Step Up Your STR

About Step Up Your STR

Welcome to Step Up Your STR, the AirBnB decorating podcast--specialized interior design that earns Owners & Managers max revenue in a saturated market. We also discuss other high-level strategies to elevate your business from ordinary to outstanding. Hosted by Cara Shimizu, creator of the Rapid Revenue Decor System & owner of VR Decor, each episode is filled with expert insights to make your vacation rental really stand out, for more bookings & revenue. Welcome!

Publisher

Cara Shimizu ~ AirBnb Decorating Expert

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Apr 2024

Latest episode

18 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

69 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Sept 2026

   68 | Use this FRAMEWORK to Decorate Your Airbnb for More Bookings

   Take the free "3D Design Framework" STR Test: https://VRDecor.co/3-d (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUZZTVljR0ZHbF9GY3BuVGl2NTNEaHFMNU9ncnxBTl9pYzRkU1pONzhaeGxhOHdhY0g3WFR4VjE3bjBRS3MxOUU3bXNhLU5WVnBiQ1J1d0tWdWJDX0FydjI5UWxxUGttMnBpbE9KNHcwc3hhMGRsRU4yLWU4cXR0NUljenBzb3pP&q=https%3A%2F%2FVRDecor.co%2F3-d&v=neBmoFYCO7Y) Interested in working with VR Decor to get an STR that makes you more income? Click here for a free call: https://VRDecor.co/contact (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUZZTVljRUdNTG8wYWY0VUgtQ0ctR1FKcmJoRXxBTl9pYzRjekFkSW9fX0hHbEZYSjNuc0hQV1hmZkZyUmlKN1c1RExxUGd1TFE1MWNxZ1dld25EeExJOE5FN2JyZ2l6Z2dvY3p2cVU0dklmQURhWFJybUozMGZCSmV0bTQ3R2lv&q=https%3A%2F%2FVRDecor.co%2Fcontact&v=neBmoFYCO7Y) Your STR can look beautiful and still struggle to get bookings.So what actually makes a short-term rental stand out, get chosen, and deliver an experience guests remember?After studying 250 STRs across 10 markets, Cara Shimizu of VR Decor identified clear design patterns among higher-performing properties—and turned them into a simple framework for using design as a revenue lever.It's called the 3D Framework:DISTINCT → Gets noticedDESIRABLE → Gets chosenDESIGNED → Delivers the experienceIn this episode, you'll learn:→ How to make your STR stand out from competing listings→ How luxury perception affects the way guests see your property's value→ Why good design is about more than buying attractive furniture→ How design connects to the guest journey from SEE → CLICK → BOOK → STAY → REVIEW→ How to identify the biggest design opportunity in your own propertyThe goal isn't simply to make your STR look nice--it's to design it for the outcome you want.Note: The 250-property study was observational. It identified design characteristics that corresponded with higher-performing properties; it did not establish that those design characteristics caused higher revenue.

2. 

   31 Aug 2026

   67 | AirBnb Decor: 3 Ways to Make Your Listing STAND OUT

   * Want FREE resources about decorating your STR for more clicks and bookings? Click here: https://www.vrdecor.co/freeresourcesFREE (https://www.vrdecor.co/freeresourcesFREE) * FREE Summary of the 250 STR Property Study - click here: Summary 250 STRs in 10 U.S. Markets 2025 (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hmFzF6w8Msl5SRPVb8_0rLwr7rgctoOO/view?usp=drive_link) Some Airbnb listings get noticed, remembered, and talked about. Others look perfectly nice—but get scrolled right past. In this episode of Step Up Your STR, Cara examines what makes a short-term rental stand out from its competition. She shares findings from her study of 250 short-term rentals across 10 U.S. vacation markets and identifies three design characteristics associated with higher average nightly rates: Distinct Personality, Highly Unique features, and Instagrammable Features. You'll learn: What makes an Airbnb distinctive—and why “different” isn't always distinctive How Distinct Personality, Highly Unique features, and Instagrammable Features were scored Why properties with a strong Distinct Personality had a 77% higher average ADR than properties scoring 0 Why properties with an Instagrammable Feature had a 92% higher average ADR Why Highly Unique properties had a 66% higher average ADR Why standing out matters when guests are scrolling through competing Airbnb listings How to analyze 20 competing properties to find opportunities to differentiate your own STR Why Distinct is different from Desirable and Designed Cara also introduces the first part of her developing 3D STR Decorating Framework: Distinct, Desirable, and Designed. Key takeaway: Your STR doesn't need to be the weirdest property in town. It needs to give guests a reason to notice, remember, and choose it. Keywords: Airbnb design, short term rental design, STR design, vacation rental design, Airbnb decorating, Airbnb marketing, Airbnb differentiation, Airbnb ADR, short term rental revenue, vacation rental revenue, Instagrammable Airbnb, Airbnb interior design, STR owner, Airbnb owner, vacation rental owner

3. 

   19 Aug 2026

   66 | Make Your AirBnb Look Expensive & Luxurious

   Want FREE STR Design Resources? Click here: https://www.vrdecor.co/freeresources (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rUkYxM0VtUEplQWlBMmtBMWNTOUFoLXxBR3JiS2FrQ2wwbHN0U25sYTZMcDhITmd0TTY5WDNSMFR0c2l3VGlTNk44RHNDelFISnRsNlhHRXh6Qk5iRURnNkIyY0hINU1EY1VSb1lac0hzMlNfMV9NS2lsX3o1Y2c2dG55&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vrdecor.co%2Ffreeresources&v=tfHHoi6RQS0)Want a money-making AirBnb decor PLAN? Click here: https://www.vrdecor.co/e-design (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rVE12a3BwcmUxbkNRZjQzT3paT0dLeHxBR3JiS2FsMW1UZTJON1EySlUzRE14b1c5OEhnWll1dDlzUFg5ZHZ1Q2dpM3VlZkFlRTYwdlZ5Z29pYkh3QXFRckRud0FnSWFSU2dsSTZicWpnbHJSVjJMR2xSRlZVWDJ0NjF2&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vrdecor.co%2Fe-design&v=tfHHoi6RQS0) How do you make a short-term rental look luxurious without spending a fortune? Luxury perception isn't about filling an Airbnb with expensive furniture. It's about making the property feel intentional, coordinated, polished, and worth the price you're charging. In this episode, I explain the design principles behind Luxury Perception—from curtain placement and artwork to lighting, contrast, quality, and creating a coordinated design plan. I'll also share what our STR Design Performance Study found: Luxury Perception was one of the top three design characteristics strongly associated with higher ADR. You'll learn where to spend, where to save, and the small design decisions that can make a surprisingly big difference in how guests perceive the value of your property. Because your STR doesn't need to look expensive. It needs to look worth what you're charging.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 32 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

51

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Step Up Your STR

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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