Do you wish you knew which Airbnb amenities are worth the most in return on investment? Are you looking at potential properties and unsure how to measure them against each other? Do you have an Airbnb and wonder what you could add to drive more bookings and higher rates?
If this sounds familiar, don't miss Episode 24 of the Host Coach Airbnb Investing Podcast! Today we’re sharing the highest value Airbnb amenities - so you can invest in the things that guests want most, and will pay the most for!
Read on to understand exactly what amenities guests are looking for when searching for a place to stay, and our expert advice on investments that create the highest cash flow.
Topics discussed in this episode:
- Unbuildable Airbnb amenities
- The amenities included in Airbnb’s search filter
- The amenity that adds $1k/month to our listings
- Free and low cost amenities that set your Airbnb listing apart from the competition
- How to fund amenity purchases without using your savings
Host Coach Airbnb Podcast Episode 24 Show Notes:
The definition of amenity is something that helps to provide comfort, convenience, or enjoyment. And when it comes to Airbnb, amenities not only factor into your five-star reviews, they can be the entire reason a guest chooses your place. This is why it's so important to know what guests want, not to just guess or buy amenities that you want.
In previous episodes, we've talked about the unbuildable amenities to consider when purchasing a place: views, lake, river, or ocean access, as well as proximity to desirable destinations like national parks, wineries, and ski resorts. Today we're focusing on amenities that you can add to your Airbnb, or to look for in the properties you are considering.
So let's go to the source, looking at the amenities listed in Airbnb's feature filters as guest search for a place. So this is literally a set of boxes. You click off to filter the properties you're viewing before you book them. And remember, guests want what they don't have in their personal homes. And that's what hits the hardest when it comes to amenities.
Number one, high speed wifi. If you are in a urban location, you have a nice wired fiber connection. That's awesome. It's going to allow people to not just be able to stream their content to you're smart TV, but also to work comfortably.
After COVID, we get so many more midweek bookings where people are really needing to do a little bit of work. We get the question all the time, "Will your internet support zoom?" In our rural locations, we don't always have those wired connections. So I've been through , I won't say every, but I've been through a large number of internet options from Hughes satellite to, Blazing Hog, which is a cellular solution. Those worked okay, but we've really, finalized on using Elon Musk's Starlink. It's fantastic! It's an easy install, the wi-fi is super fast. There's no over limit charges.
Where do you get Starlink? Because for a little while there, you had to register and wait and turn to get yours.
I got my last one by being able to register as an RV customer. But I was just in BestBuy two weeks ago and saw the Starlink setup in BestBuy.
It's $600 for the hardware, but the monthly is $120 a month with zero overcharges and it's super fast and reliable and awesome.
Airbnb Hot Tubs
Number two, a pool or a hot tub is a fabulous amenity. I spent 15 years working in the swimming pool industry. So, I know all the problems with swimming pools. The biggest problem is if somebody messes up your swimming pool, it can't be fixed quickly.
So in our rural markets, we focus on hot tubs as an amenity. I've got a number of properties in the same neighborhood that are very similar properties. A couple of years ago, I ran an analysis of what property a with hot tub is making versus an almost identical property in an almost identical location without hot tub.
The gross difference a hot tub makes is a thousand dollars a month in bookings. So, that's an extra thousand dollars a month onan $8,000 hot tub investment. You do need to keep in hot tubs can be a pain. You're going to need someone that can service it for you. People can spill beer in them or party in them and they can get gross quick, but they can be turned over quickly, dumped and refilled.
Airbnb Saunas
Particularly during COVID, we had trouble getting new hot tubs. So, our new hack has been saunas. You can buy an indoor infrared sauna on Wayfair. I think the last one we bought was $2,500. If you don't have inside space, you can put it in a barrel style sauna outside. They're priced at more like $5,000, but they are turning out to be generating an equivalent revenue of a hot tub at a thousand dollars a month. People love saunas. It's an amenity that they don't have. It's exciting. And, there's zero maintenance compared to a hot tub.
Guests love them, especially hikers - they hike all day, come in and sit in the sauna, loosen up the muscles, and go to bed early. We actually like the one in our last cabin so much that we're thinking of getting one for our personal home.
Fireplaces
Moving on to another hot amenity: (pun intended) indoor fireplaces. So again, people want what they don't have. You want to sit in front of a crackling fire and read your book or have a glass of wine. And, if you're looking at a property that has a fireplace and one that doesn't, buy the place with the fireplace.
If neither of the options you're looking at have a fireplace, consider adding a gas fireplace. There will be the cost of the actual unit itself, as well as the professional propane plumbing. But again, it's great because then you don't have people building fires in your home. It's a more controlled situation.
To be clear about the gas fireplaces, you can have a traditional fireplace with a chimney, or you can have a fireplace stove that just sits in the room and doesn't require any type of ventilation. Those are really nice and guests still love them.
Another option is to add an electric fireplace. If you do this, please be very clear in your listing that it is an electric fireplace or you're going to have unhappy guests because they don't have that sound and that crackle or the same kind of flame as one that is a propane or an actual fireplace.
Grills
Another smaller scale amenity that guests really want is a barbecue grill. If you don't have a deck and you don't have space in your apartment building or even your home, having a grill as you're chilling out on the weekend or on a vacation is amazing. You can decide whether you want to invest in a charcoal grill or a propane grill.
We don't provide the charcoal or lighter fluid for our charcoal grills, but we do provide the propane for our propane grills. A hack there is to have two propane tanks, one attached to the grill and one tucked below the deck. So if guests run out, it can be swapped out during their stay. We also have gauges on the tank that show how full/empty they are so housekeepers can easily tell.
The nice thing about the charcoal grills is, they may seem a little less high end, but they're basically indestructible. I've had them last for 7+ years compared to your typical propane grill that you're replacing every two to three seasons.
King Beds
So our next suggested amenity is a king bed. I've never had a king bed. I've always been a queen bed kind of person, because I'm not super tall. But, when I got into Airbnb investing, guests kept asking about king beds. I didn't know what a big thing it was. Guests who have a king bed at home often have it because maybe they're tall or the person that they sleep with is hot or cold.
So the people that have king beds are really looking for them when they're traveling. The people that don't have a king bed, see it as this luxurious amenity. "Ooh, it's got a king bed!" In our Airbnbs that have king beds, we put that amenityin the listing title. Example: Mountaintop Retreat with King Bed.
It's that big of a deal. In coaching, every client I talked to has validated this desire of guests to have a king bed. So, if you have the space in the bedroom, king beds are a big win.
Cribs/Pack n Plays
Also thinking about sleeping quarters for on the other side of the spectrum, our little friends, we get asked about the availability of cribs a lot. Parents place a high value on not lugging a crib around on vacation.
We don't really have cribs in our Airbnb, but we do have pack in plays. They're $100 on Amazon, and we put one in every single one of our places. Unlike a high chair, they don't really get dirty or messy.
Cribs and pack n plays are so sought after that they are a checkoff amenity box on Airbnb. It's a little hard to tell exactly how many more visitors we get because of it. But it's something that parents are looking for, not having to lug their own pack and play. Also, we've never had to replace one - they are pretty indestructible.
Pet-Friendliness
Next up, is the amenity of being pet friendly. 50% of guests on the Airbnb platform are searching for stays that allow their pets to come along, but only 28% of U.S. Airbnb listings are pet friendly. So, this is an easy way to make your listing more desirable for minimal money. Basically, as long as you have flooring appropriate for dogs, you're good to go!
We did do a deep dive into this topic of being pet friendly in Episode 20. So if you're interested in the nitty gritty and all of our advice to be successful with this amenity, be sure to check out that episode or blog post after finishing this one.
Gyms & Fitness Equipment in Your Airbnb
Another amenity that surprised me is that many guests are searching for a home gym in an Airbnb. If you have a spare room or an area of a basement at a gym, you can pick up a Bowflex and free weights on Facebook marketplace, or even at a garage sale, hang a mirror and boom, you have a gym for guests to enjoy. And that's one more amenity you have that I would guess the majority of hosts around you do not.
While we haven't done this yet, because hiking is the main exercise of our guests, when we finish the basement of one of our cabins, I would like to try it. We'll do a follow up episode at some point, telling you how the home gym happened, if guests are using it, and if it's a worthwhile use of space.
EV Chargers
There are three and a half million electric cars in the United States, and those people want to book a stay at your Airbnb. So adding an EV charger to your listing is a great way to stand out for the competition. They cost about $500 and you still need to have an electrician pull the electric out to them.
I took a look in our rural market and less than 9% or as much as 9% (I kind of look at that statistic both ways) have EV chargers. We don't have any EV chargers yet. It's on the to-do list, but seeing that statistic makes me think we need to prioritize them. The data is validating. We get asked by guests about their availability, more and more frequently.
Airbnb Decks
Thinking about amenities you can add to your Airbnb, the number one for us is decks. We added two decks to our cabins recently, increasing the outdoor living space, making room for hot tubs, and making room for potentially outdoor saunas. This amenity boosts demand and revenue!
Tying into decks are screened porches. If you're looking at two potential investmetn Airbnb properties and one has a screen porch, buy it! Guests love spending time outside without bugs, and screen porches are great for keeping kids and pets from getting loose.
We have a screen porch on our personal cabin before we listed it on Airbnb, but we never used it! But, w hen Culin's cousin stayed she said she spent 90% of her time on the screened porch reading her book and listening to it rain. It is a great way to be outside even when the weather isn't ideal.
So screen porches are huge amenties. If you can buy one, buy one, or if you can build one, it's a great return on investment.
Outdoor Furniture
Another thing that's worth investing in is outdoor dining and lounge furniture. This lets guests luxuriate outside of your Airbnb. Again, people who don't have a deck or beautiful outdoor space can take in the views, smell the fresh air, soak in the sunshine and outdoor design really matters in your listing photos.
Remember, we've got to make our listing pop. People need to see the picture and imagine themselves living the lifestyle from your listing photos on Airbnb. So you want to choose items that stand up to weather and wear, but also look really nice. I tend to go for metal tables and metal frames on chairs because they last a lot longer than wood or wicker. Then I just replace the cushions as needed.
Stay in your color palette with your interior design and exterior design. So it's all one beautiful flow. And another really inexpensive outdoor hack of mine is to use an outdoor rug. It really elevates the space and ties it together into an outdoor living area. Guest perception goes from being, "Oh, there's a chair and a table." to ""Oh, it's like an outdoor living room!" Just because I added a $90 outdoor rug from Walmart.
Airbnb Fire Amenities
Keeping with the outdoor amenity theme: if you have a yard put in a fire pit area. This can be as simple as just stacking some rocks up and surrounding them with some plastic chairs - or you can begin to elevate that. You can get a metal ring and add some anorandak chairs in your accent color.
I have clients have gone even further with this and done the stacked paver type of fire ring, supply s'mores kits, and dressed up the fire pit area with bistro lighting. This is a great way for people to spend time outside. We sit around the fire doing nothing but talking, maybe roasting marshmallows, and stargazing.
If you don't have an outside space that is safe to build a fire, the other hack is a fire table. These are a very safe way to have a fire amenity for guests. You can get them at Home Depot, Lowes, or Wayfair. A little propane 20 pound cylinder goes underneath the table to fuel the fire. This allows you to bring that experience of sitting around the fire in a safe way to the deck if you don't have a large lawn area.
Outdoor Showers
Another outdoor amenity that I'm really passionate about is outdoor showers. Not every one of our decks can support a hot tub one due to size or location. You can have one plumbed into the side of your Airbnb, or you can just buy a solar powered freestanding unit online for $160. It's just a great way to rinse off after taking a hike or rinse off the pets. And again, outdoor showers are something that not everybody's going to have at their home - making it a desirable amenity.
Hanging Basket Chairs
We would be remiss talking about amenities if we didn't bring up my favorite thing, the hanging basket chair! I won't say very much about these chairs because we've talked about them in previous episodes, but hanging basket chairs increase bookings by several percentages.
Potential guests see them in your Airbnb listing photos. They don't have them. They want to sit in them. They want to take selfies in them. Hanging basket chairs are really cool and they're not that expensive. I've picked them on our neighborhood listserv and spray painted them to be the correct accent color for our cabins. They are an easy amenity to add.
Hammocks
Along those lines and an even less expensive amenity are hammocks. Again, we've talked about them in the past. A hammock is an actual check box to click off as an amenity at your Airbnb. You can buy a $30 hammock on Amazon, hang it between two trees or put two posts in, and you've added this great relaxing feature to your Airbnb that people want to spend time in.
Dedicated Workspace
All right, enough of the relaxing. Let's get back to work here! A dedicated workspace attracts work away travelers. Post COVID, this has become huge. So many people are working from home and realizing they don't have to work from their homes... they can work from your Airbnb. So, setting up some sort of dedicated workspace is a key amenity.
We particularly like leaning desks. They lean against the wall, taking up very little space. The desk is for work, but also doubles for a kid's arts and craft type area. We even put pencil holders and some art supplies on the shelves. So it can double as the workspace where someone can go in and close a door, take a zoom call or write up a proposal and also doubles as a kid's amenity.
Parking Space
Next up is free parking, and this may sound a little bit crazy, but it's the number three feature on the Airbnb filters that you can click off as you search for a place. This amenity is pretty easy to offer if you're in a rural location, but we do have guests at our larger properties frequently ask if there's enough space to park three or four cars.
Urban dwellers are super concerned about parking, and it makes sense. This means it's definitely worth looking into reserving a parking spot in a garage for guests if your listing is in the city.
Parking is something I definitely look for when I'm booking an urban Airbnb, especially if I'm coming with my parents because they're from a small town. Also, I haven't parallel parked my car in five or six years. So there's that!
There are endless possibilities when it comes to Airbnb amenities, but the ones that we have covered are the top performers when it comes to what guests are searching for when booking a stay. They give you the biggest proven bang for your buck as an investor!
Again, you don't have to purchase all of these amenities at once. Choose the ones that make the most sense, and then allow cash flow from guest bookings to fund other purchases. I can tell you it feels amazing to add great amenities to your Airbnb without dipping into your personal savings.
So there you have it. You know, the exact Airbnb amenities that drive bookings and maximize return on investment so you can make more money and enjoy five star reviews from your delighted guests.
If you want to be unchained from your desk, you need to figure out your path to financial freedom right now. Remember, our joy is in your success! Should you need personal online Airbnb coaching - that is what we do! Sign up for a free 30 minute Airbnb coaching call to explore your needs and how we can help you succeed as an Airbnb investor.