Painting Short-Term Rental Properties: What You Need to Know

Choose Durable Colors: Picking durable and easy-to-clean colors is essential. This will help keep the property looking great for longer and cost less to maintain. Choose colors that won’t easily show dirt or get easily scuffed.

Consider the Light: Light can affect how color looks in a room, so consider how much natural light the rental property has before deciding on paint colors. If the property has much natural light, you can choose more vibrant colors; if the property has less light, you should use more muted tones.

Consider the Purpose of the Room:  For example, if you’re painting a bedroom, try to pick a color that is calming and tranquil, such as pale blue or green. If it’s a living room, you may want to opt for a brighter, more inviting color.

Periodically Power Wash the Home: Regardless of whether a home is a short-term rental, second home or primary residence, conditions along the Emerald Coast require periodic power washing of homes. We recommend that Santa Rosa Beach, FL customers power wash their homes approximately every six months. This will clean the home’s exterior of dirt, mildew, etc that has accumulated over time.

Exterior and Interior Painting Needs Will Almost Certainly Differ: The fact that a home is used for short term rentals does not notably impact the exterior paint of a home. On the other hand, short-term rental owners need to continually monitor the condition of the paint throughout the home’s interior. With a short-term rental home often at full capacity with new guests each week, the wear-and-tear on the interior of these homes is significant. Walls can be scuffed. Spills can occur. Baseboards feel the impact of luggage, etc.

Touchups Require Consideration – Otherwise They Will Be Noticeable: Touchups involve applying paint to small areas to address scuff marks, small hole repairs, spill marks, etc. Touchups must be done carefully – or the touchup itself will look as unsightly as the original issue that was being addressed. Most importantly, the same paint type/sheen/color code need to be utilized when touching-up – otherwise there is a high likelihood that the touchup will be visible. Also, touching-up areas that were last painted over a year earlier is also likely to not be a precise match – due to pigmentation changes. Walls, etc that receive direct sunlight will also very likely reveal any touchup spot.

Out-Of-Town Owners Need to Find a Professional They Trust: Painting projects are significant events for any homeowner – from financial, logistical and quality perspectives. “Remote owners” (those who do not live in the same town where their short-term rental property is located) need to trust the paint company that will be doing the work. Who will be monitoring the project to ensure quality? Does the owner have a local representative (such as a management company) that will be in constant contact with the painter to make sure that the project is proceeding as they wish?