Orlando/Kissimmee STR - are resort amenities worth ?

Question

Hi all,

I'm looking at the Orlando market for my next STR. 4/5 bedroom and close to Disney parks.

Looking at SFH or town homes in a community.

Is an extra 400-500/month for amenities such as pool/fitness center/lazy river/gated community worth it?

I'd love to hear from someone with multiple properties in the area.

Thanks everyone!!

Lyndsey Garza · Answer

I am not a property owner in Orlando, but I can provide my experience with resort amenity rich communities and rental revenue as a property manager and real estate broker in Galveston, TX.

Based on my 10 years of experience managing and selling STRs, hands down, it's worth every penny. The extra expense you'll pay for the access to the amenities can be VERY worth it. The resort amenities are what brings in the renters if you choose the right community to purchase in.

Especially worth it - even better- purchase multiple units in the same community that can be booked together by larger parties trying to be "close together". Being able to accommodate your bigger groups and help those guests find properties in the same community is a HUGE plus, whether you are self-managing or have a property management company handling your assets.

Good luck!

Tyler Gibson · Answer

These communities often include trash, cable/internet, and lawn maintenance and those are things you would otherwise have to pay for. The amenities are something that helps you get maximum nightly rates and they are a necessary evil in this area because many of the homes have it so people expect it.

Valentina Naumenko · Answer

Hi Alex, good question. Resort amenities are a great tool to market the property. What we need to remember is that Orlando visitors are renting private accommodation mainly because they want more privacy (Orlando offers so many resorts to choose from!) A private swimming pool is what the best Orlando resorts with the most superb amenities don't not offer. People who stay in Airbnbs appreciate this feature the most. This also has been supported by the high occupancy rate among pool homes or townhomes with the private pools.

With this logic set, I believe that resort amenities are not something that will entirely determine the success of your vacation home. I would agree more with @Ryan point. Find the right property (or make it right after the closing), and you can save hundreds of dollars each month. The only other thing I like to add is Location! You need to be as close to the parks as possible. Statistically, vacation homes (single family homes)  located near Disney (less than 10 miles)  don't have resort amenities (exclude Storey Lake Resort). They have a great proximity to the park, private swimming pool, interior design, and etc, these "resortless" vacation rentals are truly popular. The farther you go, the more resort- style communities you see. However, we all know how much we dislike spending our vacations sitting in the car while in traffic. Our guests think the same.  Hopefully, it helps. Good Luck.

Shawn McCormick · Answer

@Joshua Strickland Universal sits in Orlando and there aren't any STR near it (not legal ones anyway), but with Covid the numbers shifted over the last couple of years and we had a lot more domestic travel here from people looking to get out of their homes or states lockdown measures. So the International travel that we depend heavily on has been sporadic at best and I feel once the planes start flying, the demand and appetite for what we have will cause a huge influx again. I don't think it will be specifically related to a particular park though.

There are some new properties that are in the works too i.e. Evermore that will take all of this to a new level too (but I believe it is onsite managed, so don't know how attractive an investment it will be). I believe Orlando checks a lot of investment boxes for both STR and LTR and Disney is not one of those things that is going away..just getting bigger!

Ryan Moyer · Answer

If you have a really nicely themed out house with amenities attached (arcade/theater, theme rooms, private pool) then probably not necessary, but it helps.  If you could do that for the same amount of money then you'd rather have it in the home than in the resort.

If you don't have that stuff, I think those amenities would be a bare minimum.  There are 10's of thousands of vacation rentals in Orlando.  A big chunk of those will have access to amenities at the very least.

Jay Breitlow · Answer

@Joshua Strickland and @Christle Stezskal I am late to this party and I am really just piling on to what @Shawn McCormick and @Tyler Gibson have said here.  Universal Epic is a HUGE project and way more involved than Galaxy' edge.  We are talking about basically opening up a whole different theme park.  So yes expect a spike in demand in 2025 when that opens.  Would be awesome if sea world would expand - altho they are opening a new coaster FRIDAY!! 😁

The thing to look into with your STR are the special touches and details that make it unique.  Not just the location but what are the guest experiences and themes you will lean into to separate yourself from the competition.  It doesn't need to be expensive or deeply involved.  Instead fun and exciting.  What is YOUR favorite movie or theme?  Very few people here focus on those details.  Updated comforter and fresh coat of paint or theming a room to a newest movie (We don't talk aboout Bruno no no no!!) spikes demand and drives repeat guests.  So do the amenities matter?  Yes and no.  $5k into themes vs $5k in extra resort pools when u have a pool may not matter.  Build out the pro forma and do the data analysis and find people who can help.

Good luck and have fun with it!

Christle Stezskal · Answer

@Shawn McCormick

Thanks Shawn! Right now I think the biggest concern my husband and I have is that there are just SO many airbnbs and how do we compete? We want to make sure we’re considering all avenues and getting the right house. That being said, we’re confident we would do a great job and part of me knows that there’s a lot of airbnbs out there that DONT do a great job. I also know there’s TONS of tourism to the Orlando area. Just a new thing for us and a big investment in both time and money..

Shawn McCormick · Answer

@Christle Stezskal the tourism numbers have been skewed the last couple of years due to Covid, however, Orlando is still always in the top 3 most visited places. It's not a niche market like a ski town beach city that can be very seasonally dependent. Yes, we have a gazillion places to stay, but it is supported by so many things, not just Disney. So the demand is and continues to be very healthy.

Choosing the right community and size home is a great place to start, after that comes the theming of the home, since we have no mountains or ocean to look at, the homes need to stand out with game rooms, over the top excitement for kids. Then comes proper management of your calendar and rates and how well you can reach the masses of the entire world to get them to click your link. If those things are in order and you get great reviews, I don't think you can beat the returns year after year.

You are right, so many of these homes are mismanaged or just have no attention to detail,  (there are actually people that come here without kids and don't need all the bells and whistles, but the ones that do are your bread and butter. So wow them as much as you can and you'll be fine!

Joshua Strickland · Answer

@Shawn McCormick What are your thoughts on Universal’s Epic Universe opening in the next 3 or so years? Spike in demand after so get in now? Did a spike happen recently after Galaxy Edge opened or just business as usual?

Shawn McCormick · Answer

@Alex F. Storey Lake is about sold out, I believe. It has full-time homeowners and STR also and is considered one of the elite STR communities due to age of community, reputation, style of home, amenities and proximity to the parks. It is always in the top recommendations that I make. Prices are a bit higher in there comparatively to similar communities, but you should make up for it with rates and full calendars.

Orlando/Kissimmee STR - are resort amenities worth ?

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