Hi guys!  I currently have a lake house under contract in Wisconsin that we will use as a short term rental when my family is not there.  Does anyone have a lake house / cabin short term rental, and if so, care to share any tips, information, suggestions etc.?  

Thank you!

Jeff

@Jeff Oberts hey! This entire forum is dedicated to this very topic. Spend some time cruising and let us know when you have specific questions we’re here to help! 

@Lucas Carl, hi buddy, been a long time! I'm back in the STR game after switching over to LTR stuff the past few years. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone has suggestions specific to waterfront properties...if that makes any sense! Thanks!

I have a Vrbo Lake house. What do you want to know?

Are there any items within the home that you'd suggest we provide that may be specific to a lake home?  For example, we were thinking on providing kayaks, do you believe that would be a good idea?  Thank you!

Bicycles, kayaks, and other things you provide are a theoretical risk. Make sure you have  in your agreement that they do so at their own risk and that they hold you harmless  for their usage.  And that your insurance  surely covers the kind of recreational toys you provide. In addition, keep in mind that if they are not nice, it may lead to negative rather than positive reviews.

and make sure you get into short term rental because it is much more profitable than your long term rental. Short term rental dollar is maybe $0.70 of a long term rental dollar cuz of all the additional costs. And a lot more complexity and use of your time if you're not really well-organized

posted by @Jeff Oberts :

Are there any items within the home that you'd suggest we provide that may be specific to a lake home?  For example, we were thinking on providing kayaks, do you believe that would be a good idea?  Thank you!

@Ken Latchers , all great suggestions, thank you. Yes, I am shifting my focus back to STR. We scaled up rather quickly in LTR and kind of put STR on the back burner, but the time has come to refocus on STR investing.

Hey@Jeff Oberts , I have a lake house in north Idaho. When I get to a keyboard, I can post some things. Fun times!

LTR it from September to April - we have a very short season here!

Here's a list of fun things in my STRs (my places are not for vacationing people, they are for working refinery contractors. Manly men, as opposed to girly men).

Kegorator, electronic darts, poker table w/cards & chips, BluRay player and a collection of porn, Roku or smart hdtv, gas grill & charcoal grill, suit of armor, life size stand up picture of Marilyn Monroe, .22 cal pellet gun with pellets and pigeon/starling/squirrel bait and a critter count score board, horse shoe pit, firepit with several tons of firewood, that's all I can think of right off the top of my head.

Feel free to send a request to join Brew City REI on Facebook as well. We just had a AirBnB meetups so it's a hot topic but there are members in the group that own lake AirBnBs.

Hey @Jeff Oberts , sorry for the delay. A couple of things, how big is the lake? Do you have a dock?

We are on Lake Coeur d'Alene in north Idaho. It is about 40k acres. Quite large and deep. We are across our local road, down a hill and you are on our beach. It is a typical northwest rocky beach. The land in front of our house is part of the Idaho Dept of Lands so we don't own it. We have riparian rights to the beach, we can manage it and it is private to us. I am working on getting the lease on it so I can build a set of stairs. Otherwise guests have to walk 3 minutes to the public access (to the bike trail which parallels the waterfront).

So, regarding kayaks and canoes, they are a nice amenity. But, you will have to have some strong insurance. Watercraft and bikes are big accident makers.

You will also need a dock policy if you have one. I would get one anyway even if you don't (I have one). Our insurance from Proper also covers guests when they are away from the house. You want to have everything covered as well as you can get it.

I don't offer any kind of bikes or watercraft. We are on a 72 mile bike trail so people bring their own. I just don't want to take the risk. I have thought of it. I would be a great value add. Especially the kayaks. I am curious to see what you think.

Thank you, everyone!!!

@Michael Baum , I appreciate all the insight!  I was unaware of dock policies, but we'll be sure to bring that up to our agent.  Also, we were aware motorized watercraft was a HUGE liability (looked into this extensively!) but wasn't sure how a kayak or two would affect our premiums.  I guess we have some things to discuss!

Hey @Jeff Oberts , when I say watercraft I mean anything they floats in the water. Insurance will be crazy for motorized but even canoes and kayaks need special coverage.