Feng Shui Your Way to a Dream Holiday (House)
Feng Shui Your Way to a Dream Holiday (House)
Online travel bookings in Australia have grown in the last 5 years and are expected to continue to increase. Travellers are using the internet more and more frequently to book travel online and the number of Australians travelling (both domestically and overseas) has also risen. This has resulted in heightened demand and strong growth within the industry, with revenue expected to grow 10.6% in 2017-2018.
With an increasing number of consumers booking travel online, there has never been a time more important to ensure that your property stands out and attracts travellers and holiday-seekers.
When renting out a property, two key factors come into focus: profit/ROI and customer satisfaction.
Feng Shui is the art of arranging objects within space to enhance or improve different areas of one’s life.
I have worked with clients, who, after implementing Feng Shui recommendations, have sold homes and rented out investment properties within days of the initial consultation.This article offers 5 key Feng Shui tips to turn your rental property into the dream holiday home, attracting customers and fostering a pleasurable experience for both you and the occupants.
1. Make it Easy to Find! Rule number one when inviting anyone to any home, office, building, etc.: Make sure the guest(s) can find it! There is not much that is more frustrating than travelling for hours (or possibly days) to a holiday destination, being in desperate need of a shower and some sleep and to not be able to find your accommodation. This has happened to my family and myself when travelling overseas and we spent hours looking for the hotel (NOT FUN!)
Check that the address on Google Maps or any other GPS leads to the correct location – you’d be surprised how often Google Maps locations are inaccurate.
Ensure the house / building number and even street signs are clear, easy to see and easy to read. Cut back any overhanging bushes or branches that cover the house number – or the front entrance for that matter.
You want your place to be as easy as possible to find for someone who has never been there before and who has no knowledge of the area. This also allows energy (and money) to locate and flow into the property. If guests can’t find it, energy can’t.
2. Enhance the North West – Helpful People and Travel Sector The North West sector corresponds to Helpful People and Travel.
Helpful people are considered to be anyone with whom you would like to cooperate and network or who can help you advance in your goals (such as guests).
This is an essential area to enhance when advertising your property for accommodation.
Enhancing this area will help to attract people to your property (and people who will respect it) and will also create a space that is highly favourable for travellers while providing them with a welcoming and warming travel experience.
Enhance this area using round and/or metal objects and the colours silver, grey and white. These are power tools for this area. A conch shell also promotes safe travel and success during business travel. If offering any local tour information, display any maps and travel brochures in this sector.
Avoid the colour red and triangular-shaped objects in this sector. Also avoid yellows, browns, oranges, wicker and squares, as these items weaken this sector of the home.
3. Promote Prosperity To make renting your property worthwhile, work on enhancing the North and South East sectors. These areas represent income generation and wealth accumulation respectively.
The North is the sector for Career, Lifepath, Opportunity and Income Generation. To ensure a profitable return on your property, begin with this area.
If the intended front door is located in this sector, ensure it is easy to find and access – even if it is not used as the main entrance. As mentioned above, this allows energy and income to flow easily into the space. If possible, add a water feature here; ideally one with upward flowing water and with an area for the water to pool.
In Feng Shui water represents fortune and water flowing upwards represents fortune growth and water flowing downwards represents money and wealth draining away and depleting. Allowing the water to pool symbolises wealth accumulating before it enters the home.
The colours black, white and grey as well as the metal element also work beneficially in this sector. A black, white or grey metal water fountain would be a fantastic feature for this area.
Avoid plants and trees in this area, as they energetically soak up the water (and therefore money). Placing a money tree in this area is acceptable. Also avoid greens and browns here, which represent the wood element and have the same effect as plants and trees.
Read: 7 Tips for More Money
The South East is the Prosperity, Wealth and Abundance sector and corresponds to wealth accumulation. This relates more to assets and savings. Enhancing this area using water in combination with the wood element – plants, trees, greens, browns and purple, will additionally help to ensure you are making money from your property.
Bonus tip: if the front and back doors of the property are directly in line with one another and there is a clear path between the two, this can result in money entering through the front and running straight out the back door!
In these instances, hang a crystal half way between the two doors. The addition of a runner rug or a table with a large vase may help to prevent the energy running out the door and keep it within the house.
4. Relationship or Family Sectors If you are attracting families on holiday or couples celebrating romantic milestones, it can be worth enhancing the Family and Love and Relationship sectors.
For the Family area (East), add greens and browns, trees and/or plants or imagery of trees or plants. Three plants would be a highly supportive power tool for this area. This is also an ideal location for the family/living room or dining room, as this is where families often gather to spend time together. Avoid metal, white, grey and silver here.
The South West corresponds with Love and Relationships. To give this area a boost, add pink, red, beige and yellow along with wicker, terracotta and square objects. Bonus tip: Also add matching bedside tables in the master bedroom.
In the South West, avoid trees, plants, greens and browns and metal objects.
5.Create an Overall Uplifting Space Clear clutter, make utensils and necessities easy to find and ensure the space can be filled with natural light and airflow. Natural light and airflow generate positive energy and enhance energy flow. They also stimulate an uplifting environment, as do bright colours, plants and movement. Bedrooms should be the only exception, as these are places we go to rest, relax and unwind.
*** These are simply general, overarching tips. Each space is different and must be honoured and treated as such. A personalised and customised consultation for the specific individual space will always procure the most effective results. Feng Shui is about establishing balance and harmony; enhancing certain sectors while not enhancing others can create an imbalance, which can cause further problems in some cases. Seeking the professional advice of a Feng Shui Master is always advised.
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