Airbnb Update – December 2021 (We are ready for bookings)

Just a quick update on how our Airbnb renovations are going since our last post in November, how much progress we’ve made, and when we’ll be LIVE on Airbnb for bookings. For all our Airbnb related posts click here.

Merry Christmas Everyone !!!!! if you follow our adventures on Instagram you will know that we finished the majority of our renovations in December, and have officially listed our home on Airbnb. Therefore in 2022 these blog posts are going to move from documenting our Airbnb renovations to documenting our experiences as first time Airbnb hosts.

So what’s happened since our last post in November?

Bathroom/Toilet Renovations

Since our last post, we finished the bathroom/toilet renovations thanks to our fantastic electrician. Getting an exhaust fan into our home was a bit of a task as the bathroom space didn’t have one in the first place. So we had to get a self-contained exhaust fan that would fit in the roof, and had to take out a brick to run the ducting out of the roof space. In the end it was more expensive than expected (as there was only one exhaust fan model that suited our situation) but we are happy with how it’s turned out.

If you would like to see the inspiration behind our Bathroom renovations check out our Pinterest board here.

Laundry Renovations

In December I finally was able to start doing my laundry inside the house which is something I haven’t been able to do since May 2021 (over 6 months ago).

We are 95% finished in the laundry with the two overhead cabinets and the appliance divider to be put in. We are still waiting on the supply of the appliance divider from IKEA, and my husband has made his own (not as pretty) until we can get one. Neither of these is absolutely necessary to get the Airbnb listed so we’ve delayed these to give us more time on other areas of the house.

In December we had the front kickers and stone benchtop installed. I was very impressed with the contractors we got to do the benchtops and would happily recommend them to anyone (link here).

Other Renovation Activities

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but we have 70sqm of large format concrete pavers in our backyard that guests will be using during their stay. When we initially put them in they looked great, but after 6 years of use (chlorine water, possum poo, two dogs, and full sun) they were faded and stained. We contemplated removing them and getting something more hardwearing, but given we paid 7k for them I decided to try repainting them. So we went to our local paint store (Crowies) and found a product called Eco-pave that you paint over the pavers. The Eco-pave product can be tinted to most colours to suit your needs. To apply you simply clean your pavers/concrete before applying as per the directions (we used rollers and two coats). For 70sqm we used approximately $300 worth of product, and we are really happy with the results (see photos below). I’ve had quite a few people ask me about the product – link to Ecopave here.

We also finished the external lights under the veranda area, but we still have the edging strip to do (we need an air compressor and just don’t have the funds for it currently).

In December we also completed a few renovations that weren’t originally flagged to be done. These included making the walkway to the veggie patch safer for guests, replacing our letterbox, and building a stone garden wall for a new garden area. All of these were what I would call cheap renovations (no more than a couple of hundred dollars), but they have really finished off the outdoors perfectly.

What Airbnb related renovations are still to be done?

• Edging Strip on outdoor veranda (Can live without these at the moment so will complete in early 2022)
• Hang the two remaining cabinets in the laundry and install the appliance divider (Can live without these at the moment and will complete in early 2022)
• Order in 2 plantation shutters (Can live without these at the moment so will order in early 2022)

How much have we spent to date?

$26,715.75 (Spent up to the end of November 2021)

This amount includes everything from new flooring throughout all of our downstairs area, new bathroom/laundry/toilet, new doors, new furniture throughout, curtains/plantation shutters, painting everything internally and externally, two new lawn areas, plants, garden wall, garden pathway, letterbox, professional photography, and any outdoor updates required.

If you would like to see a bit more detail around our monthly expenses use the link here. We have a category called renovations.

When are we aiming to start listing our Airbnb?

As of the 20th of December 2021 we are officially listed on Airbnb, and already have our first bookings in January 2022.

Our original goal was to be ready for guests by September 2021 so we were a few months behind. I’m really looking forward to sharing more about the set up and hosting side of Airbnb with you in 2022 via the blog.

What does our Airbnb look like?

We hired a professional to take photos of our house for us. It was worth every cent and if you are thinking of listing on Airbnb I recommend getting a pro in to capture your hard work.

If you would like to follow our renovations on Instagram feel free to follow via @TheBoathouseStirling

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