Summer has arrived — and so have the tourists. As school lets out and people put in for vacation time, you'll want to ensure your beachside rental home stands out among hundreds of other homes in the area.

Visitors are looking for something special during their trip. As such, vacation rental owners must consider furnishing the home and adding small coastal details to appease guests. If you want to turn your vacation rental into a 5-star coastal getaway, this guide will help you decide on the most essential design elements.

Beach Rentals Is a Hot Market

For a while, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the vacation rental market hard. Amid worldwide lockdowns, rentals sat vacant for a long time. Three years later, the market is hot again, with more people eager for a week-long escape. 

Forecasts suggest that the global vacation rental market was worth $74.64 billion in 2021 — a 32.04% increase from 2020. By 2028, the market value should reach about $107.14 billion. Short-term rentals — including those you can rent for a few hours — and platforms like VRBO and Airbnb are driving the trend.

According to a 2022 report by vacation home management company Vacasa, coastal properties are still the most popular short-term rental homes for buyers. Nearly 52% of homebuyers are interested in purchasing a coastal home — up 10% from the year before. These numbers point to beach destinations being the most common vacation for renters.

What Makes a Coastal Dream Vacation Rental?

Renters looking forward to a beach vacation will search for a place a stone's throw from the ocean. If you've managed to buy a vacation rental with sweeping views of sand and sea, you're one step ahead of everyone else.

It's important to know your target guests. Are you renting primarily to adults or families with young children? If so, you'll need the proper setup to accommodate everyone. Consider two master bedrooms for couples traveling together or bunk beds for kids. The more comfortable sleeping arrangements you provide, the better chances you'll have of booking renters.

It would be best to create an outdoor seating area, preferably with a patio table and chairs. The fun in a seaside escape is spending as much time outside as possible. You should also designate a place where guests can retreat indoors to get out of the heat, like a sunroom or lanai.

These elements should influence your design choices for the perfect coastal rental home. 

6 Ways to Decorate Your Coastal Vacation Rental

What comes to mind when you think of coastal design? It could be beachy paint colors, mermaid-themed trinkets or natural textures. Others might consider recreational activities like sunbathing, watching the sunset, playing bocce ball or collecting seashells.

Allow these ideas to inspire your decorative tastes as you create the perfect beach getaway for visitors. Here are six ways to turn your vacation rental into a coastal dream.

1. Choose a Breezy Palette

Light, saturated paint colors are the perfect backdrop for beachy decor, whether your design incorporates kitschy items like starfish and seashells or merely draws from the essence of the sea. 

Pull hues from the natural environment — beige, light gray-blue, seafoam and natural white are popular in coastal vacation rental homes. 

Guests should feel as calm and restful inside your rental property as they do soaking up sunrays in a chair. The right combination of colors will tie in seamlessly with each other for a casual, charming look.  

2. Incorporate Wood Elements

Coastal homes often include natural elements like driftwood. There are numerous ways to add wood items to your rental decor, including candleholders, centerpieces, bookcase items, light fixtures, flooring or furniture. 

Guests will appreciate it if you provide additional storage, so consider adding wood dressers in the bedrooms. Veneer wood has varied graining since all trees grow differently, giving veneer-faced furniture uniqueness with each cut. 

Exposed natural wood beams on the ceiling will also draw the eye upward and make your vacation rental feel warmer and cozier.

3. Create an Indoor Retreat

Although renters will likely spend most of the day frolicking in the ocean, delivering a respite for the evening is still a good idea. At some point, your renters will return from dinner and look for somewhere to relax before bed.

Decorate an enclosed sunroom by adding a comfortable loveseat or sofa, coffee table, a warm lamp and decorative pillows. You can lean into your color palette and coastal theme by choosing pillows with printed coral or fish patterns.

A separate den for kids and teens to play games and unwind from the day is another way to accommodate families on vacation. A darker, navy blue couch may be more kid-friendly than lighter fabrics and offer a nice contrast to airy coastal hues.

4. Include an Outdoor Area

When you highlight a beautiful seating area outside, your coastal dream vacation home will appeal to even more renters. Purchase durable outdoor furniture, including a sofa, armchairs and patio set for wine time, appetizers and dining al fresco. Wicker is standard for outdoor furniture sets.

Depending on the layout in your rental's backyard, you could add Adirondack chairs for watching the sunset or sitting around a firepit. Stringing market lights will deliver a warm glow at night.

Potted plants are the perfect decorations for outdoor entertaining. Plant colorful flowers in different-sized pots. Your pots could also come painted in coastal colors and designs. American beachgrasses and sea oats are excellent options for landscaping your beach property. Sea oats can grow 6 feet high and are drought and saltwater-tolerant. Their root systems reach 40 feet deep and protect against coastal erosion during storm surges.

5. Design a Full Kitchen

Adults may spend $60 per person for food on vacation — not including alcohol and snacks. Expenses add up quickly for families spending a week at the beach. 

Renters will find it helpful to have a fully-stocked kitchen with cooking appliances and prep space to offset the costs of eating out. You might be surprised at how many people are okay with cooking while on vacation. 

If your vacation home is near the beach, it’s probably on stilts. While this is practical for the elements, it’s not so practical for carrying your groceries or luggage up multiple flights of stairs. Consider installing a dumbwaiter to help your family and future guests maneuver as easily as possible. You are on vacation, after all.

Keep your kitchen bright and airy with a white or seafoam subway tile backsplash, durable countertops — white quartz with gold or silver veining goes well — and glass pendant lighting. If you have an island, shiplap is a traditional beachy look that beautifully ties into the coastal theme. Additionally, barstools with a blue and white fabric cushion will provide extra seating during meals. 

6. Play With Lighting

Natural light is your best option for a coastal dream vacation rental home. Avoid heavy curtain panels and opt for light sheers instead. You should also bring in hanging light fixtures and lamps.

Lamps with blue glass bases will deliver a glowy hue at night. Rattan pendant shades are another option for adding natural elements to your rental's design. Aside from stringing lights outside, you could consider tiki torches or solar lights so guests can see where they're going.

Create the Coastal Vacation Rental of Your Dreams

There are endless possibilities for designing the perfect coastal vacation rental home. Although you can always search online for ideas, one look at your surroundings and you'll find that inspiration is all around you.