@Jack Stephens, you can stand out by having a pool (with afternoon sun on that side if possible), nice furnishings, stainless appliances, nice furniture, and minimal or no carpet.

Now, expenses:Towels and beddings are one of my main costs - keep 3 sets per bed/person and replace every 1-2 monthsFurniture - I've been lucky, haven't had to replace any big piece of furniture (I've had guests brake entrance doors and and other wild things, but those are 1 in 100)Camera - putting a camera in front of the house was a game changer for me!

I will be buying furniture for the bedrooms.

We added some value to the average daily rate through updated design (furniture/art).

The only value-added was furniture and decor to increase ADR and overall revenue.

In that case you can look to move your furniture to a new unit or sell it if worst comes to worst.

Unfortunately, I didn't recognize the low quality of the furniture when we bought the building.Can anyone recommend a line of extremely durable furniture made for student housing? 

Remember to use a plastic chair protector for your office chairs as the casters WILL dent the floor...pads under the legs of chairs/furniture...If you were thinking of turning it into rental down the road, I'd go laminate in a heartbeat. 

Nice houses with nice furniture are a dime a dozen and the only way to compete if you have those is by lowering prices.  

In a nutshell, we pay about $6-$8.50 per square foot of house.We buy furniture and appliances at estate auctions.