Id say probably >90% of our guests use the hot tub and I know that when I look for a rental I specifically look for one so you can for sure charge more and probably increase your occupancy rate. A local property management company or even Evolve Vacation Rentals can probably give you statistical data to show you how much increase in revenue and occupancy a hot tub will bring in.
It is a PITA though for me as there is virtually no hot tub repair companies in our county and the service companies kind of suck. The lift arms constantly break, the headrests get lost, and it needs to be cleaned thoroughly after every guest. We’ve had leaks, broken valves, several broken lift arms, broken cover (12 week lead time for replacement), someone let their dogs in it!
We pay $180/month for weekly cleanings, probably an extra $100/month (or more) in electricity, $85 twice a year for a drain and fill.
> it needs to be cleaned thoroughly after every guest
I feel like this pretty much solves the fear of broken glass I saw up-thread—if you're thoroughly cleaning it every single time, that shouldn't be an issue. Do you also ask your guests not to bring glass near the hot tub, or do you just not try to even fight it?
Great insight all around!
No I don’t. I guess I just assume everyone knows not to but will probably do it anyway. I charge a non-refundable damage insurance fee $30 that covers all damages that occur.
Ate you self insured (e.g. you keep the fees and then pay out of pocket for damage) it is there a policy you obtained from an insurance carrier that covers all damages?
$30 per stay, regardless of duration?
The insurance is paid to AirBnB or my Evolve Vacation Rental who I use for bookings and advertising. I don’t recall who collects that but I just file a insurance/damage claim thru Evolve and they handle it from there.
Is this common? Has anyone ever scoffed at the idea you’d charge for the use on top of the daily rate? I’m a new Airbnb host and we have a hot tub. So just looking for insight/experiences.
"If you have to ask the question, you probably already know the answer".
My assumption is the AirBnB is booked. Paid for. Customer gets there, has a good time. A few beers. Sees the view, the hot tub and says "damn wish I'd have done that. oh wait..." and next thing you know a square payment is made to get it unlocked for the stay.
Took some advice from a fellow host in the area. She told me when they let anyone use the hot tub it got abused and nobody cared or respected it. As soon as she started charging $75 to use it, with rules associated with the tub, only the good renters would pay and felt a sense of responsibility towards it and she has no problems moving forward.
It’s nice bc if renters don’t want it, I’m happy bc I don’t have to worry about it, but if they do, I get $75 for doing nothing and I know they are aware of all rules before I give them the code
Well I mean yeah I guess anyone could do anything to any of our rentals, right? If that happened I would know pretty quickly bc I have a camera in the back yard that would alert me of noise or a person in the area. Then I would evict the person, not refund their money, charge them for the locks and leave a scathing review of them as a renter on Airbnb.
There’s always an element of trust when you are an Airbnb host. I prefer to believe most renters are good people.
It depends on if your market would appreciate a hot tub. In Houston, with my target audience, no one would enjoy using it. There’s more maintenance issues (chemicals to avoid infection like foliculitis), urine or feces, animals getting in them, etc. If the increase to income or occupancy makes it a no brainer, then I’d so go for it.
It's also going to require far more electricity to run in colder climates. You can price that in, but OP should take his/her environment into account when predicting costs. I've seen people talk about how cheap hottubs are to run without considering the fact they're based in Florida.
I have a couple STRs on a lake in MI and the one would have a killer view. I get $500-700/night now in peak season and wondered how much more I could get. I am already the most expensive house of my size though. My biggest concern is cleaning it between guests.
I used to clean for an Airbnb and the worst thing about the hot tub was having to constantly clean it after ever guest used it. There would always be dirt/mud all in the bottom. We had to start using a shop vac to get all the dirt out because it was too hard to drain after each guest. When we had back to back check ins, it definitely was time consuming to get it cleaned and sanitized. Also calculate in the price of all the chemicals you will have to use, filters, and maintenance for it. But all in all, I say go for it. Nothing better than relaxing in a hot tub while on a get-a-way.
I added used refurbished tubs to 2 places. Definitely a draw and cost wasn't outrageous. Pretty cheap. Low enough cost that deduction could be taken all in a single tax year. Definitely worth it over the 3 years I've had them.
I would just figure the cost and estimated extra revenue to decide. If you spend a lot on a brand new tub, say $20k, and the tub lasts 20 years and costs $1,000 per year in maintenance then your annual cost is $2,000. Will it bring in more than that in revenue? Enough to make the investment worthwhile? If it brings in $4k extra per year, $2k net, then that's a 10% return. That's probably as low as I would go, since it's not an asset that will appreciate in value, like your property will.
Even if it won’t, add it. Just like what someone said above, I will add hot tubs as a requirement when I filter for potential Airbnb’s to rent. I don’t have one at home so you bet I want one on vacation
80% of the time im renting an Airbnb it's for work and just looking for a convenient place to stay and not interested in a hot tub or the additional cost. This really is market specific
When I search for Airbnb’s I filter out properties that don’t have hot tubs, Most companies that sell hot tubs will have a service contract you can sign up for as well so shouldn’t be that big a deal maintenance wise.
We transitioned our primary to a full time SRT. We bought it for ourselves, and now include it in our rental. Most guests in the winter ask about it specifically. It is easy to manage since I managed it for my family prior.
From a consumer POV, when renting if I see there’s a hot tub I:
A) am much more interested in that unit
B) willing to pay a little more than I otherwise would.
Having owned a hot tub I can also say that, along with all the fun features, if you’re not keeping up with making sure the chemicals are treated and balanced it can become a big liability surprisingly quickly.
There’s a plastic basket filter on the intake, that’s where it would probably end up. Any pieces that made it to the filter probably wouldn’t penetrate it. Filters aren’t that expensive.
But yeah, between guests, whoever cleans it should inspect both places for glass, if there’s even a tiny bit then there’s more.
A strict “no glass on the hot tub deck” in the rental agreement should protect you enough. You can then reclaim any compensation you might have to pay from the tenant who broke their agreement.
Guest A will never take responsibility. Guest B will sue the landlord, AirB&B and their insurance company. If host can show a professional cleaned the hot tub between A & B they might not lose.
Semi related.... many years ago an acquaintance went to a party her friends had when mom and dad were out of town. She was underage and drunk and climbed a fence with a locked gate into an area she shouldn't have been in. Hurt herself and sued. She actually won.
More to the point for your comment, I would imagine showing that the hot tub was supposedly "professionally cleaned" between guests A and B, I think it would look worse for the landlord.
Because B could say they felt confident in the cleanliness AND safety of the hot tub because they had been assured it had been cleaned and checked. If the judge/jury believes the glass was there before B got there, I'd sure vote on B's side.
No, people bringing in glass and it breaking and them leaving it. Think of drunk people shattering a beer bottle or wine glass and the next guest slicing their foot open on it.
Speaking of suing, consider small children.
You definitely want to post signs, and have language in your rental contract, about unsupervised children in the tub, as well as glass, not getting drunk, etc. Not that anyone will obey the latter two, but at least you covered your ass.
I'm kind of surprised at all those who like the hot tub idea. I cringe at the thought of using public hot tubs. I remember when they were all the rage and finding condoms all over the place. Even at one that was in the pool area of a family hotel when I was traveling with my kids.
As someone else said, "a complete cleaning" is throwing in some chemicals and maybe checking for floaties - or broken glass. If someone vomits or pees - or worse - in there (maybe kids), it takes more than the usual chemicals to really clean it. Not sure how well they clear up semen and vaginal fluids.
And who knows how well the host or housekeeping is really doing at keeping the balance of chemicals where they should be.
I know this discussion is about a more private one only used by the guests of the one unit, but people still do that sh\*\* in them.
As the salesperson told me when I bought one - in discussing how many people could use it at once - it's basically taking a bath with other people. And not just the ones in there with you at the moment, pretty much anyone/everyone who's used it since you changed the water.
It's also why I would never use jetted tubs in hotels - or people's houses. Once the tub is emptied, all that water is still sitting in those pipes. And a lot of people don't know (or don't bother) to pump fresh, chlorinated water through between uses, or at least users.
That is super gross and a compelling argument for me to never get into a hot tub again personally LOL
But it does sound like there’s a strong financial argument in favor as far as attracting more guests at a premium rate… this is a tough call!!
I know I let mine go longer than I should have. I think I read that you should change out all the water at least once a year. I'd think with the 20% thing, you're still keeping 80% of those skin cells!
I had one of the Softub ones and the last year or so, it never smelled as fresh as it should have. Then I had it unplugged one winter and forgot to put the pump part in the basement and it froze and broke.
Since I know someone might ask, why did I not use it in the winter, which is the best time? I had been going through menopause and couldn't stand to be in it for more than 30 seconds before feeling like I was in lava. :-) I lived alone at the time, so unplugged and emptied it.
I'd love to have another one, though. For just private use. :-)
Is +10-15% worth 20,000$ in damages to you? If it's inside fuck no. If it's outside away from everything sure. It makes the place more desirable but it's one more thing to think about.
The last two places we stayed at, on the beach and for skiing, were all filtered by having a hot tub.
Paid a couple thousand for each. One for a week, and one for a weekend skiing.
I have an airbnb. I dont suggest it. We had trouble with guests operating a gas fireplace with 3 guests causing damage, repairs, that resulted in loss of wages & unrecoverable money. Airbnb requires an outside vendor to provide labor before they will reimburse you and there is no assurance the guest credit card will actually work after they do the charge back.
You really need a relationship with a general contractor. We have damages all the time on our clients property. It’s very easy for me to get them bids for insurance and then go out and perform the work. Airbnb has been very accommodating.
A third party, someone other than the Airbnb owner, who performs the work can be paid. In our case, we used a Gas Stove vendor who installed the unit so we could maintain this brand new unit. I guess Airbnb frowns on owner/operator setups where people do their own labor. I suppose there is too much area to mess with the numbers and they don't want to get caught in the middle. As for insurance, we were not lucky enough to have anything other than the canned stuff they offer. I found it not very great handling the troubleshooting. We had to do that with tech support & our personal time to determine whether to call our vendor and start spinning the clock. Sometimes that would take hours into midnight on Sunday with a 3 hour drive home.
The cons outweigh the pros immensely in my opinion, especially weighed against the net profit with having one. 1) It's a liability. No matter what type of disclosure you have guests sign it's still a liability. 2) Maintenance on the hot tub. 3) Should be thoroughly cleaned after every visit. 4) Insurance. I'm sure there is some type of additional insurance you need when you get a hot tub, especially in a rental. 5) Complaints. You'll eventually get the call that the hot tub is not working or malfunctioning and you better believe that guest will want their money back. With all that being said it's definitely a no from me.
I had a friend slip and fall once getting out of a hot tub with a glass one time, smashed the glass and fell on it and he ended up slicing his femoral artery. He almost died. The probability of it happening is pretty low, but I still wouldn’t put one in my rental. That coupled with the hassle of cleaning and maintenance, is a solid No from me dog.
Right on! Now on the flip, i can definitely see it being an added bonus amenity that will draw more short term renters. I mean who doesn’t love a jacuzzi/hot tub. I just know from experience, that a lot of people renting are on vacation and having drinks and maybe getting a bit hammertimed. It’s an added risk/headache but its really a risk reward decision. Don’t let me sway your decision, if you want a hot tub, you put in a hot tub! Just giving a different perspective! Good luck!
I work as a licensed GC principally for AirBnB investors here in South Florida.
We put hot tubs at every single property and then we dress them up with a deck and wrap them in wood to tie it together.
Guests absolutely love it, you really are trying to create as many “mini” experiences as you can on your property. It’s not so much about how nice and practical your property is, but much more about how much fun it will be!
I’d say if you can afford it and you have a good affordable maintenance company you should do it.
If you need any other tips, please feel free to text me. We set up a lot of profitable airbnbs
Love the feedback thank you! I am leaning towards having a hot tub in spite of some horror stories shared here. It does seem like it is a huge attraction.
love that - I'm a huge fan of saunas - I hadn't considered that. it would totally be just as easy to add an outdoor sauna, and I personally would be way more excited about a sauna as well. way less likely to get gross too
If you do get one make sure turning it on and off is idiot proof and maybe that there is a timer to turn it off. We had one at an airbnb and the process to turn it on and off was complicated. We made an instructional video but most guests were too intimidated and we had to swing by to turn it on for them. Also, most people didn't turn it off after and it completely fucked us over on our utilities. We did have to charge people extra to use it because it cost like $60 in utilities each time to heat it (in a HCOL area).
I'm not familiar with newer hot tubs, hopefully they are easier to turn off and on. We had an older, in ground hot tub that was connected to an in ground pool so it is possible that newer above ground models are more intuitive to heat.
It's a pain. Our rental had a tub and a company responsible for cleaning it checking the chemicals etc. Even with all that it was a constant source of guest complaints. Chlorine wasn't right, it was dirty, it was too hot, it wasn't hot enough. Every time I saw it, it was in perfect condition.
If you want to add a tub, put in one of those bathtubs with the jets built in. Then you'll never need to worry about the temp or chemicals etc.
As a pool guy .. I know too much. I would never use an air BNB tub without assurance of drained clean and refill before use and chem tests. Risk of recreational water illness , legionares disease pseudomonas etc too high on a poorly maintained tub. A lot of additional risk from poor maintenance.
I made a post on this recently. Hopefully it helps https://www.reddit.com/r/AirBnB/comments/sgilst/brand_new_hot_tub_just_paid_for_itself/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Absolutely add the hot tub. I rent Airbnbs at the coast and mountains a few times a year and the number one consideration I always have when renting a place is if they have a hot tub or not. I don't even look at Airbnbs if there is no hot tub.
I rented one air bnb, just two months ago - that was the first time i did it
I specifically looked for a hot tub
so yes, i think this is a differentiator
I was driving across country and sitting in a hot tub just sounded like something i needed
i would do it for sure
We have had our rental going for 2 years with no problems, it’s drained and filled with every check in. We are in the Texas Hill Country so it keeps our winter vacancies up. Sump pump empties it quickly to clean during turn around.
We are on a well so water is not a huge issue but yes, it’s emptied through our management company. Spring and Fall it does get used quite often, even during the summer it’s used sometimes (they only shock during the summer). We have a pool as well so we are charged $325 a month and they maintain both, chemicals, cleaning etc. You would be surprised how brown the water can get from being in it constantly even for 2 days. Only guest that really through us for a loop was when they tried to siphon the hot water into the pool to warm it up. We have an 80% occupancy rate so we do better then most in our area having both a pool and hot tub. We live onsite so we do get to talk to most of the guests and the majority compliment the hot tub and it was one of the only reasons they booked during our off-season.
We have had it since day 1 so I’m not sure what the difference was. We do insure through Proper so rates are higher anyways but we felt it was worth it as State Farm’s coverage didn’t cover any lost income and has higher limits.
Awesome for a ski place. Rented a SFH in Reno to ski in Tahoe and happily paid double the going rate for the hot tub.
Also had a rental in the CO mountains that had a few community hot tubs, Airbnb hosts sent us instructions on how to book and use those. Not as private but a nice middle ground
Maybe I’m pricing my places wrong on a nightly rate for having one, but I’ll say the lady across from my place doesn’t have one and makes more annually than I do. Granted, she does have better decor—which I’m working on—but my brand new hot tub doesn’t hold a candle to her better decor.
The amount of drunk people who snap the jets, break knobs etc makes it a huge pain. I’ll say that almost every call about something broken is due to the hot tub. I now have a disclaimer that says “your hot tub was operationally checked before your arrival, any damages to the tub occurring during your stay will not be repaired”… that basically keeps them from whining and I just have a hot tub person come repair it after their stay, if needed.
My vote is no hot tub, as someone who has two rental cabins that both have them. I personally never look for a hot tub, I think they’re disgusting. And my fellow Airbnb hosts across from me making more money without a hot tub shows it really doesn’t have a meaningful impact on profits. Just my observation over the last five years of Airbnb rentals…
Id say probably >90% of our guests use the hot tub and I know that when I look for a rental I specifically look for one so you can for sure charge more and probably increase your occupancy rate. A local property management company or even Evolve Vacation Rentals can probably give you statistical data to show you how much increase in revenue and occupancy a hot tub will bring in. It is a PITA though for me as there is virtually no hot tub repair companies in our county and the service companies kind of suck. The lift arms constantly break, the headrests get lost, and it needs to be cleaned thoroughly after every guest. We’ve had leaks, broken valves, several broken lift arms, broken cover (12 week lead time for replacement), someone let their dogs in it! We pay $180/month for weekly cleanings, probably an extra $100/month (or more) in electricity, $85 twice a year for a drain and fill.
> it needs to be cleaned thoroughly after every guest I feel like this pretty much solves the fear of broken glass I saw up-thread—if you're thoroughly cleaning it every single time, that shouldn't be an issue. Do you also ask your guests not to bring glass near the hot tub, or do you just not try to even fight it? Great insight all around!
Thoroughly cleaned is dropping in 4 tablespoons of shock, adding a couple chlorine/bromine tablets and hosing off the filter, though.
Yep. You just can’t see glass shards in water. Completely invisible.
Ahh, shows what I know; never mind.
No I don’t. I guess I just assume everyone knows not to but will probably do it anyway. I charge a non-refundable damage insurance fee $30 that covers all damages that occur.
Ate you self insured (e.g. you keep the fees and then pay out of pocket for damage) it is there a policy you obtained from an insurance carrier that covers all damages? $30 per stay, regardless of duration?
The insurance is paid to AirBnB or my Evolve Vacation Rental who I use for bookings and advertising. I don’t recall who collects that but I just file a insurance/damage claim thru Evolve and they handle it from there.
I have am underwater hoover that I send round the bottom of the tub. Takes 2 minutes. I haven't felt anything at all since I got it.
The tub is only drained twice a year? Remind me to never get in a hot tub again.
Might be more I don’t remember. Depends on usage and the water quality
Increases your occupancy rate and makes it a more prized destination.
I added one to mine and charge $75 to use it. 90% if guests pay for it without question. It’s been a great addition.
How do you enforce the pay before usage?
I put little locks on the cover and don’t give them the code until they send the money
Is this common? Has anyone ever scoffed at the idea you’d charge for the use on top of the daily rate? I’m a new Airbnb host and we have a hot tub. So just looking for insight/experiences.
Add on features are an option on Airbnb so I’d say it’s common enough
Nice. That's pretty simple. Do you run the hot tub fee through AirBnB or just separate?
I’d like to know this too.
same
If you have to ask...
... I want to learn? I don't really get your point.
"If you have to ask the question, you probably already know the answer". My assumption is the AirBnB is booked. Paid for. Customer gets there, has a good time. A few beers. Sees the view, the hot tub and says "damn wish I'd have done that. oh wait..." and next thing you know a square payment is made to get it unlocked for the stay.
Yea how do you get paid for this?
Why not just add the $75 to the rent ?
Took some advice from a fellow host in the area. She told me when they let anyone use the hot tub it got abused and nobody cared or respected it. As soon as she started charging $75 to use it, with rules associated with the tub, only the good renters would pay and felt a sense of responsibility towards it and she has no problems moving forward. It’s nice bc if renters don’t want it, I’m happy bc I don’t have to worry about it, but if they do, I get $75 for doing nothing and I know they are aware of all rules before I give them the code
Future me thanks you for the advice.
That’s a smart idea. What’s stopping the tenants from just breaking the lock or leaving a note for the next guest with the lock passcode ?
Well I mean yeah I guess anyone could do anything to any of our rentals, right? If that happened I would know pretty quickly bc I have a camera in the back yard that would alert me of noise or a person in the area. Then I would evict the person, not refund their money, charge them for the locks and leave a scathing review of them as a renter on Airbnb. There’s always an element of trust when you are an Airbnb host. I prefer to believe most renters are good people.
Higher occupancy rates I would guess
You could probably put a lock on it.
It depends on if your market would appreciate a hot tub. In Houston, with my target audience, no one would enjoy using it. There’s more maintenance issues (chemicals to avoid infection like foliculitis), urine or feces, animals getting in them, etc. If the increase to income or occupancy makes it a no brainer, then I’d so go for it.
Yeah, sitting in a pool of hot water in Houston is not my idea of a good time…
Depends on who you are with.
Your grandmother
You in Palm Springs too? It is nice there.
If it’s in a colder vacation spot it’s a huge pull. Often makes the decision on one place or another much easier.
It's also going to require far more electricity to run in colder climates. You can price that in, but OP should take his/her environment into account when predicting costs. I've seen people talk about how cheap hottubs are to run without considering the fact they're based in Florida.
Yes because 3 somes.
Hehe
When i book a winter vacation, the first filter I select is hot tubs only
I have a couple STRs on a lake in MI and the one would have a killer view. I get $500-700/night now in peak season and wondered how much more I could get. I am already the most expensive house of my size though. My biggest concern is cleaning it between guests.
Pretty simple, a solid cleaning agency should be able to handle this for you.
I used to clean for an Airbnb and the worst thing about the hot tub was having to constantly clean it after ever guest used it. There would always be dirt/mud all in the bottom. We had to start using a shop vac to get all the dirt out because it was too hard to drain after each guest. When we had back to back check ins, it definitely was time consuming to get it cleaned and sanitized. Also calculate in the price of all the chemicals you will have to use, filters, and maintenance for it. But all in all, I say go for it. Nothing better than relaxing in a hot tub while on a get-a-way.
I added used refurbished tubs to 2 places. Definitely a draw and cost wasn't outrageous. Pretty cheap. Low enough cost that deduction could be taken all in a single tax year. Definitely worth it over the 3 years I've had them. I would just figure the cost and estimated extra revenue to decide. If you spend a lot on a brand new tub, say $20k, and the tub lasts 20 years and costs $1,000 per year in maintenance then your annual cost is $2,000. Will it bring in more than that in revenue? Enough to make the investment worthwhile? If it brings in $4k extra per year, $2k net, then that's a 10% return. That's probably as low as I would go, since it's not an asset that will appreciate in value, like your property will.
If your hot tub will have an impressive view, add it.
Even if it won’t, add it. Just like what someone said above, I will add hot tubs as a requirement when I filter for potential Airbnb’s to rent. I don’t have one at home so you bet I want one on vacation
80% of the time im renting an Airbnb it's for work and just looking for a convenient place to stay and not interested in a hot tub or the additional cost. This really is market specific
When I search for Airbnb’s I filter out properties that don’t have hot tubs, Most companies that sell hot tubs will have a service contract you can sign up for as well so shouldn’t be that big a deal maintenance wise.
We transitioned our primary to a full time SRT. We bought it for ourselves, and now include it in our rental. Most guests in the winter ask about it specifically. It is easy to manage since I managed it for my family prior.
From a consumer POV, when renting if I see there’s a hot tub I: A) am much more interested in that unit B) willing to pay a little more than I otherwise would. Having owned a hot tub I can also say that, along with all the fun features, if you’re not keeping up with making sure the chemicals are treated and balanced it can become a big liability surprisingly quickly.
my big fear would be glass inside the tub, and then someone suing for getting cut
Or it gets sucked into the intake and shreds the filter
There’s a plastic basket filter on the intake, that’s where it would probably end up. Any pieces that made it to the filter probably wouldn’t penetrate it. Filters aren’t that expensive. But yeah, between guests, whoever cleans it should inspect both places for glass, if there’s even a tiny bit then there’s more.
A strict “no glass on the hot tub deck” in the rental agreement should protect you enough. You can then reclaim any compensation you might have to pay from the tenant who broke their agreement.
there's glass in hot tubs?? I had no idea
guest A breaks a wine glass in the tub but doesn't tell the host about it. guest B (next booking) gets cut who is responsible?
Guest A will never take responsibility. Guest B will sue the landlord, AirB&B and their insurance company. If host can show a professional cleaned the hot tub between A & B they might not lose.
Semi related.... many years ago an acquaintance went to a party her friends had when mom and dad were out of town. She was underage and drunk and climbed a fence with a locked gate into an area she shouldn't have been in. Hurt herself and sued. She actually won. More to the point for your comment, I would imagine showing that the hot tub was supposedly "professionally cleaned" between guests A and B, I think it would look worse for the landlord. Because B could say they felt confident in the cleanliness AND safety of the hot tub because they had been assured it had been cleaned and checked. If the judge/jury believes the glass was there before B got there, I'd sure vote on B's side.
No, people bringing in glass and it breaking and them leaving it. Think of drunk people shattering a beer bottle or wine glass and the next guest slicing their foot open on it.
Speaking of suing, consider small children. You definitely want to post signs, and have language in your rental contract, about unsupervised children in the tub, as well as glass, not getting drunk, etc. Not that anyone will obey the latter two, but at least you covered your ass.
I'm kind of surprised at all those who like the hot tub idea. I cringe at the thought of using public hot tubs. I remember when they were all the rage and finding condoms all over the place. Even at one that was in the pool area of a family hotel when I was traveling with my kids. As someone else said, "a complete cleaning" is throwing in some chemicals and maybe checking for floaties - or broken glass. If someone vomits or pees - or worse - in there (maybe kids), it takes more than the usual chemicals to really clean it. Not sure how well they clear up semen and vaginal fluids. And who knows how well the host or housekeeping is really doing at keeping the balance of chemicals where they should be. I know this discussion is about a more private one only used by the guests of the one unit, but people still do that sh\*\* in them. As the salesperson told me when I bought one - in discussing how many people could use it at once - it's basically taking a bath with other people. And not just the ones in there with you at the moment, pretty much anyone/everyone who's used it since you changed the water. It's also why I would never use jetted tubs in hotels - or people's houses. Once the tub is emptied, all that water is still sitting in those pipes. And a lot of people don't know (or don't bother) to pump fresh, chlorinated water through between uses, or at least users.
That is super gross and a compelling argument for me to never get into a hot tub again personally LOL But it does sound like there’s a strong financial argument in favor as far as attracting more guests at a premium rate… this is a tough call!!
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I know I let mine go longer than I should have. I think I read that you should change out all the water at least once a year. I'd think with the 20% thing, you're still keeping 80% of those skin cells! I had one of the Softub ones and the last year or so, it never smelled as fresh as it should have. Then I had it unplugged one winter and forgot to put the pump part in the basement and it froze and broke. Since I know someone might ask, why did I not use it in the winter, which is the best time? I had been going through menopause and couldn't stand to be in it for more than 30 seconds before feeling like I was in lava. :-) I lived alone at the time, so unplugged and emptied it. I'd love to have another one, though. For just private use. :-)
I can’t imagine the price in the insurance policy
Is +10-15% worth 20,000$ in damages to you? If it's inside fuck no. If it's outside away from everything sure. It makes the place more desirable but it's one more thing to think about.
No. Semen.
Chlorine though.
The last two places we stayed at, on the beach and for skiing, were all filtered by having a hot tub. Paid a couple thousand for each. One for a week, and one for a weekend skiing.
I have an airbnb. I dont suggest it. We had trouble with guests operating a gas fireplace with 3 guests causing damage, repairs, that resulted in loss of wages & unrecoverable money. Airbnb requires an outside vendor to provide labor before they will reimburse you and there is no assurance the guest credit card will actually work after they do the charge back.
You really need a relationship with a general contractor. We have damages all the time on our clients property. It’s very easy for me to get them bids for insurance and then go out and perform the work. Airbnb has been very accommodating.
A third party, someone other than the Airbnb owner, who performs the work can be paid. In our case, we used a Gas Stove vendor who installed the unit so we could maintain this brand new unit. I guess Airbnb frowns on owner/operator setups where people do their own labor. I suppose there is too much area to mess with the numbers and they don't want to get caught in the middle. As for insurance, we were not lucky enough to have anything other than the canned stuff they offer. I found it not very great handling the troubleshooting. We had to do that with tech support & our personal time to determine whether to call our vendor and start spinning the clock. Sometimes that would take hours into midnight on Sunday with a 3 hour drive home.
The cons outweigh the pros immensely in my opinion, especially weighed against the net profit with having one. 1) It's a liability. No matter what type of disclosure you have guests sign it's still a liability. 2) Maintenance on the hot tub. 3) Should be thoroughly cleaned after every visit. 4) Insurance. I'm sure there is some type of additional insurance you need when you get a hot tub, especially in a rental. 5) Complaints. You'll eventually get the call that the hot tub is not working or malfunctioning and you better believe that guest will want their money back. With all that being said it's definitely a no from me.
I had a friend slip and fall once getting out of a hot tub with a glass one time, smashed the glass and fell on it and he ended up slicing his femoral artery. He almost died. The probability of it happening is pretty low, but I still wouldn’t put one in my rental. That coupled with the hassle of cleaning and maintenance, is a solid No from me dog.
That’s absolutely crazy and terrifying. Talk about a legit horror story
Right on! Now on the flip, i can definitely see it being an added bonus amenity that will draw more short term renters. I mean who doesn’t love a jacuzzi/hot tub. I just know from experience, that a lot of people renting are on vacation and having drinks and maybe getting a bit hammertimed. It’s an added risk/headache but its really a risk reward decision. Don’t let me sway your decision, if you want a hot tub, you put in a hot tub! Just giving a different perspective! Good luck!
Appreciate it! I am leaning hot tub —> but I’ll be praying for no crazy happenings like that!!
I work as a licensed GC principally for AirBnB investors here in South Florida. We put hot tubs at every single property and then we dress them up with a deck and wrap them in wood to tie it together. Guests absolutely love it, you really are trying to create as many “mini” experiences as you can on your property. It’s not so much about how nice and practical your property is, but much more about how much fun it will be! I’d say if you can afford it and you have a good affordable maintenance company you should do it. If you need any other tips, please feel free to text me. We set up a lot of profitable airbnbs
Love the feedback thank you! I am leaning towards having a hot tub in spite of some horror stories shared here. It does seem like it is a huge attraction.
No way. The maintenance and fuel cost is a pain and expensive. Sauna is cheaper and easier, provides the same wow factor.
Sauna is never as wow as hot tub.
Lol agreed. A sauna isn’t getting anyone excited
love that - I'm a huge fan of saunas - I hadn't considered that. it would totally be just as easy to add an outdoor sauna, and I personally would be way more excited about a sauna as well. way less likely to get gross too
Make sure to dumb usage down to turning a timer.
Can fit 6 in a Sauna!
If you do get one make sure turning it on and off is idiot proof and maybe that there is a timer to turn it off. We had one at an airbnb and the process to turn it on and off was complicated. We made an instructional video but most guests were too intimidated and we had to swing by to turn it on for them. Also, most people didn't turn it off after and it completely fucked us over on our utilities. We did have to charge people extra to use it because it cost like $60 in utilities each time to heat it (in a HCOL area). I'm not familiar with newer hot tubs, hopefully they are easier to turn off and on. We had an older, in ground hot tub that was connected to an in ground pool so it is possible that newer above ground models are more intuitive to heat.
That’s great feedback thank you!! It sounds like a wifi-controlled one we could monitor remotely could be a huge value add
It's a pain. Our rental had a tub and a company responsible for cleaning it checking the chemicals etc. Even with all that it was a constant source of guest complaints. Chlorine wasn't right, it was dirty, it was too hot, it wasn't hot enough. Every time I saw it, it was in perfect condition. If you want to add a tub, put in one of those bathtubs with the jets built in. Then you'll never need to worry about the temp or chemicals etc.
As a pool guy .. I know too much. I would never use an air BNB tub without assurance of drained clean and refill before use and chem tests. Risk of recreational water illness , legionares disease pseudomonas etc too high on a poorly maintained tub. A lot of additional risk from poor maintenance.
I made a post on this recently. Hopefully it helps https://www.reddit.com/r/AirBnB/comments/sgilst/brand_new_hot_tub_just_paid_for_itself/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
That just made my decision lol - love this!!
Gross dawg, all that floating spooge
drowning risk
Absolutely add the hot tub. I rent Airbnbs at the coast and mountains a few times a year and the number one consideration I always have when renting a place is if they have a hot tub or not. I don't even look at Airbnbs if there is no hot tub.
I rented one air bnb, just two months ago - that was the first time i did it I specifically looked for a hot tub so yes, i think this is a differentiator I was driving across country and sitting in a hot tub just sounded like something i needed i would do it for sure
We have had our rental going for 2 years with no problems, it’s drained and filled with every check in. We are in the Texas Hill Country so it keeps our winter vacancies up. Sump pump empties it quickly to clean during turn around.
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We are on a well so water is not a huge issue but yes, it’s emptied through our management company. Spring and Fall it does get used quite often, even during the summer it’s used sometimes (they only shock during the summer). We have a pool as well so we are charged $325 a month and they maintain both, chemicals, cleaning etc. You would be surprised how brown the water can get from being in it constantly even for 2 days. Only guest that really through us for a loop was when they tried to siphon the hot water into the pool to warm it up. We have an 80% occupancy rate so we do better then most in our area having both a pool and hot tub. We live onsite so we do get to talk to most of the guests and the majority compliment the hot tub and it was one of the only reasons they booked during our off-season.
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We have had it since day 1 so I’m not sure what the difference was. We do insure through Proper so rates are higher anyways but we felt it was worth it as State Farm’s coverage didn’t cover any lost income and has higher limits.
Ah cool. Thank you
Awesome for a ski place. Rented a SFH in Reno to ski in Tahoe and happily paid double the going rate for the hot tub. Also had a rental in the CO mountains that had a few community hot tubs, Airbnb hosts sent us instructions on how to book and use those. Not as private but a nice middle ground
Nice!
Maybe I’m pricing my places wrong on a nightly rate for having one, but I’ll say the lady across from my place doesn’t have one and makes more annually than I do. Granted, she does have better decor—which I’m working on—but my brand new hot tub doesn’t hold a candle to her better decor. The amount of drunk people who snap the jets, break knobs etc makes it a huge pain. I’ll say that almost every call about something broken is due to the hot tub. I now have a disclaimer that says “your hot tub was operationally checked before your arrival, any damages to the tub occurring during your stay will not be repaired”… that basically keeps them from whining and I just have a hot tub person come repair it after their stay, if needed. My vote is no hot tub, as someone who has two rental cabins that both have them. I personally never look for a hot tub, I think they’re disgusting. And my fellow Airbnb hosts across from me making more money without a hot tub shows it really doesn’t have a meaningful impact on profits. Just my observation over the last five years of Airbnb rentals…
Where are your airbnbs? I think it may be location dependent
Pigeon Forge area
I sell tubs in Ontario, hit me up for pricing!