Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 6 votes
Most patrons will expect there to be a gas grill at my vacation rental, so I'm trying to figure out if I should just get the cheapest one I can find and consider it something I replace every year. Or is there a higher quality grill that might last longer that I should look into?
Also, how do most people handle providing propane gas for the grill? There is a grocery store in our neighborhood where people can exchange (Rhino). No fill place if they want less. Gas is expensive so I'd rather not "eat" the cost of this but I mostly don't want to manage it (have to make sure it's full at the beginning of stays, etc.) Any advice is appreciated!
If you go with a gas grill I would install a gas grill timer. They are available at Amazon. I've heard of (not that I would) the cook having too many adult beverages while grilling and forgetting to turn off the gas. Worth looking at.
Rental Property Investor · Chatham, MA · Member since 2015 · 75 posts · 65 votes
9y
In the interests of full disclosure, I am a weber junkie. But the reason for that is, weber grills are perfect match of preformance, price and durability. I would further advise snag a classic genesis on Craigslist put a new burner in it and polish it up.. it will last forever, perform like a champ and reguire minimal maintenance. Plus it gives the appearance of high end finish for less than you would pay for el cheapo disposable
Investor · Roseville, CA · Member since 2016 · 893 posts · 1k+ votes
9y
@Scott V. I went the $99 grill option with a line item to replace either every 1 to 2 years because guests just beat them to h*ll. I usually fill mine in the spring and the check-in notes tell the owners they can get the propane filled at the gas station at the bottom of the hill. It's impossible for me to try and come up every few week just to make sure the gas is full and so far haven't had any major issues with this policy. One time I had a guest complain and I simply told him to go down and fill it and I would be happy to reimburse him which I did. Hope that helps!
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
9y
I charge $200 to $500 per night at my lake house.
I provide a charcoal grill and make them responsible for the charcoal. No one has ever complained.
When you are on vacation you have time to use charcoal and things just taste better.
I use a gas grill at home for convenience, but love using charcoal at the lake.
Gas grills are much harder to clean or keep clean and you have to worry about running out of gas.
My charcoal grill cost about $150 and I can easily replace it. Since the grill is still in good shape after 2 years I have just ordered replacement parts for the few parts like the grate (one was broken in the corner) and the tray that holds the charcoal and they are cheap to replace.
Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2016 · 11 posts · 6 votes
9y
Thanks for the suggestions...nice thing about my property is there's a large grocery store just three blocks away for them to buy needed supplies if anything comes up. I will probably provide both a gas and charcoal grill so they can choose and have a backup if needed. Redundancy. I'll probably anchor them in place somehow to keep them from "walking" and to keep guests from using the charcoal grill on our wood deck. Thanks for the tips!
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
I pulled up this thread, because I'm trying to figure out whether to buy wood for my bbq/fire pit or whether to have it there and charge people, if they use it or if I should just let them buy themselves, if they want to.
Anyway, I already have this grill at our artist community and everyone loves it, because it's also a firepit. And it's so MANLY ;-) . So, I'll be buying it for the airbnb that I'm preparing now.
Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 779 votes
9y
We have higher end, rather expensive vacation rentals where it's expected that a working gas grill will be included in the price. I always go ahead and pay for the expense of running the gas line from the house, to the gas grill, when we set up a new house. We also typically have a fire pit on that line. Pool/spa heat we charge separately for, but the grill and fire pit are included in the price.
We've had guests change the pool temperatore to 99 which has cost us a fair amount of money, but have never seen a large bill as a result of over-use of the grill or firepit. I will be adding into our contract a maxmimum amount of gas useage, and folks that go over we can bill an additional amount post-check-in in case someone decides to heat the pool to 100 degrees, while grilling constantly and simultaneously running the firepit LOL.
We had one house where we were swapping tanks for new guests, it was definitely worth it to run the gas line so we didn't have to do that any more -- both for us as well as the guests.
Real Estate Investor · Encinitas, CA · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
@Scott V. If it's possible in your scenario I'd opt for the @John D. scenario. Plus if you have a built-in BBQ with a gas line it's not like it's getting knocked over and probably won't get quite as beat up as some of the other grills. Plus you have places to set things, it looks nice in pictures of the property, etc.
If you go with a gas grill I would install a gas grill timer. They are available at Amazon. I've heard of (not that I would) the cook having too many adult beverages while grilling and forgetting to turn off the gas. Worth looking at.
Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
9y
I have a16 unit apartment complex. 10 units are weekly furnished rentals to refinery contractors (welders, pipefitters, electricians, etc). I put 2 gas grills and 2 charcoal grills in the area of the 10 units. They are shared. The renters just need to move whatever grill they want to use about 12' to be in there carport, or they leave it in the middle of their property and both units share it.
Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 779 votes
9y
@Bob B. I didn't realize there was reasonably priced, all-in-one gas timer. Apprecate your mentioning that! I'm going to add them to our fire features and grills as soon as we can. We have outside video cameras and I've seen the fire pits left on for hours without anyone around -- looking forward to putting a stop to that!
Investor · Newburyport, MA · Member since 2015 · 58 posts · 40 votes
9y
We just purchased a new Weber gas grill for our lake home in NH. $498 at Lowe's, sales-tax free (thanks, NH), with delivery and assembly. I bought a Blue Rhino propane tank that swaps out for $20 at a number of nearby (within 10 minute drive) exchange spots. I'm up there at least once/month, so I monitor the tank. If it ever runs out while guests are using the lake home, I tell them that I'll reimburse them $25 if they need to swap the tank out.
I know that the propane company that services our lake home also has a tank propane exchange program, but since they fill our primary tank relatively infrequently, I opted for the Blue Rhino program.
Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 152 posts · 86 votes
9y
Just another data point, I'm in the Weber camp with @William Leahy and our units have grills that have been there for years without issue, even in the salt environment next to the ocean.
We discussed gas vs. charcoal and decided against gas mostly because of maintenance and not wanting the guest to run out mid-grill and have to head for a tank swap location.
So far what we've seen is guests leave about a half bag behind on average, that gets used by the next guest who buys another bag on their own to supplement that and then, you guessed it, leaves about a half bag behind. :D
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2014 · 50 posts · 13 votes
9y
Electric grills have come a LONG way...they aren't like a George Foreman. I would seriously consider an electric for a STR since it takes the replenishing variables out of grills and they are generally safer and easier for "grill novices" to operate. I recently had to purchase one for my own home and I am seriously impressed.