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Why your short-term rental property should be more eco-friendly

You knew this one was coming.

It’s time to talk about property management and… the planet.

Doesn’t it feel like environmental threats are constantly poking their heads into our personal bubbles, trying to substantiate the case for reform?

Despite the growing awareness these days, an eco-friendly mentality is hard to adopt because global issues so often seem outside of our control. But the facts demand that we work harder for improvement wherever possible, and people are starting to look around at their own communities to see where the reforms are going to hit first.

Compared with notorious pollution giants like energy, water, food, and other manufacturing industries, it might seem that property management doesn’t fit so obviously into this conversation. But the truth is, many decisions we make in our everyday lives have a critical impact on the rest of the world and the development of our planet.

And short-term property rentals are a goldmine for eco-friendly ideas, waste-reduction, and sustainable progress. Because changes start at home.

So, property managers and homeowners – your time has come to do your part. And you may be surprised to learn that there are plenty of reasons why eco-friendly interior design will ultimately reward you.

Eco-Friendly Interior DesignThat’s more like it.

Helping the world and your wallet.

Let’s take a second to put this into short-term property rental lingo: cutting costs and increasing occupancy.

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A post shared by Earthship – michael reynolds (@earthship) on Mar 3, 2018 at 6:38am PST

This place is made entirely from recycled, sustainable materials?!

Eco-friendly interior design is not only good for the environment – it also has huge potential to save you money and generate more bookings.

Reduce maintenance and save money

Today, sustainable materials are more affordable than ever before; in some places, they’re even subsidized to help incentivize people to use them. Most importantly, they massively reduce bills. Photovoltaics (the fancy word for solar panels) in particular can even pay them off completely. Some homes today produce enough solar-powered energy that they’re profiting off of the excess by selling it to their districts to redistribute.

Eco-friendly materials are known to require less energy and thus have longer lifespans overall. Though prices are dropping fast, they may still seem like more of an initial investment – but their durability pays off big-time by saving you money in the long run.

Located somewhere far away from a city. Where CAN’T you put one of these?

Watch the travelers line up

Many people hopping on the eco-friendly ideas train are, in fact, the travelers you’ve been trying to get to book your short-term rental property. Few things drive the pollution point home quite like traveling the world and seeing the same harrowing reality in more places. If you’re riding that eco-friendly interior design trend wave, they’ll be sure to surf their way over to your listing first to book – and then recommend you to everyone else.

Improve everyday quality of living

With well-designed natural lighting, solar-powered energy sources, and temperature-regulating building materials, both your carbon footprint and your pestering household chores go down. That’s a win-win.

Wait a second. How bad is it, really?

Good question. And before diving into the dirty details, let it be known that nobody here is accusing you of being environmentally negligent. It’s almost impossible to measure how much damage is truly being done – or how futile it is to wait for people more knowledgeable and powerful than you to force some grandiose solutions upon us all. That’s exactly why a better safe than sorry attitude is becoming more and more popular.

Here’s what we do know:

The estimated CO2 emission from the world’s electrical power industry is 10 billion tonnes yearly. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the world produces enough food waste — about 1.4 billion tons — to feed as many as two billion people each year. That’s roughly one-third of the global food supply.

And that’s just food. Want to know what the total amount of waste is around the globe? Probably not, but you should anyway: we produce 2.01 billion tonnes of global waste per year (and to put things in perspective, that’s 4,629,707,505,882 lbs).

We don’t want to bombard you with awful images – one like this is truly enough.

In low-income countries, almost 90% of waste is improperly disposed of, creating serious local health and safety issues by creating a breeding ground for diseases, as well as contributing to environmental problems through methane emission that stretch far beyond the region producing the waste.

We’re wasting more than we can safely dispose of, and this is why those of us who can adopt more eco-friendly ideas in their everyday lives, should.

Say it ain’t so!

Still not convinced? It’s not as hard as it sounds.

If you’re wincing at the prospect of learning about eco-friendly apartment upkeep, you can relax. We’ve made this handy guide for you with too many easy eco-friendly ideas to even count – so no more excuses!

Haven’t you always wanted to be the change you wish to see in the world?

Now’s your chance.

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