I personally think the next thing you need to do to your property and simply put a dishwasher because it’s just sanitary simply so many people come in and out of your rental home. Last summer around this time, I actually took a trip to Joshua tree and I simply didn’t stay at your place because you didn’t have a dishwasher.. I like to have my dishes sterilize when I stay in a rental home. Also having a washing machine that’s available for guess is a huge plus. Those are the simple things that I would change with your rental just having a dishwasher and a washer machine available to your guest.
The cowboy tub is definitely not the same as a pool but one more issue I see with it for the summer is it has no shading option and neither have the chairs. People might be ok with a cowboy tub instead of a pool to save some money but they would surely prefer to be able to at least hide from the sun while using it. Also, you took a lot of time to make the hot tub special but not the pool. It too needs things like a cocktail table for example.
Pools are a hole in the ground you throw money into like a boat in the water... Former Pool man. Lots of work, lots of money, lots of energy. Probably important in your area if your competition all have it. Crunch the #s
If y’all are considering expanding on the acreage (tiny homes, geodome, etc), an in ground pool could be a community pool for all guests staying on property. Multiple listings, the amount of money rolling in from bookings due to a pool dramatically increases. 75K-100K isn’t so bad when multiple homes/listings use it at the same time. 💡
Hey beautiful couple! Sending lots of Airbnb love your way. So I've said this before in a past comment… I don't mean to sound redundant, but I truly think if you spend a little bit of money on your 2nd bathroom you'll see an increase in bookings. (Think of a larger group or 2 couples having multiple choices and they go with the 2 bath over the 1 bath.) I've remodeled a bathroom on the super cheap end. You could add wallpaper; really just spruce it up, but keep the bones. You can epoxy over a tub. Don't use the one from Amazon get actual real epoxy, and have a professional do it. (White can turn yellow over time so I recommend a light grey for the tub). Switch out hardware (just make sure it's similar in design so you don't have to redo plumbing) In regards to the pool if you do go that route why not get an above ground that's a decent size, but slightly smaller and have a deck built around it. Honestly, with your experience you could probably do a lot of the deck building yourself. I would personally get engineered wood so it last longer and it's less upkeep. But that could look amazing in pictures and honestly not even look like an above ground pool. You don't have to heat the pool in the winter… You could have in bold on your listing you don't offer this or if you do you can charge for it. Just make sure it's very clear in the listing and in your house rules so there's no confusion. My hubby says Reinvesting some money in the right places will Certainly lead to higher profit margins. Cheers!
I thought at one time I heard them mention there is another bathroom or half bath in the house. I agree I wouldn't rent a house without having at least 2 bathrooms.
We're in Miami where heat and humidity is unbearable in the summer...and we've just accepted it's slow and enjoy the summer and travel (we do our own cleaning so its really the only time we get to chill)🤣If local businesses are saying its slow and might start closing again in the summer, I don't think it's worth it, its like swimming against the current, you'll just tire yourself out!
As a person who doesn’t have an AIRBNB but I like to visit a lot around the US (now married with 2 small kids), I don’t normally pick houses with pools. They are normally wayyyy out of our price range. I feel like houses with pools skyrocket prices compared to houses that are the same size without pools.
You all could turn your garage into a game room. Just add a minisplit for the heat and you can put a pool table, ping pong, and arcade games. Paint a mural if there is money left over
A mini-split isn't cheap. I just had one installed and it was $5 grand. I bet it would be $19 grand there. AND the games aren't cheap either. It would be a very large investment.
A cowboy pool is totally not an Inground pool lol. As others have said cowboy tub is good, but at least cover it. It sucks to be hammered by sun and be touching the edge of a metal tub. You could build a pergola over it with a roll up or roll over shade cloth. That could be nice and not a heavy investment.
Thanks for the update! I have an Airbnb in Northeast Georgia, we do have bookings in August, but fewer than the other months. I can't imagine spending 75k on a pool, ever. I like your idea about just chilling. 😊
I say no to the pool idea. It's a lot of work and expense, especially with you living a couple hours away. This year many people are having trouble, just affording to live, let alone stay in an AirBNB. Thankfully some still can but I would imagine that may be part of the temporary down turn. I love the idea of you doing a reno on the 2nd bathroom. Plus, adding a dishwasher. If you really want to spend some more $$$, add a 3rd bedroom and a place for a washer and dryer. It can be a stackable set. Lastly, enjoy the off time yourelves! You deserve to take breaks and enjoy your investment!! ❤
Hi, I'm in upstate NY and we have low season in winter, so over all it's the same. I'm planning some work on the house to do in winter. With swimming pool.....it's hard to decide. Here, it's not a good thing because if you decide to sell the house people don't want the inground pool - too costly to get rid of it and you have to be commited to maintain it, not worth the effort.
I like the idea of a game room and maybe offer onsite massage or spa services. Pools are definitely great but expensive. You could add misters to your outdoor area
I live in San Diego and it seems every TV weather forecast stresses “excessive heat warnings” for the desert. I visit Joshua Tree mostly to hike in the park, and you couldn’t pay me to visit right now even with a pool. I would just accept and take advantage of the slow season. Maybe focus on your trailing twelve months revenue to keep spirits up.
Do NOT get the pool. You will never recover the investment. Our market was getting saturated with STR's just like ours (small cozy type). We added an additional 630 Sq. Ft. making our cottage more of a home at around 1600 sq. ft. total. The addition included a multi-purpose room that can easily become a bedroom, a study, or an additional space to lounge in AND we added a nice master bedroom with an additional bathroom and walk in closet. Immediately our booking went back up as there is a shortage of accommodations for larger groups in our area. AND the addition added instant value to our home. We are now getting an additional $75.00 per night that we rent and based on demand we are probably bumping that up another $50.00 for next season. More cash flow.
We have 3 units that we self manage and clean. Summer should be our busiest time, but we have open nights. I am a Superhost with over 800 reviews. It is the slowest it has ever been. Guests are harder to please. Not as much fun as it used to be.
I bought a property in Mesquite Nevada. Not the same as yours but… Desert. Slow summers… I forecasted I’ll make an extra $20k on my $87k pool and hot tub. The second I put a pool in, I got bookings. June with no pool = 10% occupied. July with pool pics = 70% August = 64%. 🤷🏼♂️ I hope it was a good investment hahahahaha
Also! Photography. I hired a more real estate photographer… and I can see the trend is more on the artistic side/ selling the vacation type of photos. Think of margaritas by the hot tub, models laughing while on the couch type of photos. I’ve thought of hiring a more artistic photographer to get those types of photos.
@@kristenandmichaelI’ve had 1 person book in February and pay for a heated pool. $125 a day (propane is expensive). I have a feeling there’s demand for heated pools. But I’ll let you know in 6 months haha
My husband and I have two Airbnb’s in San Diego. Both of them are Guest Favorite 1%. One has a pool and one does not. It’s interesting how the occupancy % between the two is less than 5%, August was only 2% difference. I would agree, don’t waist your $$$ on an in ground pool. I’d get an above ground and use your equity to invest in upgrades to the house or in another property. That’s what we’re going to do. You’re doing awesome! Keep up the great work! Billy & Jim
I know that for me personally, when I was looking for an airbnb in the desert, I was originally only looking for homes with in ground pools. They were out of my budget so i found one with a cowboy pool and still had a great time with the family. I think a game room is definitely a plus and a TV is much wanted for most
And as others have commented, pools are a money pit, old or new. My husband is a pool guy and the hundreds to thousands people have to pay in repairs is insane
Just another thought. A rock water stream from your cowboy pool at some point put a fire&water fountain. Make it look like a small spring river flow as water saving when drawing the cowboy pool. I'm not sure how it would come together but your two could make it work. Both of you are more into the serenity atmosphere. Not 100%sure how far everything is connected to one another on your land at some place you could put a small pond. This came to my mind for you.
Y'all are awesome hang in there! Just started watching your youtube videos a couple weeks ago and love seeing the journey. Im in Texas where it is crazy hot right now and can relate to pools being the way to go. We don't own a bnb but on our personal property we just installed a 8ft poly cowboy pool that we wrapped in cedar. That might be the only thought I have (again you can hate this advice) I wonder if you upgraded to a 10ft poly stock tank pool (fits 6-8 ppl easy) with a sand pump that is built into a deck so that the pool is flush with the deck. That would let you add some umbrellas and lounge chairs on that deck with the hope that people can feel like they can stay “poolside” for awhile. I think people think of cowboy pools as a little dip to just cool off. My wife and I can spend hours in our pool going from lounge chairs, pool floats and they even make waterproof card games that you can play in the pool too. IDK hope this brain dump helps you think of something that might work for yall. Reach out if you think flushing out the idea more might be of help! Rooting for yall!
I spent $10k on a hot tub and it I know that I get more bookings because of it. However it is also the biggest pain in the butt for all the cleanings and damage that has occurred to the cover and acrylic. I do think I would spend that again though because it is a huge draw. I would not spend $75k on a pool though. You can easily set temps something nice and cool for the hot summer months.
Is it worth it? I consider one for mine but think the same thing about maintenance. I just stayed at an airbnb with 2 and I only used one of them twice. Nobody else used the other one all weekend long.
I second this question. Proper is raking me over the coals with yearly price increases for my Yucca Valley home. How did you guys switch to? Every broker I talk to no-quotes me because of "fire risk".
I would not do the pool, seems like a huge expense that will continue to be expensive to upkeep. Those big dirty dogs that ruined your Cozy Earth sheets are going in that pool, lol! As seasoned DIYers I'll bet you could use that same amount of money to reno both bathrooms and the third bedroom possibly even put a simple glampsite or campsite on your property. You might consider adding a TV because there are people who are glued to the Olympics or World Cup or football season etc who feel that's a priority. Not your vibe but if it's a frame TV with a cool picture or if you made a cool way to cover the TV, other people could ignore it. Just a thought. Interested to see the pro photography video, and also to hear about the change in insurance. Thanks for the Finn wave at the end!! So cute!!😍
I’d love to see a video about hiring a professional photographer! It’s something I’ve also wanted to do for our Airbnb, but since we’re pretty consistently booked (even with just basic listing photos), we just haven’t done it yet. Thanks for sharing all this info!
As a Real Estate/Commercial photographer, I would love to see an episode about your property getting photographed. By the way, I am always very impressed with your photos.
Our business is also seasonal and relies strongly on tourism (we are vintage teacup candles brand based in Covent Garden, London) and this summer we had big expectations and they have not been met. It seems that there is not that many tourists around. I believe it is only a temporary thing. In regards to pool, maybe try a jacuzzi first ;)
Use equity towards a different property. Maybe sell this one and buy in a different place…..Maybe buy something that you can rent out as long term rental. For example in Vancouver BC our basement suite is rented out for $2800 per month ( cdn) and the main and upper could rent for another $3500 ish Mind you our house would sell for about 2.8 million cdn Vancouver is expensive though
I have a AirB&B midnorthen AZ booking have just been OK. To day I was just taking to my husband about pools I think they are expensive, your electricity bill, water bill, INSURANCE will be sky hi with a pool. And of course all the chemicals having a pool person come and clean it on a regular basis a pool cover a fence the liability is high. When we had a pool, we let our pets swim in the pool. Pools are a big liability.
I think the pool is a TERRIBLE idea. It's not just the installation cost, it's the maintenance, the increased power bill because the pump runs constantly, and increased water bill...all to be able to potentially get more bookings? Put the numbers on a spreadsheet and see what you come up with
Our August in the mountains of WNC is looking super dead. Thankfully June and July were amazing! Don't stress. It's a normal part of it. I would not personally invest that amount of money in a pool. That's just the beginning. Then you have maintenance, heating costs, liability. No thanks. I've accepted the middle tier property that is clean, comfortable and marketed correctly is what we're sticking with.
Slow in Western NC mountains this Summer even though NC has record visitors this year. My understanding is trend was holidays to Coastal areas instead of mountains. We are Near Smoky Mountain NP! Only 2nt labor day booking until October leaf season. Listed house for sale 3 weeks ago.
I wouldn’t be too concerned BUT my opinion…add the pool and definitely get a few bids. For those estimates I hope you get a baller setup too 😅 Also decide the pros and cons of how you’ll tap that equity, cashout refinance or home equity loan. All the best to you both!
Idea 💡 Pull equity out & invest into another property that’s not turnkey & can be flipped but maybe located closer to where you are residing or in a more busier vacation area that can also pull in more income due to where it’s located. Maybe near beaches, lakes, the city, kids & family friendly & modern. Basically the opposite of what you have now. Tv in every room, game room, maybe or hopefully a property with a pool already.
I imagine a lot of the people booking your place are driving in from the LA area. Have you considered installing an EV charger? It's a huge perk for people looking at a staycation with LA being the city with the most EVs in the country.
I live in the high desert near the 15 fwy. I love Joshua tree. I love that there is no light pollution and I can sit and see all the stars at night. I don’t mind going out in the summer as long as the home has good air conditioning. I like to rest and read and enjoy the quiet. When I do a search in Joshua tree for a home to rent, I have set filters that include a television. People want a television. Your house never comes up in my searches. That could be what’s happening now. Not sure. Good luck!
I have an airbnb in Mesa Arizona and it’s very dry! We have been booked from the beginning of the year and August came in and man it’s extremely slow. Arizona is extremely hot one of our hottest years as well. This is our worst month so thank you for posting this video. I thought it was my listing lol
It's not just airbnbs. I have always gone to a lot of shows and music festivals and the attendance numbers have been so low that festivals that have been around for decades are coming to an end. COVID really screwed the economy. I used to travel and do a lot more and now my living expenses are so much higher so I have to cut back on my adventures.
I’m guessing it’s only in the Joshua tree area, I’m having a record year in southern New Mexico with 100+ degrees, my Flagstaff airbnb’s are having their best year ever, I truly believe Airbnb’s are now on the up swing!! So just hold tight, don’t spend any more money and enjoy the fruits of your labor!!
Its crazy! We just entered the Airbnb world this year and have our Airbnb in Brazil Bonito - we are managing it from Germany though. We had to add a lot of stuff INCLUDING a pool. Its not a fancy in the ground one, its a very simple one that is assembled on concrete (if you want I can send you the link in a PN, so you guys know what I am talking about ;) ). Guess what... bookings a popping in weekly! Before we got 1 visit per month (which was still nice as we do not intend to make a business out of it. Its more a fun thing to do for a property invest we made). In a nutshell: I can agree with your pool-argument and we saw this after we changed the front pic that shows now the pool.
Hi guys. I have a touristic store in Lisbon, Portugal and it hás been one of the worst years (my mom has this business for 65 years). First we thought it was the Euro football Cup in Germany, then the Olympics...but the thing is, Lisbon is booked, there's tons of people, and people on Paris are complaining that Paris is booked but there's no business...so, yes, is surelly a strange year...hope everything's get better with you family! This too shall pass! 😘♥️
By the time people pay the overpriced accommodation they have no money no go to the bar. It was like 6 euro or 8 euro for a beer and then they expect you to order just as many as if it was 3 euro. Even the supermarket is pretty ridiculous. Might aswell go to a organic shop. It isn't really that much different price and way better quality. I made a vegan soup and it tasted like it had a whole 100ml of cream in it. The organic food must have some fats in there that I was not used to.
I don't know how much you expect to make from a single two bedroom. It sounds like it is already pretty good. If you were in Italy in seaside area the off season would be october till May with only July and August you could rely on. Most vacation rentals would be empty 10 months a year. To make a few thousand profit from two bedroom would probably be above average. If your booked for the weekend then anyone looking to book for a week or more isn't going to find you. You would have to be pretty rich to pay for a pool in the desert for a private use 2 days out of the week while it sat empty the rest of the week. I think it is something to share with more people like if you had some safari tents or cabins it could be more viable. Looking at your pricing I xan see why people would reluctant to stay long. Then with the cleaning fee a short stay doesn't look attractive either. Maybe cut it by 40% and you will get more bookings. In the desert tho it sounds ridiculous like it should be more like 60% cheaper. The service fee on it's own is 7%. That wouldn't be so bad on a cheap place but it is a lot of money on a weekly booking equivalent to one night in one of your rooms. If your advertising on instagram then what is airbnb actually doing other than making your pricing uncompetitive? If they are charging hosts another 15% then they are definitely driving you out of business. You could do much better with repeat customers ran privately.
Can't help you much, my high season is summer and low season is winter. Last year I had mid term people that stayed 6 months, this year I'm getting bookings already. Even though it's low season, it's one of the best places to spend winter time in Europe, so people come here and work remotely.
i own an airbnb in north austin as well as a wedding photography business. my wedding photography business has had very slow bookings. the way you speak about the airbnb is how i am with weddings i'm not sure when it will go up will it be okay. My airbnb is doing good but its not just for vacations. people stay for medical reasons, to visit family, when they get displaced from their home. I think its because they have to stay. i do think weddings will get better and we'll see things getting better but i will say this is why i dont invest in vacation only markets because of hard times. For us there are no seasons and people have to stay regardless of the economy. we had to drop prices too. im sure things will get better. outside of the equity you have to look at once its paid off its cashflow for retirement and thats what i'm looking forward too.
No pool! Too hot in summer. How would you keep the pool temp below 90? Also, warm pools have algae. Also, who’s going to clean it, how often and for how much? Bad idea.
Hey guys, I have friends who have ABNBs. A lot of the slow down is economics. People don’t have as much extra funds. Just something else to consider. Hang in there! No pool, my vote.
We have an Airbnb/Vrbo on a lake in northern Indiana. Being in Indiana the peak season is the summer season. We have definitely notice a slower season. Normally the summers are about fully booked by February or March. This year we were only about half booked by March, most of the rest of the summer still booked, just later than normal, but we are sitting with an empty week this week. As far as adding a pool I would say No. Your insurance cost is going to go up, the ongoing maintenance and cleaning of the pool would be costly. I doubt you would ever recoup your costs.
Great content, thank you for sharing the good and bad. Have 3 VRs in northern Michigan, Summer (July) is top $ for us! End of March - early May (our mud season) between Ski to Golf season is the slowest time. Try reaching out to past guests to help fill slow dates. Hot tub, fire pit, sauna, cold plunge, game room, pickleball courts, and lakes are BIG draws. Pools are nice but would your revenue increase enough to justify such a large investment? Good luck with new photos. We're getting new professional photos in a few days too. Going for more lifestyle type pictures to help guests picture themselves staying at the property. 0:58
I vote for a dishwasher and simple roku smart tv (not in a bedroom). Mostly the dishwasher. Not having to hand wash dishes makes the experience more restful & it's more accessible for people with mobility limitations.
If we update the 3rd bedroom/bath, it will be a major overhaul - we'll have to take out a door and close up the walls as well... trying to do that further down the line as it will be V expensive and we want to do it right the first time. ah.. so many things!
@@kristenandmichael Vacations Rentals I have used with dishwashers had us run it when we check out and cleaners emptied it. If we only used a couple plates and cups we would hand wash and put away ourselves, but for longer stays or with the whole family we used a lot of dishes so the dishwasher was nice.
Probably not a good idea to spend that much money on just one amenity... especially a built-in pool. Maintenance, increased insurance liability cost, poor return on investment, and those who would never buy a house with a built-in pool (if you sell) are just some of the downsides. Instead, spread that money around into several high appeal amenities (game room + jacuzzi, etc) in order to get the most bang for the money and increase bookings.
We love the idea of a shade covering over the pool area... we're using AI to render some ideas on how we could do it in a cool way that could be retractable! TBD...
Pools are a massive waste of money. First of all, not everybody likes them, not everybody wants them. They require a lot of maintenance and are expensive to maintain. They are also very expensive to repair and guests can cause a damage that will cost thousands of dollars to repair. I have heard of at least two cases from other hosts whose pools were damaged by guests jumping in and required 8K to resurface the pool. Meanwhile you can't accept reservations and with how slow it is to get any contractors to come and do the work you are probably looking at two months vacantly at a minimum. If you eventually get tired of running a short term rental and decide to sell the property, a pool is one thing that does not add value to your property (I am telling you that as someone who worked as a home appraiser in the past) and not everyone wants to purchase a pool home, it is a smaller buyers pool no pun intended
If you keep playing the amenity game against investors you are always going to be behind. Don't worry so much about what everyone else is doing. Instead focus on what you would like in your dream home. You know, the stuff you want but don't buy for yourself because it's not practical for XYZ reasons. These are the things guests want to rent because it's not practical to buy. You want a man cave...build a man cave. You want a pool, build a pool. You want a ferris wheel, buy a freaking ferris wheel. Create the experience you want for yourself and let others rent that experience.
One thing I think would be awesome is if you purchased all the latest gadgets that are hot on social media like fidget spinners, shower heads, little toys and gadgets. Don't market it but as a guest I would love to experience all these random items while at an Airbnb. Then have a shop that allows those guests to buy those items with your affiliate link
Wow I'm not sure how you guys can make is with a $2,300 mortgage. I mean the mortgage is just one of your expenses and you have many more. I don't think a pool would be a good ideal. I don't think you'd make enough extra to cover that expense for years and years. I thought having a hot tub would be enough but as you are showing lots of people have pools too. We used to own a 6 bedroom/3 bath waterfront property with an inground pool and after 2 years we sold it. It made good money but for almost half the year we had slow season because we get snow. And keeping up with a pool is not fun at all. We had a great pool guy but sometimes he would have to go out of town and I had to clean it. That sucked.
There is ones which are called natural pools or something like that. Basically it has some sections with plants that clean the water automatically. Course it is a big effort aswell but once it is designed and built can be much easier to maintain and the water is free from chlorine so it is much better for bathing and also for nature. More attractive with reed beds and there is fish that can live there etc. I think it would be a better investment and more likely to attract bookings than a standard type pool with dirty old water. In Austria a DIY swim teich costs about 20,000 euro although that included excavation done by a company and the welding of the liner so isn't totally DIY.
I am just a guy, but the broader real estate trends across the nation, are not promising... economic woes are IMO just around the corner, regardless of who wins the election, things aren't looking good. just saying.
As hosts for 3 years, we've learned rather quickly that so is not paying the people that care for your home (properly) what they're worth. You get what you give...
I personally think the next thing you need to do to your property and simply put a dishwasher because it’s just sanitary simply so many people come in and out of your rental home. Last summer around this time, I actually took a trip to Joshua tree and I simply didn’t stay at your place because you didn’t have a dishwasher.. I like to have my dishes sterilize when I stay in a rental home. Also having a washing machine that’s available for guess is a huge plus. Those are the simple things that I would change with your rental just having a dishwasher and a washer machine available to your guest.
The cowboy tub is definitely not the same as a pool but one more issue I see with it for the summer is it has no shading option and neither have the chairs. People might be ok with a cowboy tub instead of a pool to save some money but they would surely prefer to be able to at least hide from the sun while using it.
Also, you took a lot of time to make the hot tub special but not the pool. It too needs things like a cocktail table for example.
Yeah so it they got a pool it wouldn't just be a pool. It would be buying shading for it too which wouldn't be cheap.
Pools are a hole in the ground you throw money into like a boat in the water... Former Pool man. Lots of work, lots of money, lots of energy. Probably important in your area if your competition all have it. Crunch the #s
If y’all are considering expanding on the acreage (tiny homes, geodome, etc), an in ground pool could be a community pool for all guests staying on property. Multiple listings, the amount of money rolling in from bookings due to a pool dramatically increases. 75K-100K isn’t so bad when multiple homes/listings use it at the same time. 💡
This is the way depending on zoning etc.
Great idea if they could pull it off!
Hey beautiful couple! Sending lots of Airbnb love your way. So I've said this before in a past comment… I don't mean to sound redundant, but I truly think if you spend a little bit of money on your 2nd bathroom you'll see an increase in bookings. (Think of a larger group or 2 couples having multiple choices and they go with the 2 bath over the 1 bath.)
I've remodeled a bathroom on the super cheap end. You could add wallpaper; really just spruce it up, but keep the bones. You can epoxy over a tub. Don't use the one from Amazon get actual real epoxy, and have a professional do it. (White can turn yellow over time so I recommend a light grey for the tub). Switch out hardware (just make sure it's similar in design so you don't have to redo plumbing)
In regards to the pool if you do go that route why not get an above ground that's a decent size, but slightly smaller and have a deck built around it. Honestly, with your experience you could probably do a lot of the deck building yourself. I would personally get engineered wood so it last longer and it's less upkeep. But that could look amazing in pictures and honestly not even look like an above ground pool. You don't have to heat the pool in the winter… You could have in bold on your listing you don't offer this or if you do you can charge for it. Just make sure it's very clear in the listing and in your house rules so there's no confusion. My hubby says Reinvesting some money in the right places will
Certainly lead to higher profit margins. Cheers!
I thought at one time I heard them mention there is another bathroom or half bath in the house. I agree I wouldn't rent a house without having at least 2 bathrooms.
We're in Miami where heat and humidity is unbearable in the summer...and we've just accepted it's slow and enjoy the summer and travel (we do our own cleaning so its really the only time we get to chill)🤣If local businesses are saying its slow and might start closing again in the summer, I don't think it's worth it, its like swimming against the current, you'll just tire yourself out!
As a person who doesn’t have an AIRBNB but I like to visit a lot around the US (now married with 2 small kids), I don’t normally pick houses with pools. They are normally wayyyy out of our price range. I feel like houses with pools skyrocket prices compared to houses that are the same size without pools.
Your content has inspired my husband and I to start our Airbnb business. Your content is so helpful! Thank you for your transparency.
I had a guest staying 30 days in my Twentynine Palms airbnb that paid for the 3 months of summer.
You all could turn your garage into a game room. Just add a minisplit for the heat and you can put a pool table, ping pong, and arcade games. Paint a mural if there is money left over
A mini-split isn't cheap. I just had one installed and it was $5 grand. I bet it would be $19 grand there. AND the games aren't cheap either. It would be a very large investment.
I would look at insulating the garage and then install the mini split ac Would reduce need of ac
Just a thought
A cowboy pool is totally not an Inground pool lol. As others have said cowboy tub is good, but at least cover it. It sucks to be hammered by sun and be touching the edge of a metal tub. You could build a pergola over it with a roll up or roll over shade cloth. That could be nice and not a heavy investment.
Thanks for the update! I have an Airbnb in Northeast Georgia, we do have bookings in August, but fewer than the other months. I can't imagine spending 75k on a pool, ever. I like your idea about just chilling. 😊
I say no to the pool idea. It's a lot of work and expense, especially with you living a couple hours away.
This year many people are having trouble, just affording to live, let alone stay in an AirBNB. Thankfully some still can but I would imagine that may be part of the temporary down turn.
I love the idea of you doing a reno on the 2nd bathroom. Plus, adding a dishwasher. If you really want to spend some more $$$, add a 3rd bedroom and a place for a washer and dryer. It can be a stackable set.
Lastly, enjoy the off time yourelves! You deserve to take breaks and enjoy your investment!! ❤
Hi, I'm in upstate NY and we have low season in winter, so over all it's the same. I'm planning some work on the house to do in winter. With swimming pool.....it's hard to decide. Here, it's not a good thing because if you decide to sell the house people don't want the inground pool - too costly to get rid of it and you have to be commited to maintain it, not worth the effort.
I like the idea of a game room and maybe offer onsite massage or spa services. Pools are definitely great but expensive. You could add misters to your outdoor area
I live in San Diego and it seems every TV weather forecast stresses “excessive heat warnings” for the desert. I visit Joshua Tree mostly to hike in the park, and you couldn’t pay me to visit right now even with a pool. I would just accept and take advantage of the slow season. Maybe focus on your trailing twelve months revenue to keep spirits up.
Good idea :)
Do NOT get the pool. You will never recover the investment. Our market was getting saturated with STR's just like ours (small cozy type). We added an additional 630 Sq. Ft. making our cottage more of a home at around 1600 sq. ft. total. The addition included a multi-purpose room that can easily become a bedroom, a study, or an additional space to lounge in AND we added a nice master bedroom with an additional bathroom and walk in closet. Immediately our booking went back up as there is a shortage of accommodations for larger groups in our area. AND the addition added instant value to our home. We are now getting an additional $75.00 per night that we rent and based on demand we are probably bumping that up another $50.00 for next season. More cash flow.
We have 3 units that we self manage and clean. Summer should be our busiest time, but we have open nights. I am a Superhost with over 800 reviews. It is the slowest it has ever been. Guests are harder to please. Not as much fun as it used to be.
I bought a property in Mesquite Nevada. Not the same as yours but… Desert. Slow summers…
I forecasted I’ll make an extra $20k on my $87k pool and hot tub.
The second I put a pool in, I got bookings.
June with no pool = 10% occupied.
July with pool pics = 70%
August = 64%.
🤷🏼♂️ I hope it was a good investment hahahahaha
Wow, thats a pretty solid ROI. Thank you for sharing!
Do guests want it heated in the winter?
Also! Photography. I hired a more real estate photographer… and I can see the trend is more on the artistic side/ selling the vacation type of photos. Think of margaritas by the hot tub, models laughing while on the couch type of photos.
I’ve thought of hiring a more artistic photographer to get those types of photos.
@@kristenandmichaelI’m not sure. Literally brand new for me.
No one wants a heated pool in the summer though! Can confirm haha😂
@@kristenandmichaelI’ve had 1 person book in February and pay for a heated pool. $125 a day (propane is expensive).
I have a feeling there’s demand for heated pools. But I’ll let you know in 6 months haha
Videos regarding photos of property sounds interesting.
Amazing, we're in the planning phase now! Thank you for your input on it!! :)
My husband and I have two Airbnb’s in San Diego. Both of them are Guest Favorite 1%. One has a pool and one does not. It’s interesting how the occupancy % between the two is less than 5%, August was only 2% difference. I would agree, don’t waist your $$$ on an in ground pool. I’d get an above ground and use your equity to invest in upgrades to the house or in another property. That’s what we’re going to do. You’re doing awesome! Keep up the great work! Billy & Jim
I think cowboy pool is just fine! I would definitely put my money in another investment.
I know that for me personally, when I was looking for an airbnb in the desert, I was originally only looking for homes with in ground pools. They were out of my budget so i found one with a cowboy pool and still had a great time with the family. I think a game room is definitely a plus and a TV is much wanted for most
And as others have commented, pools are a money pit, old or new. My husband is a pool guy and the hundreds to thousands people have to pay in repairs is insane
Just another thought. A rock water stream from your cowboy pool at some point put a fire&water fountain. Make it look like a small spring river flow as water saving when drawing the cowboy pool. I'm not sure how it would come together but your two could make it work. Both of you are more into the serenity atmosphere. Not 100%sure how far everything is connected to one another on your land at some place you could put a small pond. This came to my mind for you.
Y'all are awesome hang in there! Just started watching your youtube videos a couple weeks ago and love seeing the journey. Im in Texas where it is crazy hot right now and can relate to pools being the way to go. We don't own a bnb but on our personal property we just installed a 8ft poly cowboy pool that we wrapped in cedar. That might be the only thought I have (again you can hate this advice) I wonder if you upgraded to a 10ft poly stock tank pool (fits 6-8 ppl easy) with a sand pump that is built into a deck so that the pool is flush with the deck. That would let you add some umbrellas and lounge chairs on that deck with the hope that people can feel like they can stay “poolside” for awhile. I think people think of cowboy pools as a little dip to just cool off. My wife and I can spend hours in our pool going from lounge chairs, pool floats and they even make waterproof card games that you can play in the pool too. IDK hope this brain dump helps you think of something that might work for yall. Reach out if you think flushing out the idea more might be of help! Rooting for yall!
I spent $10k on a hot tub and it I know that I get more bookings because of it. However it is also the biggest pain in the butt for all the cleanings and damage that has occurred to the cover and acrylic. I do think I would spend that again though because it is a huge draw. I would not spend $75k on a pool though. You can easily set temps something nice and cool for the hot summer months.
Is it worth it? I consider one for mine but think the same thing about maintenance. I just stayed at an airbnb with 2 and I only used one of them twice. Nobody else used the other one all weekend long.
Who did you all switch insurance too? I’m looking to leave proper insurance
I second this question. Proper is raking me over the coals with yearly price increases for my Yucca Valley home. How did you guys switch to? Every broker I talk to no-quotes me because of "fire risk".
I would not do the pool, seems like a huge expense that will continue to be expensive to upkeep. Those big dirty dogs that ruined your Cozy Earth sheets are going in that pool, lol! As seasoned DIYers I'll bet you could use that same amount of money to reno both bathrooms and the third bedroom possibly even put a simple glampsite or campsite on your property. You might consider adding a TV because there are people who are glued to the Olympics or World Cup or football season etc who feel that's a priority. Not your vibe but if it's a frame TV with a cool picture or if you made a cool way to cover the TV, other people could ignore it. Just a thought. Interested to see the pro photography video, and also to hear about the change in insurance. Thanks for the Finn wave at the end!! So cute!!😍
Love all of these ideas! And you’re right! We could do many remodels PLUS some for the price of a pool🤯👏
As for advice from France, relax... we have bad months and better months... love ur channel...thanks for sharing ur experience❤
Its a sign of a slowing economy. Our AirBnB in Lake Havasu has experienced similar issues and the Summer is usually our busy season!
I’d love to see a video about hiring a professional photographer! It’s something I’ve also wanted to do for our Airbnb, but since we’re pretty consistently booked (even with just basic listing photos), we just haven’t done it yet. Thanks for sharing all this info!
As a Real Estate/Commercial photographer, I would love to see an episode about your property getting photographed. By the way, I am always very impressed with your photos.
Our business is also seasonal and relies strongly on tourism (we are vintage teacup candles brand based in Covent Garden, London) and this summer we had big expectations and they have not been met. It seems that there is not that many tourists around. I believe it is only a temporary thing. In regards to pool, maybe try a jacuzzi first ;)
Use equity towards a different property. Maybe sell this one and buy in a different place…..Maybe buy something that you can rent out as long term rental. For example in Vancouver BC our basement suite is rented out for $2800 per month ( cdn) and the main and upper could rent for another $3500 ish Mind you our house would sell for about 2.8 million cdn
Vancouver is expensive though
Hahahahah 😂😂😂😂😂😂 , it’s the should we build a pool at the end, lol I’m thinking the same thing guys, my Airbnb is in JAMAICA 🇯🇲
Yes, would love to see the photography video.
I have a AirB&B midnorthen AZ booking have just been OK. To day I was just taking to my husband about pools I think they are expensive, your electricity bill, water bill, INSURANCE will be sky hi with a pool. And of course all the chemicals having a pool person come and clean it on a regular basis a pool cover a fence the liability is high. When we had a pool, we let our pets swim in the pool. Pools are a big liability.
Yes - reading this makes my shoulders raise! So much stress involved in a pool is making this decision easy 🙈
I went to Joshua tree for the first time in July! I honestly loved it, the heat was great
Monsoon season out here is our fave time to be here tbh! Love that you loved it :)
I think the pool is a TERRIBLE idea. It's not just the installation cost, it's the maintenance, the increased power bill because the pump runs constantly, and increased water bill...all to be able to potentially get more bookings? Put the numbers on a spreadsheet and see what you come up with
Our August in the mountains of WNC is looking super dead. Thankfully June and July were amazing! Don't stress. It's a normal part of it. I would not personally invest that amount of money in a pool. That's just the beginning. Then you have maintenance, heating costs, liability. No thanks. I've accepted the middle tier property that is clean, comfortable and marketed correctly is what we're sticking with.
Slow in Western NC mountains this Summer even though NC has record visitors this year. My understanding is trend was holidays to Coastal areas instead of mountains. We are Near Smoky Mountain NP! Only 2nt labor day booking until October leaf season. Listed house for sale 3 weeks ago.
We have a cottage in East on a lake and we only had one renter in June, unusual. I noticed that there was a lot of available rentals at the lake also.
I wouldn’t be too concerned BUT my opinion…add the pool and definitely get a few bids. For those estimates I hope you get a baller setup too 😅 Also decide the pros and cons of how you’ll tap that equity, cashout refinance or home equity loan. All the best to you both!
Idea 💡 Pull equity out & invest into another property that’s not turnkey & can be flipped but maybe located closer to where you are residing or in a more busier vacation area that can also pull in more income due to where it’s located. Maybe near beaches, lakes, the city, kids & family friendly & modern. Basically the opposite of what you have now. Tv in every room, game room, maybe or hopefully a property with a pool already.
I imagine a lot of the people booking your place are driving in from the LA area. Have you considered installing an EV charger? It's a huge perk for people looking at a staycation with LA being the city with the most EVs in the country.
I live in the high desert near the 15 fwy. I love Joshua tree. I love that there is no light pollution and I can sit and see all the stars at night. I don’t mind going out in the summer as long as the home has good air conditioning. I like to rest and read and enjoy the quiet. When I do a search in Joshua tree for a home to rent, I have set filters that include a television. People want a television. Your house never comes up in my searches. That could be what’s happening now. Not sure. Good luck!
I have an airbnb in Mesa Arizona and it’s very dry! We have been booked from the beginning of the year and August came in and man it’s extremely slow. Arizona is extremely hot one of our hottest years as well. This is our worst month so thank you for posting this video. I thought it was my listing lol
It's not just airbnbs. I have always gone to a lot of shows and music festivals and the attendance numbers have been so low that festivals that have been around for decades are coming to an end. COVID really screwed the economy. I used to travel and do a lot more and now my living expenses are so much higher so I have to cut back on my adventures.
I think you should get a property some where else and re invest in this later, diversifying property 🙏
I’m guessing it’s only in the Joshua tree area, I’m having a record year in southern New Mexico with 100+ degrees, my Flagstaff airbnb’s are having their best year ever, I truly believe Airbnb’s are now on the up swing!! So just hold tight, don’t spend any more money and enjoy the fruits of your labor!!
This! Love this and good for you guys!! How exciting! And we will take this advice 🤍
Oh definitely need a pool out there!!
Build an ADU to have two rentals on your same property!❤
We're considering this now... so many options it is hard to decide but we guess that's a good "problem" to have!
Same. Our desert BNB is totally dead this summer. It's so hot this year we aren't even going out there.
Its crazy! We just entered the Airbnb world this year and have our Airbnb in Brazil Bonito - we are managing it from Germany though. We had to add a lot of stuff INCLUDING a pool. Its not a fancy in the ground one, its a very simple one that is assembled on concrete (if you want I can send you the link in a PN, so you guys know what I am talking about ;) ). Guess what... bookings a popping in weekly! Before we got 1 visit per month (which was still nice as we do not intend to make a business out of it. Its more a fun thing to do for a property invest we made). In a nutshell: I can agree with your pool-argument and we saw this after we changed the front pic that shows now the pool.
I do my own photos. We have stayed at places with professional shots.... was very disappointed by the actual venue after seeing those pics
Oh that’s super interesting! The pics can totally be “over done,” makes sense!
Hi guys. I have a touristic store in Lisbon, Portugal and it hás been one of the worst years (my mom has this business for 65 years). First we thought it was the Euro football Cup in Germany, then the Olympics...but the thing is, Lisbon is booked, there's tons of people, and people on Paris are complaining that Paris is booked but there's no business...so, yes, is surelly a strange year...hope everything's get better with you family! This too shall pass! 😘♥️
Thank you for the insight! Definitely a strange one. Hoping business picks up for you all over there too! 🤍
By the time people pay the overpriced accommodation they have no money no go to the bar. It was like 6 euro or 8 euro for a beer and then they expect you to order just as many as if it was 3 euro. Even the supermarket is pretty ridiculous. Might aswell go to a organic shop. It isn't really that much different price and way better quality. I made a vegan soup and it tasted like it had a whole 100ml of cream in it. The organic food must have some fats in there that I was not used to.
I don't know how much you expect to make from a single two bedroom. It sounds like it is already pretty good. If you were in Italy in seaside area the off season would be october till May with only July and August you could rely on. Most vacation rentals would be empty 10 months a year. To make a few thousand profit from two bedroom would probably be above average. If your booked for the weekend then anyone looking to book for a week or more isn't going to find you. You would have to be pretty rich to pay for a pool in the desert for a private use 2 days out of the week while it sat empty the rest of the week. I think it is something to share with more people like if you had some safari tents or cabins it could be more viable. Looking at your pricing I xan see why people would reluctant to stay long. Then with the cleaning fee a short stay doesn't look attractive either. Maybe cut it by 40% and you will get more bookings. In the desert tho it sounds ridiculous like it should be more like 60% cheaper. The service fee on it's own is 7%. That wouldn't be so bad on a cheap place but it is a lot of money on a weekly booking equivalent to one night in one of your rooms. If your advertising on instagram then what is airbnb actually doing other than making your pricing uncompetitive? If they are charging hosts another 15% then they are definitely driving you out of business. You could do much better with repeat customers ran privately.
You telling the truth I am fully booked in Rome! Until next year!🎉
That's awesome!! Congrats!! :)
Can't help you much, my high season is summer and low season is winter. Last year I had mid term people that stayed 6 months, this year I'm getting bookings already. Even though it's low season, it's one of the best places to spend winter time in Europe, so people come here and work remotely.
That sounds awesome. So happy to hear this! Thank you for the insight too!
i own an airbnb in north austin as well as a wedding photography business. my wedding photography business has had very slow bookings. the way you speak about the airbnb is how i am with weddings i'm not sure when it will go up will it be okay. My airbnb is doing good but its not just for vacations. people stay for medical reasons, to visit family, when they get displaced from their home. I think its because they have to stay. i do think weddings will get better and we'll see things getting better but i will say this is why i dont invest in vacation only markets because of hard times. For us there are no seasons and people have to stay regardless of the economy. we had to drop prices too. im sure things will get better. outside of the equity you have to look at once its paid off its cashflow for retirement and thats what i'm looking forward too.
No pool! Too hot in summer. How would you keep the pool temp below 90? Also, warm pools have algae. Also, who’s going to clean it, how often and for how much? Bad idea.
Full almost every day in Santa Cruz county, sorry you are down. You have the reverse high season to us.
Hey guys, I have friends who have ABNBs.
A lot of the slow down is economics. People don’t have as much extra funds.
Just something else to consider.
Hang in there! No pool, my vote.
We have an Airbnb/Vrbo on a lake in northern Indiana. Being in Indiana the peak season is the summer season. We have definitely notice a slower season. Normally the summers are about fully booked by February or March. This year we were only about half booked by March, most of the rest of the summer still booked, just later than normal, but we are sitting with an empty week this week.
As far as adding a pool I would say No. Your insurance cost is going to go up, the ongoing maintenance and cleaning of the pool would be costly. I doubt you would ever recoup your costs.
Great content, thank you for sharing the good and bad. Have 3 VRs in northern Michigan, Summer (July) is top $ for us! End of March - early May (our mud season) between Ski to Golf season is the slowest time. Try reaching out to past guests to help fill slow dates. Hot tub, fire pit, sauna, cold plunge, game room, pickleball courts, and lakes are BIG draws. Pools are nice but would your revenue increase enough to justify such a large investment? Good luck with new photos. We're getting new professional photos in a few days too. Going for more lifestyle type pictures to help guests picture themselves staying at the property. 0:58
I vote for a dishwasher and simple roku smart tv (not in a bedroom). Mostly the dishwasher. Not having to hand wash dishes makes the experience more restful & it's more accessible for people with mobility limitations.
To add - also consider updating the 2nd bathroom? Perhaps continue to focus improvement efforts indoors rather than outdoors for now 🤷♀️😊
Dishwasher is a top priority for us! Do guests run it before they leave and the cleaner puts the dishes away??
If we update the 3rd bedroom/bath, it will be a major overhaul - we'll have to take out a door and close up the walls as well... trying to do that further down the line as it will be V expensive and we want to do it right the first time. ah.. so many things!
@@kristenandmichael Vacations Rentals I have used with dishwashers had us run it when we check out and cleaners emptied it. If we only used a couple plates and cups we would hand wash and put away ourselves, but for longer stays or with the whole family we used a lot of dishes so the dishwasher was nice.
Probably not a good idea to spend that much money on just one amenity... especially a built-in pool. Maintenance, increased insurance liability cost, poor return on investment, and those who would never buy a house with a built-in pool (if you sell) are just some of the downsides. Instead, spread that money around into several high appeal amenities (game room + jacuzzi, etc) in order to get the most bang for the money and increase bookings.
Could it be possible to add a bigger cowboy tub with a shade or pergola over it?
We love the idea of a shade covering over the pool area... we're using AI to render some ideas on how we could do it in a cool way that could be retractable! TBD...
Pools are a massive waste of money. First of all, not everybody likes them, not everybody wants them. They require a lot of maintenance and are expensive to maintain. They are also very expensive to repair and guests can cause a damage that will cost thousands of dollars to repair. I have heard of at least two cases from other hosts whose pools were damaged by guests jumping in and required 8K to resurface the pool. Meanwhile you can't accept reservations and with how slow it is to get any contractors to come and do the work you are probably looking at two months vacantly at a minimum. If you eventually get tired of running a short term rental and decide to sell the property, a pool is one thing that does not add value to your property (I am telling you that as someone who worked as a home appraiser in the past) and not everyone wants to purchase a pool home, it is a smaller buyers pool no pun intended
Keep going it’s great investment for your future,you’ll be able to put it into a pot for retirement 💕🍀🍀
That's the plan! We hope so :)
If you keep playing the amenity game against investors you are always going to be behind. Don't worry so much about what everyone else is doing. Instead focus on what you would like in your dream home. You know, the stuff you want but don't buy for yourself because it's not practical for XYZ reasons. These are the things guests want to rent because it's not practical to buy. You want a man cave...build a man cave. You want a pool, build a pool. You want a ferris wheel, buy a freaking ferris wheel. Create the experience you want for yourself and let others rent that experience.
One thing I think would be awesome is if you purchased all the latest gadgets that are hot on social media like fidget spinners, shower heads, little toys and gadgets. Don't market it but as a guest I would love to experience all these random items while at an Airbnb. Then have a shop that allows those guests to buy those items with your affiliate link
@@SterlingSansing- totally disagree. need to stop rampant unnecessary consumerism and shopping addiction, not bask in it.
@@MegInWhispers Good luck with that. I wish you well.
this year airbnb is super slow
You sound like you do not want to do the pool. Go with your gut and don't sweat it!
Haha you can read us well!!
Dont put in a pool until the Fed lowers the Funds rate back to 0%.
How was this the worst summer? You made more money or the same money?
To pool or not to pool, this is the question 🧐
Ughh right?! Are you guys going to pool?
@@kristenandmichael it’s on the long list of plans
Wow I'm not sure how you guys can make is with a $2,300 mortgage. I mean the mortgage is just one of your expenses and you have many more. I don't think a pool would be a good ideal. I don't think you'd make enough extra to cover that expense for years and years. I thought having a hot tub would be enough but as you are showing lots of people have pools too. We used to own a 6 bedroom/3 bath waterfront property with an inground pool and after 2 years we sold it. It made good money but for almost half the year we had slow season because we get snow. And keeping up with a pool is not fun at all. We had a great pool guy but sometimes he would have to go out of town and I had to clean it. That sucked.
There is ones which are called natural pools or something like that. Basically it has some sections with plants that clean the water automatically. Course it is a big effort aswell but once it is designed and built can be much easier to maintain and the water is free from chlorine so it is much better for bathing and also for nature. More attractive with reed beds and there is fish that can live there etc. I think it would be a better investment and more likely to attract bookings than a standard type pool with dirty old water. In Austria a DIY swim teich costs about 20,000 euro although that included excavation done by a company and the welding of the liner so isn't totally DIY.
I am just a guy, but the broader real estate trends across the nation, are not promising... economic woes are IMO just around the corner, regardless of who wins the election, things aren't looking good. just saying.
❤
Cleaning fee. $130!! That is insane!
As hosts for 3 years, we've learned rather quickly that so is not paying the people that care for your home (properly) what they're worth. You get what you give...
Biden economics lol
Yup