When it’s just like home — but better
Comforting and creative perks can provide an edge in short-term rentals.
When Ed Kushins was preparing his Hermosa Beach home for guests from Vancouver recently, he threw in some surprises: golf clubs to use during the tee time he had prearranged, a list of favorite restaurants and a map of scenic bike paths. He also set up a barbecue with the neighbors.
That Kushins didn’t personally know the visitors he went to all that trouble for was irrelevant.
The company he founded, HomeExchange.com, is part of the burgeoning “sharing economy,” where houses, apartments and even sofa beds are substituting for hotel stays.
As competition in the sector heats up, and with a plethora of cool homes for rent in the Los Angeles area, it’s no longer enough to simply change the sheets and vacuum the rug. Those who make their spaces available to outsiders are piling on perks that include handwritten notes attached to gift baskets, and platters of morning pastries and dried fruit worthy of a bed and breakfast.
“People expect the quality of staying in a hotel,” said Gail Leino, an entrepreneur who has her five-bedroom Encino home listed on Airbnb and Home Exchange.
If Leino’s guests include children, she sets up a snow cone maker, cotton candy machine and microwaveable popcorn. In the bedrooms, she provides welcome baskets containing trail mix, jerky, candy and bottled water.
Also important, say veterans of the home-sharing space, is removing family photos and other memorabilia, so visitors are not obliged to look at Johnny’s soccer trophies or cheesy wedding pictures.
Kelly Dangor, a West Hollywood interior decorator who lists one of her two bedrooms on the new same-day home-sharing site Joinovernight.com, says that her neutral decor palette recalls the aesthetic of a contemporary hotel room, with amenities to match.
For the $90-a-night rate, her guests get snacks with a handwritten welcome note and toiletries. She always keeps extra phone chargers on hand and is completing a lively illustrated booklet guiding visitors through local hot spots.
“People are uncomfortable asking for the Wi-Fi password, so I put it on a little card in the room,” she said.
The neighborhood is a big reason that Toni DeVito’s master suite — at $120 a night — is booked almost back to back; her home is near the Grove shopping center and has views overlooking the Hollywood sign. But her ranking as a “superhost” on Airbnb could also be due to the extras: fresh-cut flowers and trays laid out with breads, jam, nuts and dried fruit
for all-day nibbling. She once invited a couple from Amsterdam to join her family for Thanksgiving.
Alexandra DeMartini said her background in the hospitality industry makes her want to go the extra mile for guests — even if they’re paying for just a couch to crash on in her West Hollywood living room. For $50 a night, she allows them use of her prized parking spot, shows them how to work the Apple TV, provides snacks and can often score them a comped class at a nearby gym.
“It’s how it used to be in the old days,” said DeMartini, “when people welcomed strangers into their homes and treated them like friends.”