Say Goodbye to Dedicated Guest Rooms — People Are Transforming Their Spare Spaces into Something Else

When I think about a guest room, my memory drifts back in time to when I’d spend the weekend at my grandparents’ house or with a close friend’s family in their small extra bedroom. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve come across a classic guest room, with its charmingly sparse furnishings and soft-yet-slightly-stale sheets, in quite some time. 

I could chalk that up to living in a big city with high housing costs, but a new report from TaskRabbit shows that in recent years, guest rooms and spare rooms have taken on a new, different role in the home.

The 2026 TaskRabbit Trend Report, which analyzes how “TaskRabbit booking and search trends” changed from 2025 to 2026, found that guest rooms do still exist, but they aren’t necessarily being used to host out-of-town pals anymore. Rather, people are “converting spare square footage into something entirely for themselves.” 

What this means varies quite substantially. People looking to turn a spare room into a home gym increased by 59%, home sauna requests are up by 35%, and craft rooms are close behind with a 33% increase. However, one type of guest room transformation outshone all of these: Podcast studios, which reportedly have seen a 90% spike. (I can’t tell if that says more about society, or the type of person inclined to use TaskRabbit.)

TaskRabbit’s report only looks at information from people who have used TaskRabbit, so it’s not necessarily representative of every renter or homeowner. But the app operates in all 50 states, so it still gives an intriguing look at a range of potential trends in how people live in and/or renovate their homes. It seems that more people are living alone (mentions of the phrase “are up 58% year over year,” per the report) and making personalized changes to their homes, but TaskRabbit also posits that folks are prioritizing “fresh starts.” 

What led to this conclusion? Bed frame disassembly and mattress removal increased by 91% and 105%, respectively, while those seeking assistance with a deep clean went up 44%. TaskRabbit says this is evidence of a “post-breakup renovation” trend, but it could also mean people are treating themselves or switching up their aesthetic — either way, a clean house and a new mattress never hurt anyone.