How nice do you furnishing a monthly rental?

[Conner Olsen]

I get asked frequently: "how nice do you have to furnish a monthly rental?" Everyone has seen those amazing STR that are professionally decorated and have themes that differentiate your property from competition. I have found that this is not necessary with monthly rentals. For a traditional STR you might want a place with a cool spray painted wall to take pictures of and post to social media. If you are staying in an a place for 2+ months, you don't care as much what it looks like, you care that it is comfortable and functional. It is more important that you have a fully stocked kitchen with a cookie sheet and a crock pot than a cool painting. When furnishing our MTR, we did not go crazy with the decorations or furniture; we furnished the 2/1 for around $5,000. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice place, but it's not 'let's take a selfie with this' kind of nice.

What has your experience been? Do you try to furnish MTR really nice or do you try to stay minimal and functional?