Airbnb’s offer a chance to experience the host’s unique style, as opposed to predictable cookie cutter hotel rooms which look the same all over the world. I don’t know about you but when I am travelling I need crispy sheets and a sense of home.

Before my Airbnb looked like it did in the photographs (see tab Surfers Paradise Townhouse under house styling), it went through several incarnations until I found a look that worked for me, worked for my guests (according to the rebooking and five star reviews) and was easy to manage.

While the photographs depict the property going onto the market, and therefore styled to sell, the only changes to its day to day operations as an Airbnb, were the props; the cushions, throws and my white Ikea Ektorp couch covers which I protected with my life.

Below are my top styling tips for my Airbnb.

• Create a mood board. Pinterest is a great source of inspiration and has given me lots of ideas which I have made my own.

• Keep it s simple and keep it clean. The eyes might be the window to the soul but the windows are the eyes into the room. Keep them clean.

• Choose a theme and stick to it. Eclectic is good when it’s well done but it can look a mess if it isn’t. Because the townhouse was on the coast I borrowed from the Hamptons for a cool coastal look.

• Stay consistent. The townhouse was also on three levels with four bedrooms. I chose a consistent look for the entire property rather than theme each room differently in order to achieve a harmonious flow. The Kantha quilts pictures were sourced from Peacocks and Paisley a small business based in Brisbane.

• Don’t clutter. Clutter is energy. Clean spaces with a few well chosen pieces soothe the soul and the eye. You don’t want your guests feeling as if the world has dropped onto their shoulders the moment they walk into a room.

• Don’t leave personal effects lying around. Guests want a space that is exclusively theirs.

• Be cost conscious but not cheap. Guests want value for money and they notice the little touches. It is not necessary to go top range on toiletries but colour coding your toiletries with the colour palette of your bathroom goes a long way. Coles also have great options for expensive looking toiletries at affordable prices.

  I also purchased a subscription to Who Gives a Crap toilet paper. While marginally more expensive than regular toilet paper, the rolls come covered in funky colours and allowed me to give guests toilet rolls in wrappers each time which I thought looked more professional and luxurious than used rolls.

• Respect your guests by paying attention to the details. Guests can tell if you value them and your business just as they can tell if you have sourced all your products from an op shop. I stayed at a place in Brisbane during the summer heat. Neither the fan or the TV worked and it was clear the room hadn’t been loved in quite a while. Despite paying a premium price for a good area, the bedding was frayed, the sheets wrinkled, the pictures on the wall faded leaving the overall impression that the hosts knew their business was a cash cow and did little to personalise or update the room. I left halfway through my stay and left a bad review.

• Don’t overwhelm the room with air fresheners. At the same Airbnb mentioned above, one guests had commented the place smelt damp. In an effort to conceal the damp smell there were no less than 5 tropical air fresheners in a 36sqm space.

• Use real plants over fake ones. Plants are a great prop for styling and people love them. They are bright, happy and oxygenate the room.

• By the best sheets you can afford. I’m a sheet-a-holic. For me sheets can make or break a holiday. They don’t have to be linen but they have to be crispy and clean. A large part of my budget went into bedding and I would change the coverlets and cushion covers a few times a year to keep the look fresh. If the look was fresh, then I was fresh and since I did all the work myself, I needed to keep changing and updating the rooms to inspire myself.

• Owning and operating an Airbnb is like playing in a doll’s house for adults where people pay you money to enjoy what you have created for them. You are in control of your dolls house and as with anything, you get out of it what you put into it.