I agree grey is being surpassed by white.But, there is grey, and there is grey.Not all greys are the same.I don't do AirBnB (own or stay) , butOne of the decorators I worked with explained to me on a whole house basis they are trying to create a feel.

If you can't do it yourself, having someone within driving distance to receive packages, assemble, get the wifi set up, label remotes or light switches, make the kitchen functional, change out your door locks or put cameras up, etc, as well as the decorating and making the place comfortable and appealing for your guests is a must.

Before even thinking about doing anything aesthetically, have an inspector check the existing systems and structures, dig deeper, embrace patina then decorate with new old things.Goodluck!

With this (awful) approach of pretty much just listing a house on these sites....and hoping for the best, my prediction is you would get pretty much slaughtered in the reviews, which would lead to less bookings, and then eventually reaching the conclusion that STRs don't work.To do it with a better degree of success you would want to purchase the property, put in all the finishing touches that guests want to see such as books about the area, maps, buy new furniture and decor if needed, create a welcome book with recommendations on restaurants and attractions, list it on multiple sites, build your own website/brand, promote it on social media platforms, have professional pictures taken, have your listing completely filled out, be incredibly responsive to every question and message you receive, build a really good guidebook to the point where you are almost an ambassador/tour guide for the area, interview and contract with professional cleaners and have backup cleaners in place, have a relationship with a professional handyperson so they know who you are when you call the first time requesting their service, have several electrical and plumbing contractors identified to call when problems come up, set expectations for your cleaners up front and provide feedback immediately to them when guests have a complaint, and handle all complaints with your guests the way you would want it handled if you were the guest...put the guest first before any profit/money. 

If Lessee default on the lease, they have 24 hour to remove their personal belongings inside the premise or the Lessor will take procession of their belongings (furniture and decors) Then the rest is pretty much the same as my residential lease.  

Now back to desert for 30 days to ramp up LQ #2 (furnish, decorate, lighting, light comsetic reno, obtain permit, photograph & launch) to get the cash flowing.

Running a successful STR comes down to 3 Ps: pics, people & pricing.1) Decorate your house nicely & pay a professional photographer to take some amazing picsAlso, be prepared to constantly reinvest some of your profits into your house in order to keep it in tiptop shape.

Hi all,I spent the past 6 months building and decorating an AirBnB apartment in my basement, and the third guests smoked meth in the unit.  :/  It is a long story of how we figured it out, but essentially bags over the smoke detectors and drug paraphernalia in the trash gave the situation away. 

The place to save money is in your decor like art work, throw blankets, pillows etc.