Your Airbnb has seconds to make an impression.
We design guest-ready short-term rentals that photograph beautifully, feel memorable in person, and are built to handle real guest use — from concept and sourcing to install, staging, and photography.
If your property looks like every other rental, guests have no reason to choose yours.
A space that doesn’t photograph well can make even a good property look forgettable.
A branded stay gives guests something to connect with — a clear story, a memorable look, and a reason to book your property over the one down the street.
A pretty space is nice. A memorable stay gets better reviews, repeat guests, and referrals.
We don’t just design beautiful spaces. We manage short-term rentals every day — which means we know what guests notice, what cleaners struggle with, what photographs well, what breaks, and what owners regret buying.
Our short-term rental designs are created around the full guest experience:
We look at your local short-term rental market, nearby competitors, guest expectations, and opportunities to help your property stand out.
We create a unique Airbnb design direction for your property — not just a residential style design, but a memorable guest experience, including a unique brand.
You’ll receive a cohesive plan for each space, including furniture, decor, lighting, rugs, bedding, guest amenities, and styling details.
We source guest-friendly, durable pieces at trade discount prices which we pass onto you.
We coordinate the setup, place furniture, style shelves, make beds, organize guest supplies, and prepare the property for photography.
We design and style with listing photos in mind, so your property looks polished, scroll-stopping, and ready to launch.
BEFORE: A house that had been rented as a long-term rental. Golden oak trim, a small kitchen, no stand-out features.
AFTER: The “original” features were put back in, from coffered ceilings to picture frame moulding, and refinished original hardwood floors. The furniture is a mix of antique pieces and modern curvy silhouettes to stand out and be seen.
BEFORE: Previously rented for many years as a short-term rental. The bed had no headboard, the walls were a dated yellow, the carpet was old.
AFTER: The room had a complete transformation, with herringbone waterproof laminate floors, modern and upscale furniture, a rustic feature wall and a modern Scandinavian color palette.
BEFORE: The house was professionally staged when purchased and looked “nice”. But also very generic, with a neutral color palette, and MCM style furniture.
AFTER: The owners wanted this house to have a purpose – to help rescue pets have a better life. So the branding is bold in color and theme. There is a cat print wallpaper, dog ornaments, dog print throw pillows, cat mugs, and personalized pet prints of the owner’s rescue pets. Oh and a percentage of every stay is donated to The Bond Between.
BEFORE: An old bland bedroom, with layers upon layers of white paint applied to old baseboards and window trim, giving it a tire look.
AFTER: A custom mural applied to all walls with a vintage turn of the century feel. Twelve inch custom baseboards and Craftsman style window trim was applied to the windows and baseboards to replace the old worn out trim, yet sympathetic to the original style.
BEFORE: A tired short-term rental that hadn’t been updated for many years, with a “Northwoods” feel.
AFTER: A modern Scandinavian style room with comfortable furniture, a bright and fresh look and feel, custom wood feature wall and custom welcome table.
BEFORE: The room was staged nicely for the sale, but was limited to single occupancy due to a large closet in the room. Making this 2 bed house limited to 3 person occupancy.
AFTER: We moved the closet to an adjacent hallway closet, patched and refinished the original hardwood floor and blocked up the window through to the porch to make it a true double occupancy room. We completed the renovation with a dog theme that’s not over the top or tacky, rather classy and thoughtful.
Goal: Create a luxury Linden Hills stay that felt historic, elevated, and appealing to groups celebrating milestones.
Design Direction: Restoration of the original house built in 1910 – put the charm back in. An eclectic mix of modern pieces and antiques layered throughout with warm neutrals and soft outlines. Pushing the boundaries on what is in style.
Guest Appeal: Families, groups of friends, wedding guests, executive stays, and travelers looking for a high-end Minneapolis experience.
Results: The 1910 is in the top 3 of performance for its size in the entire Twin Cities market, according to data from AirDNA.
Goal: Take over as property manager for a previously self-managed short-term rental and improve the overall look and feel of a few key spaces within the property to be more appealing in photos.
Design Direction: With a limited budget we focused on styling what pieces were already there. Re-staging the rooms with decor and accessories, new professional photography, and creating a brand for the property.
Guest Appeal: Families, groups of friends, and travelers looking for a convenient, comfortable spacious home to call their home base while visiting the Twin Cities.
Results: The property’s revenue increased by 15% year over year after the re-design and professional management by The Works BnB.
Goal: To create a short-term rental from a previous family home.
Design Direction: The property hadn’t been updated in many years, and retained a lot of the “original features” from the 60’s and 70’s. Instead of ripping everything out to modernize it, we leant into the retro vibes to create a unique and memorable stay.
Guest Appeal: Families, groups of friends, and travelers looking for a convenient and fun home close to major attractions like the Mall of America and the airport.
Results: The property has been a great success both on platforms like Airbnb and VRBO, but also as a location for videographers and photographers on Peerspace. Check out this music video filmed here by Koo Koo.
Our Airbnb design service is ideal if:
Not every project needs a full redesign. We can also help with refreshes, styling upgrades, and launch-ready Airbnb design plans depending on your property and goals.
We start by learning about your property, goals, timeline, target guests, budget, and local market.
We research your competition and create a strategic design direction that helps your property stand out.
We build the full Airbnb design plan, source furnishings and decor, and help map out what needs to be purchased, installed, or updated.
We can help coordinate orders, deliveries, vendors, timelines, and install logistics so the project stays organized.
We bring the property together, style each room, organize guest-facing details, and prepare the home for photos.
Once the property is ready, we coordinate professional photography and help make sure the design translates beautifully online.
Many of our clients come to us before launch because they want one team to handle the full process: design, setup, listing creation, photography, pricing, guest experience, and ongoing management.
If you want your short-term rental to be more hands-off, we can help with both the Airbnb design and the day-to-day operations.
Not always. Some properties need bigger updates, but many simply need better furniture, lighting, layout, styling, and guest-focused details.
Yes, where it makes sense. We’ll review what you already own and recommend what to keep, replace, or repurpose.
Typically a design and build-out takes around 4-8 weeks depending on the scope of the project, and size of the house.
It depends on the scope of the project, the size of the property and location. However a typical range for full-service design is:
1-2 bed condos (minimal or no outdoor area) $4000-$7000
3-4 bedroom homes with outdoor space $7000-$12,000
5+ bedroom homes with outdoor space $12,000+
Yes, we can help source items and coordinate purchasing. The exact level of support depends on your project scope.
Yes. We work with properties across the U.S and can discuss whether your project is a good fit.
Yes. The Works BNB also offers short-term rental management for select properties.
Ready to turn your property into a top-performing short-term rental?
Share a few details below and we’ll review your property, goals, timeline, and design needs. From there, we’ll recommend the best next step.
