Design Drama! Fixer Upper Hosts Are Peeved About Clients Airbnb-ing Their Homes
When you reno your home, you’ll want to invite friends over to see the results, perhaps flip your place for profit, or even rent it out on Airbnb to recoup some of the costs (which can be just as beneficial for the homeowners as it is for savvy renters like these Airbnb geniuses). But for those folks that were lucky enough to receive a little pro help from the Fixer Upper experts, you’d assume they’d likely just be living in it afterward and enjoying the renovations for themselves.
When the cameras stop rolling and the crew drives away, most of us assume that those who’ve appeared on HGTV’s Fixer Uppers are left benefiting from their newly updated homes. And indeed they do, but not in a way that the hosts, Chip and Joanna, intended.
Surprisingly, 12 of the past Fixer Uppers homes are currently up for rent, including the Mailander House, the Shotgun House, the Barndominium, the Chicken House, as well as the Gorman House and the Midcentury Modern House, with the Harp House soon hitting the market. Though, according to the Waco Tribune, past clients say they didn’t go on the show intending to rent out their homes afterward, there is obviously a draw for those who want to spend a night or two in a home transformed from the reality TV design duo.
Chip and Joanna’s spokesman released a statement on their behalf saying, “We have no problems with our clients’ interest in using sites like VRBO and Airbnb to rent out their homes. In fact, we get it. But we are going to be more strict with our contracts involving Fixer Upper clients moving forward. We want to honor our national viewing audience. We want to do remodels for clients’ homes. That’s the true intent of our show, and we want to ensure that does not get lost in this new vacation rental trend. What started off with perfectly understandable intentions could cast a shadow of a doubt on the much bigger picture, and we are going to do our best to protect that moving forward.”
With Fixer Uppers getting strict and claiming they will tighten up their contracts, the 12 homes currently up for rent may be the last that you’ll be able to enjoy, at least off-screen.
Do you think it’s uncool for Fixer Upper clients to rent out their spaces, or should they be able to do whatever they want with their homes? Tweet us @BritandCo!
(h/t Cosmopolitan; photos via Fixer Upper/HGTV)
