STR use garage for recreation and no cars ?

Question

For a near beach STR, is it ok to not allow guests to park their cars in the garage?

Instead, add recreation games (foosball/ ping pong ) etc. in the garage ?

Or are renters really looking to park their car in garage instead of in driveway?

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Chris K., I think I have had 3 groups as to park in the garage. Most just want to keep their kayaks and bicycles in there. The garage at our lakehouse is off limits as we store a bunch of stuff for the house in there as well as tools and our watercraft.

We are far out of the main town and we have very little crime so most folks just keep their kayaks on the beach and bicycles either on the deck on in front of the garage.

I am going to add a bike rack to the side so folks will have some kind of security feeling. Not really necessary but perception is 90% of vacation rentals IMHO. I have left the garage open with everything hanging out for 8 hours when I ran into town for supplies and nothing was disturbed.

Dustin Allen · Answer

@Chris K.

As long as there is ample parking without the garage and you don’t have a snow season, then go for it.

Danette C. · Answer

Chris, as long as the renter has somewhere to park their cars, that's all that matters.  We rented in Kissimmee FL and there was enough space for 2 cars in driveway as the garage was converted to a game room area.  When we rented in Destin, FL, again enough parking as their garage stored bikes, boogie boards, etc for our use.  It's not like you are getting snow like us NE states!  :)

Aubrey Maldonado · Answer

Guests are allowed to use the garage in my STR for now. I've thought about turning it into a game room in the future it's difficult to decide which is more advantageous for the guest experience. Our longer-stay guests have specifically appreciated use of the garage. The BnB is in a townhouse development with minimal parking other than driveway space (one can fit a large vehicle or two small with a tight squeeze) and garage. The rest of the community parking is on a first-come-first-serve basis and fills up quickly.

Anand S. · Answer

I would never convert a garage to a game room. I'd hate for them to keep the garage door open while they're hanging out playing pool, drinking etc. while the whole residential neighborhood watches them.

Matt "Roar" Gardner · Answer

@Chris K. - As an agent and investor in the Destin/Panama City Beach area, I recommend maximizing your heads-in-beds as much as you can (assuming you have the living space to comfortably accommodate that many people).  If living space is slim, I'd recommend converting it to a rec room.

I have a client who converted a 2 car garage to a bunk room with 4x Queen bunk beds....he sleeps 16 kids in that room (with ample living space in the house as well), and he is crushing it!

Daniel Johnson · Answer

@Chris K. I would recommend not just turning it into a rec room, but making it a clear differentiator. Think of it as expanding your home by another 250-300 sqft. Put in a mini-split, LVP floors, then put in a couple nice TVs, some seating and foosball/ping pong table and maybe an Arcade game. Making it an experience will increase your revenue and occupancy.

On the parking, just make sure that there is enough parking at the home for the number of guests you host.

Andrew B. · Answer

If it’s a beach town in the way I understand if, parking is an incredibly valuable commodity and it’s one where you need more as you go up in bedrooms. Only you know if you live in a busy beach town though.

Myrtle Mike Thompson · Answer

Hi Chris, my feedback is similar to the other responses.  In beach markets, most guests aren't going to choose your home based on wanting to park in a garage.  I think the space would be better utilized as a game room - as you suggested - or possibly even converted to a bedroom/living space to accommodate larger groups.  This is my old insurance hat coming out, but garage parking also opens the door to potential damage with mirrors clipping the side walls, issues with the garage door getting hit, etc.  Happens more often than you'd think.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

It also depends on the neighborhood. I have parked in a garage to protect the vehicle while traveling in Florida. Some STR are in sketchy neighborhoods, but they never tell you that in the listing of course. It is probably not a big deal either way. Just state clearly in the listing that garage parking is not available.

@Myrtle Mike Thompson I am sure people do run into garages, but in my experience it is actually very rare. We have people parking in our STR garage and it is a tight entrance. We have never had an issue. In our LTR we have had people run into the garage door when parking in the driveway. This was bumping the outside when closed, so nothing to do with parking inside. I guess people have really bad field of depth vision or they are just careless. If someone is damaging your property, they need to pay regardless of if it happens inside or outside the garage.

STR use garage for recreation and no cars ?

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