The Small World of Luxury STR Design: A Candid Look at the Competition (and Our Place in It)
A business acquaintance asked me the other day, "Bailey, what exactly is your design style?"
If you know me, you know I’m long-winded. A quick elevator pitch wasn’t happening in this moment. I’ve actually been thinking a lot about Rankin Design’s place in this industry as I’ve been focusing on our brand launch and marketing push. I had to answer him by mapping out our top competitors.
If you spend enough time browsing short-term rental design firms on the internet, you’ll find the “big players” and then a handful of freelance designers that have good SEO or google ad strategy. But I’m going to lift the veil for a second. The luxury STR design world is actually incredibly small. Behind the curtains of these larger firms is a tightly knit network of talented freelance designers who constantly collaborate, share notes, and cross paths.
In fact, my own portfolio is deeply woven into the very fabric of this industry. When Showplace first launched, I was right there in the trenches, working to help build their design program from the ground up. When STR Cribs first hit the scene, I was one of the designers shaping their early portfolio. I have close friends who designed for both Showplace and Somerled Designs who have collaborated with me on a Rankin Design project.
When I decided to branch off and establish Rankin Design, it wasn't just because I wanted to run a business. It was because my time inside the industry left me craving design-centric work and showed me there was an aesthetic gap in the market that I could fill.
To understand that gap—and where the future of hospitality design is heading—you have to look at how the top players in our space leave their mark.
The Scale-and-Volume Giants: STR Cribs & Showplace
Right now, almost every design firm in the STR space pitches the exact same message: "Our design services will make you more money." It’s a purely financial pitch. For a lot of hands-off investors, that is the only metric that matters.
Two of the biggest names associated with this high-volume, ROI-first model are companies I know intimately.
STR Cribs
STR Cribs is hyper-focused on the financial pitch, and they do it incredibly well. They aren't trying to create a deeply curated, magazine-worthy aesthetic—and they don’t need to. What sets them apart is their operational scale. They are an all-in-one powerhouse vendor that can offer 0% financing alongside massive renovations.
If I had to describe their aesthetic, it is the "Airbnb look" on steroids. Think crazy colors, the accent wall, bold murals, glowing neon lights, and a heavy focus on amenities over “pretty.” It’s a loud, commercial look built to perform at massive scale.
STR Cribs is hyper-focused on the financial pitch, and they do it incredibly well. They aren't trying to create a deeply curated, luxurious residential aesthetic—and they don’t need to. What sets them apart is their operational scale. They are an all-in-one powerhouse vendor that can offer 0% financing alongside massive renovations. If I had to describe their aesthetic, it is the "Airbnb look" on steroids. Think crazy colors, the accent wall, bold murals, glowing neon lights, and a heavy focus on high-impact amenities. It’s an energetic, commercial look engineered to perform at massive scale.
Showplace
Showplace (which recently closed its doors) functioned less like a traditional design house and more like a tech company that sold design. Focused on being an operationally efficient solution, they didn’t have a specific “style.” As a designer there, it was an incredible lesson in designing fast and being incredibly strategic with budgets. Showplace clients purchased their products through the portal, and managing that high-volume marketplace format was a massive part of the company’s infrastructure. Personally, Showplace was a fantastic place for me to get my feet wet and build my early portfolio because I got to design such a huge quantity of properties in various design styles. Due to the incredibly fast pace of that high-volume virtual world, I realized I personally craved the space to dive deeper into a truly detailed, luxury design. That being said, their properties performed really well and out-performed basic listings in their markets!
The Aesthetic Houses: Somerled, Brianna Michelle, & FunkIt
On the other side of the industry are the design-centered firms. These companies are always chasing magazine-worthy, deeply experiential photos. While every great STR designer must be a chameleon who can adapt to local market data, these three firms have built unmistakable, highly recognizable brand identities.
Somerled Designs
Based out of Utah, Somerled is run by two beautiful business owners who present themselves with flawless, high-end professionalism—think perfectly tailored pastel suits and immaculate branding. Their designs match that energy to a T: preppy, feminine, light, bright, and beautifully polished.
Brianna Michelle Interiors
Brianna Michelle leans into a warmer, more bohemian aesthetic. They follow trends in the most classic way (I know that trend and classic are antonyms - but that’s the point). They absolutely excel at creating cozy, high-end cabin designs. Their designs are colorful and still check the box of “bold,” while feeling relaxed and warm. Of the design-forward firms, their look easily has the most mass appeal while still remaining highly identifiable.
FunkIt Design House
Funkit’s Design Director is the ultimate cool-girl, capitalizing on raw authenticity and irreverence. She loves high-contrast palettes, large-scale geometric prints, bold colors, and disco balls. She takes that classic "loud Airbnb look" but executes it with flawless color theory and a high-end precision that people desperately try to copy. If anyone is doing the “airbnb look” right - it’s Funkit.
The Style Party: Where Rankin Design Fits
To be clear: I have massive respect for these firms. They have successfully done what every business aims to do—defined an unmistakable, elite point of view in a crowded market. To explain to my acquaintance how our design philosophies differ and where Rankin Design fits into this ecosystem, I gave him a fashion analogy.
If all of our companies were invited to the same party, here is what everyone is wearing...
Somerled Designs walks in wearing a stunning pastel suit or a modest, perfect sun dress.
Brianna Michelle arrives in a gorgeous, effortless bohemian patterned skirt with a cool denim jacket.
FunkIt Design House steps through the door rocking cow-print pants, a vibrant tube top, and a 90s choker.
STR Cribs is wearing an STR Cribs polo and jeans - ready to pull a permit for a pickleball court!
So, what is Rankin Design wearing?
We are walking into that party in a sharp leather blazer, a low-cut top, short shorts, and 1970s paisley-print platform boots.
That is the gap I saw in the market. My personality is probably closest to the irreverence of FunkIt, but my heart lies in a much more vintage, sexy, deeply layered, and editorial aesthetic. It makes total sense when you look at my background—I spent years in the music industry, a world where vintage grit, over-the-top styling, and unapologetic sexiness are not only welcomed, they're required. This vibe might not be where our portfolio is at right now, but it’s where we’re headed.
The Concept of Aesthetic Selection
Right now, the short-term rental industry is still young enough that the primary differentiator is simply whether a property is professionally designed or DIY’d. But as more investors hire pro firms, the baseline is rising.
Eventually, hosts won't choose a design firm just because they promise an ROI boost—because we all deliver that. Investors will start selecting design firms the exact same way they do in high-end residential real estate: because they fall in love with the firm's specific artistic point of view.
Interior design is an art form, and guests are beginning to book properties based on the specific piece of art they want to live inside of for the weekend.
I’m not delusional. I know Rankin Design isn't as massive or widespread as some of these legacy competitors yet. But as we continue to push the boundaries of hospitality design, that is exactly where I have my eyes set.
