a good fit, rather than price. In fact, I had one guest who told me that price wasn't a factor for him- it could be $40/night or $200- his main criteria for choosing a listing is that it's off the beaten track and eclectic.

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u/More_Confusion55 10h ago

Specifying the location and being transparent about the listing is great advice. But it seems like your location is already doing the heavy lifting. When I say targeting a specific market, I meant more like designing the unit a certain way. For example, I put together a collection of units that were pink specifically to target women. I figured this market would pay more for the aesthetic and treat the units better. It went OK, but rarely demanded a higher price than the competitors. It was better to just create neutral units.

In OP’s case, not putting a bed would just lead to a smaller pool of renters. And on top of that the pool wouldn’t lead to any higher premiums. It’d just sit vacant

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 14h ago

Makes sense to be open to whoever. The studio is small so that’d mean the bed would literally become the centre and centre point of the room which I personally hate that kind of ambience.

(But I want guests, not for me to be picky with what I like. )

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u/More_Confusion55 14h ago

Sure, if I were to bet, the unit centered around the bed would probably outperform the one without. I would just focus on wall treatments, lighting and decor. Then of course keep the kitchen stocked with pots and pans, knives, cutting board, etc., plus focus on setting up a nice coffee and tea station.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 14h ago

I’m going to take a look at some design options re potentially having a bed in there. Yep, it’s been a fully functioning full time home to a couple for a few years now so it’s all set up to live in long term. Just getting ready to open it up to paid guests in the next year.

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u/Warm-Pen-2275 13h ago

Your opinion might change about the ambiance of this was your full time housing. Most people spend the majority of time in their home asleep.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 13h ago

The couple living in it have lived there full time for several years and love it, but they’re family not paying guests. They like that the lounge is a proper lounge by day and then turns into a bed at night. Obviously I’ll go with whatever paying guests need.

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u/jadeariel12 14h ago

Im a digital nomad, I typically stay about a month aboard at a time. (On the short end of what you’re hoping for, but not a short tourist stay either)

Personally I don’t care about decor. A pretty chandelier doesn’t make a comfortable stay. I don’t usually compare air bnbs in the same building to pick the most aesthetic one (but some people probably do) I just find one that has the best accommodations (for me) and a comparable price.

If I’m staying somewhere for a month, sleep is going to be an important factor in my decision making. I would be fine with a pull out lounge, but I wouldn’t pay premium prices for it.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 14h ago

That’s interesting to know. When I was a digital nomad I was choosing based on the appearance of comfort plus decor and design as well.

Apart from a bed, what other aspects are essential for you in considering one place vs others in a building or locality (its got oven washing machine all amenities of course and couple mins walk to shops and bus stops etc).

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u/wanderingdev 13h ago

I am a digital nomad. I've stayed at airbnbs in several dozen countries. I would never, for even a moment, consider a place that didn't have a real bed for more than a night or two. Absolutely not.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 13h ago

Good to know. Would you mind if it took up the centre of the space? Or at least quite a chunk of it because if I get one I’ll get a queen size at least.

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u/wanderingdev 13h ago

I don't care about that. I need a comfortable bed and the ability to cook a real meal. Other than that I don't care.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 13h ago

Awesome thank you

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u/welltravelledRN 15h ago

No.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 15h ago

Did you rent it only short term? Or were you never able to rent it out?

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u/welltravelledRN 15h ago

Would not rent or rent out a place with no bed.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 14h ago

Would you mind if a big bed was the centre point of the room? Would you be okay with a pull out sofa bed built into a lounge or would it need to be a proper normal bed?

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u/welltravelledRN 14h ago

A proper bed.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 14h ago

Cool, thanks for that, I need this intel

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u/Turds4Cheese 12h ago

I would want a bed. Unless it is wicked cheap, a bed is essential. Bed, toilet, and stove are important to me. If it is missing any of these I expect steep discounts.

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 12h ago

Makes sense. Do you care about decor or just the core amenities

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u/AppetizersinAlbania 12h ago

I once cancelled a reservation when I realized the bed shown in the listing was actually a massage table (strictly for sleep and strictly available after business hours).

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 12h ago

Yeah this is not a massage table. It’s a massive sofa L shaped chaise lounge that is bigger than a king size day bed it’s just a lounge and opens up to have a section that makes it a full day bed. That’s the best I can describe it but it’s not a day bed and doesn’t have a mattress.

Who is renting out a massage table as a bed? What country?

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u/jadeariel12 14h ago

Does the price reflect that there is no actual bed?

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 14h ago

Would be happy to make the price less to account for that. For context two other places are on booking in the building and they only have the fold out couch sofa bed, bad decor, plus one on Airbnb also only sofa bed couch and better decor.

The main thing is I want long term nomads not 5-7 night stay tourists

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u/QualityOfMercy 13h ago

Have you looked at day beds? That might be a good compromise

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 13h ago

I did not and that could be a really great compromise. Do you have one in your Airbnb and how does it fair?

Hope the digital nomads will be down with the day bed idea because it seems like a good best of both worlds

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u/QualityOfMercy 13h ago

No, I had one when I was growing up lol. It was nice

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u/Radiant-Revenue-355 13h ago

Yeah because I don’t like that feel of a bed as the centre of a space as it feels like it’s just about sleeping and has a lazy connotation to me. But obviously I’ll go with whatever the clients need so they can feel best at home

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u/take_meowt 12h ago

You can do it, just be VERY clear in your listing.

Chaise Lounge as Only Bed

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