Has anyone had any success and or failure with listing a unique s

Question

I’ve noticed boat slips come up for sale in some of the places I go on vacation. The cost to buy a condo/house in these areas are extremely expensive so getting into the vacation rental game is a little difficult. The idea of buying a boat slip and putting a houseboat there to list on AirBNB crossed my mind. Most marinas offer amenities such as restrooms with showers, laundry and swimming pools as part of the monthly common fees. Anyone doing anything like this?

Douglas Fox · Answer

I watched an episode of "Stay Here" on Netflix where a couple seemed to successfully turn around their House Boat into a Romantic Getaway.  You might want to check it out:

Release year: 2018

Designer Genevieve Gorder and real estate expert Peter Lorimer show property owners how to turn their short-term rentals into moneymaking showstoppers.

Seattle Houseboat

32m

A married couple's floating vacation rental goes from a claustrophobic money pit to a romantic waterfront retreat with a rooftop deck.

Andrew Wilke · Answer

This is a great topic.  I absolutely love the idea of owning several houseboats and using them as short term rentals. It’s unique and attractive to families or couples looking to take a vacation that combines overnight lodging with being directly on the water.  How much better can it get than that?? My main questions/concerns for anyone that has experience with this is 1. Do you let your guests drive the houseboat while renting it? 2.  What are the legal/liability issues surrounding this? 3. If you are letting the guests drive the boat they will need someone at the marina to go over everything before they take it out for the week so this would require more active in person management than a house with smart locks - thoughts??

There is a business that I know of that seems to be the main player in houseboat rentals (at least it appears that way with a google search.  Houseboating.org. I was wondering if anyone knew what their business model is?  For example, is it possible to list your boat with them or is the whole fleet owned by the company?

Any insight is appreciated!  Love this forum!

Dave Skinner · Answer

On airbnb you can use "unique stays" as a filter and see if there are houseboats in your area. Here's one I found on a quick search.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5...

Michael Morelli · Answer

Thanks everyone, a lot of things I haven't thought of.

Colleen F. · Answer

@Michael Morelli there are boat rentals (charters) and house boat rentals. Most house boat rentals are stationary.  It is likely you need better insurance and a training plan when you let them take the boat out. You may be able to pass some of the insurance cost through.  In some areas charters are a way to pay off the cost of a nice boat. We rented a catamaran in the BVIs and that was the model they used. They will sell you the boat and charter it for you when you aren't using it. On that the numbers didn't seem like they would be very profitable. However, if you are considering  a houseboat even stationary don't underestimate the cost of owning the boat. There is a reason they them a hole in the water you pour money into.  You need to consider maintenance, painting, storms. If you take them in and out of the water each season (depending on location) or during storms.  Also consider your season length.  Not saying it won't work but if you don't know boats there are other fees you want to consider that are different from a house.

Don Konipol · Answer

@Michael Morelli

These “unique” stays are a great advertising and marketing strategy for the STR apps, but I suspect aren’t profitable as investments.  If you happen to own one of these type properties or vehicles anyway, and have time you don’t use them, then any extra income can be considered “profit”.  But buying one as an investment, the interest on the loan, the opportunity cost on the down payment, the wear and tear, maintenance and depreciation will render the investment unprofitable.

This has been a problem with Uber and Lyft.  When people don’t include the cost of the vehicle, or the full cost of the vehicle, the profitability , especially in major cities, can look real good. But add in vehicle loan interest, maintenance, depreciation, etc. to expenses, and all of a sudden you learn the difference between gross income and net income.

Frank Borzen · Answer

@Andrew Wilke that's a hard no on driving the houseboats. That's like putting the average renter behind the wheel of a semi truck.

Michael Morelli · Answer

@Frank Borzen thanks Frank, it seems like the most important thing is to make sure the marina allows short term.

Frank Borzen · Answer

We have some of those in the Florida Keys. Many liveaboard marinas are now forming bylaws against short term rentals. We had a neighbor who owned a fleet of houseboats and he was successful. The boats can be purchased relatively cheap and the slip rentals were several hundred per month.

Michael Morelli · Answer

@Douglas Fox I’ve actually seen that episode before, I guess I’ll be rewatching it. Thanks for the idea.

Has anyone had any success and or failure with listing a unique s

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