Game room or theater in basement space

[Christina P.]

We are new to the STR business, having just purchased a 5br 3ba home in Sevierville/Pigeon Forge, TN area. The home has been doing well as vacation rental for 15 years prior to our purchase, but we are making some improvements. The pool table currently in the house is not in great shape and probably will need to be replaced soon. My question is, should we buy a new one or build a home theatre in the room currently occupied by the table? Which do renters prefer and give us a better return on investment? There would still be room a small arcade/game area in another part of the basement.

[Avery Carl]

I would either just replace the felt on the pool table (cheapest option), or I'd go with the media room.  Even if the upstairs living room has ample seating and a large tv. Most of the vacations in a rental this size in this market are going to have a bunch of kids and the adults will want to have a separate living area.  Kids can be downstairs watching movies, adults can be upstairs watching ball games etc.  Media rooms have become a big selling point in this market.

I'd steer clear of the gym stuff.  That's just asking for more headaches in my opinion.  A. someone's kid drops a heavy weight and breaks their foot and you're on the hook for it or B. (more likely option) you're just putting more things in the house for guests to break and then complain about being broken.  Not worth the headache.