Becoming a host: What we recommend. And what not

Quite a few of our readers are con­sidering building a holiday home or reno­vating an existing pro­perty for rental. Again and again, we are asked by future hosts what they should bear in mind when building and designing a holiday home or what mistakes should be avoided at all costs.

First of all, there is – unfort­u­nately or thank­fully – no secret recipe. However, we do have a few sug­ges­tions.

• Look for a good architect! It is not only their expe­rience and repu­tation that are important. A per­sonal rela­ti­onship is just as essential – after all, you are deve­loping a long-term project tog­ether!

• Define your target group: What kind of guests would you like? Which ones suit you and your house? Are families, groups or couples more in keeping with your expec­ta­tions? Are you tar­geting active holi­day­makers, bon vivants, dog owners, etc.?
  Try to define exactly what you want to offer your guests, and what needs do you think your target group has.
  Many future hosts try to take too many dif­ferent target groups into account, even those whose requi­re­ments and life­styles they them­selves do not know well enough.

• Con­sider as carefully as pos­sible in what envi­ronment, with which ser­vices you feel most com­for­table and what you yourself like. The place where you later accom­modate your guests will be much more authentic than if you try to implement some trend. Trends change and also become more and more fast-moving – your project, on the other hand, remains.

• Leave out what is not necessary. Sus­taina­bility is a priority, and a clear concept is usually better than trying to please everyone. Less is more.
  When we receive enquiries from pro­s­pective hosts, we often get detailed ques­tions about equipment, such as “Do we need a fully auto­matic coffee machine?” When such a question is asked, it usually means that the par­ti­cular detail about equipment is not abso­lutely necessary for the concept. So, it can be left out.

• Keyword sus­taina­bility: Cohe­rence is required here, and it is wort­hwhile ques­tioning one’s own product cri­ti­cally. Do coffee cap­sules go tog­ether with a passive house?

• Even if, like all of us, you already have your favourite colours, objects or designs sup­po­sedly in your head: The question remains as to what actually suits the spe­cific location and object. And: Tim­eless lasts longest.

• Of course, it is always good to know what the “com­pe­tition” is doing – be it locally or natio­nally. Nevert­heless, we advise against falling into copy and paste mode. Develop your own concept, it is your house.

• How much space guests want and need varies depending on the situation. If it fits the concept, com­bi­nable or fle­xibly usable units make sense – for example, apart­ments that can be joined tog­ether or an addi­tional bedroom that can be turned into a study.

The way to being a host is – first of all – to take (self-)critical stock of your own prio­rities and needs. If you have these clearly in mind, the vision in terms of design and content becomes all the more con­cretely rea­li­sable.

Teaser Image: © Kajetan Sumila / Uns­plash