Increased STR profits by adding a bathroom?

Question

I have a 3100 sq ft, 4-BR, 2.5 BA STR in Anchorage, AK. The home isn’t renting as well as I’d like and I’m looking to make it more competitive. The max capacity is 12 and my average party size over the last 5 years is 8.2.

I’m thinking that the #1 thing I can do to make the home more attractive to larger groups would be to add a bathroom. My own experience of renting a 3 bathroom VR with my 8 ski buddies is that 8 people sharing even 3 bathrooms is difficult.

I have a bid to install a 3/4 bathroom for $8,000. I estimate this would allow me to increase the nightly rate by at least $30. This seems like a no-brainier but I’m wondering if anyone has added a bathroom to a STR or has thoughts on the ideal number of bathrooms in STRs.

Thanks!

Joe Splitrock · Answer

Maybe the locals know Anchorage isn't real Alaska, but you are marketing to tourists, not locals. This is a jump off place for their Alaskan adventure. Make if feel authentic. I think it is a great house and using a small budget to update, taking more photos, you could increase appeal ten fold. I may even pay a professional photographer to do the shoot. A couple hundred bucks, but well spent.

Troy Ritter · Answer

Hey @Lucas Carl. I think you must’ve misread the other thread. A couple people did suggest selling but others suggested I get off my butt, make a new plan and learn to make the place more competitive in the changing market.

I appreciate the recommendation but in 6 years I’ve made over $90,000 cash flow and haven’t had a losing season. I see people on this app getting excited over much less. I haven’t got as many bookings for the upcoming season as usual and I’m working hard to turn that around but I think throwing in the towel at this stage is really premature.

Troy Ritter · Answer

@Joe Splitrock you are absolutely right! I’m going to take your advice. Thanks for taking the time to help!

Troy Ritter · Answer

@Joe Splitrock gosh the comments are super helpful and very doable! I can’t thank you enough.

Alaskans would tell you that Anchorage isn’t “real” Alaska. It’s a modern city with sidewalks, traffic and people and the only mountains are in the far distance. It’s definitely anywhere USA. 12 years living there and I never saw a home that resembled an Alaskan lodge or has a true view of the mountains. HOWEVER, I can do a better job of creating the elusion of an Alaskan lodge. I can redecorate and maybe change the name from Baxter Crest Vacation home to Cozy Coho or the sleepy Salmon :)  I can also change up the beds. I can also update the pictures and maybe stage some of the scenes to better target my audience. Again, thanks a million for sharing your knowledge! Super helpful.

Troy Ritter · Answer

Hey @John Underwood and @Paul Sandhu. I’m definitely not looking at this as a complete fix. After my last post, I summarized the suggestions into 3 categories: price, advertising and amenities. I’ve already taken steps to make the price more in-line with competitors and increase advertising. I’ve also received 3 bookings since and my “views in the last 48 hrs” increased from 8 to 66! Now I’m looking at amenities. Unfortunately, nothing stands out there except that my most successful competitors have at least 3 bathrooms. That lines up with feedback I’ve gotten from post guests and my own experience. It’s also a pretty small investment. Anyway, thank you both for the terrific feedback. It’s really invaluable!

John Underwood · Answer

I personally do not think this will help. I have had 14 family members share 2 bathrooms with no issues.

I would make sure you have a modern kitchen and professional pictures

Have you had multiple complaints that you have too few bathrooms? If not then I would see what ammenities successful rentals in your area have and see what you can duplicate.

John D. · Answer

I've added bathrooms to a few of our homes, but it's a very, very different type of client (and our homes are 7-10 bedrooms).  Laundry room conversion is usually the easiest way to get that done.  At 3,100 SF, I would look at adding a bedroom (or two) if that doesn't funk up the layout too much.

Anthony Rosa · Answer

I wouldn't do it.  Don't spend the money. Spend the money to make the place look like a cozy getaway with maybe some paint, photos, Alaskan portraits, redecorate. I've heard of people liking a place because it was clean, had modern fixtures and there was an attraction brochure rack.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

@Troy Ritter

I do not own STR, but I have used them in several state park trips and Alaska is on our list for the next few years. In other words, I am your customer.

Here is what I noticed:

1. You advertise mountain view. Where are the mountains in your photographs? I think maybe in two of the windows I may have seen a tiny mountain. Take a picture out the window. You should have many pictures with mountains and outdoors. When I stayed at Glacier we fell in love with all the places that had views of the mountains. Even the ones that didn't have mountain view, showed pictures of the mountains.

2. As other said, people going to Alaska want the cabin or lodge feel. You could absolutely get some of that feeling into your home. One of the rooms has bedspreads with fish and moose, plus a canoe picture on the wall. Every picture in that house should be outdoor themed with Alaska flare (fish, moose, mountains, bears, etc). Your furniture and all decorations should be cabin themed. We stayed a house in Glacier that was decorated that way. Yes it was a house, but had cabin flare. Nobody goes to Alaska to stay in a mid 1990's decorated house.

3. Your picture of people around the fire pit was good, but there were no kids and most everyone had grey hair. If you are shooting for the family vibe or the ski buddy vibe, that photo falls short. I have been in marketing over 20 years and trust me, the age and appearance of people selected in advertisements is very intentional.

4. Beds were all queen which is great, but there are only 6 beds. If I was going skiing with buddies and there were 8 of us, we would not stay there. Sorry but only couples and children will share a queen bed. You would be better off adding a second bed to the two bedrooms. Even a twin bed is fine. At least it gives the option for separate beds. I would even think having a king and twin in a bedroom may be better than two queens. As a married person I prefer king and there is only one in the whole house. You could also have a pull out bed in the living room. My point is occupancy is more than just bed spaces. Think about who would actually be sleeping there and where they would sleep.

5. It may seem silly, but ditch that picture of the front of the house. It makes the place look like a suburban house from Anycity USA. That is what I would expect on Zillow when selling, not a vacation glam shot. The blue color is also pretty bad. If you go to repaint, choose an earth tone like a tan or brown. I would take a picture of the rear and if you do have a front picture, take it higher up and try to get some mountain in the background. More nature, less blue suburban house.

After I wrote these suggestions, I went to visit the "suggested similar properties". Guess what! They all have pictures of the mountains. They had king/twin combos in bedrooms. They had more cabin themed decoration. Their average price was a good $50-100 less than yours. Look at your competition.

Scrolling through the top 50 Alaskan rentals, only a few had 3 bathrooms. Most were 2 and many were even 1 bathroom. The only two default filters in VRBO are "Price" and "Bedrooms". I just think focusing on the bathrooms is missing the mark.

I hope my feedback helps. Please don't get defensive. There are a lot of experienced people trying to help you here, but only if you listen.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

Probably won't work.  I had 9 guys stay in a 3BR house with one bathroom.  They were pretty happy to stay there, it was 5 minutes away from where they were working.  Every motel in a 60 minute radius was booked.  They were driving 70 miles after working a 12 hour shift to sleep in a motel in another state.  Then drive back the next morning to work a 12 hour shift.

Increased STR profits by adding a bathroom?

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