Yes. We have a decal on the toilet seat (back side) from Etsy that says 'Flush only toilet paper, nothing else, no so-called flushables"
I’m sorry you are experiencing these problems.
I’m curious whether your installer is a Rennai ACE Pro (that’s an installer who has gone through Rennai training (PRO) and had 50+ installations (ACE Pro).
I ask because we’ve had many situations where the contractors were just not very good. In. Mitsubishi heating/AC system for example we hired a regular contractor, who did a poor job. Then we hired a Diamond Elite Mitsubishi contractor. World of difference. In fact, if you hire a Diamond Elite Mitsubishi contractor you even get a longer warranty.
The challenge in finding quality contractors translates for me into a policy of seeking out the most certified manufacturer’s contractor for what I’m installing (i.e., ACE Pro, Diamond Elite) and if not available/applicable considering other options.
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You might want to take a look at this list of such heat pump water heaters that are especially efficient when the ambient temperature is low.
The background is this:
- Consider HPWHs that meet Northern Climate Efficiency Specification developed by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA). NEEA has identified HPWHs that are efficient in colder climates by using a test procedure that uses lower temperature ambient air and inlet water to reflect conditions in colder climates. A prerequisite to qualify for the Northern Climate HPWH Specification is that the units must be ENERGY STAR certified. These HPWH units generally have larger compressors that cut off at lower temperatures to work more efficiently in colder climates. Click here to learn more(link is external).
By the way, have you considered a geothermal heat pump water heater/whole house system? Geothermal Heat Pump: How It Works - This Old House
Thanks for the response. Yes, they were all recommended by Rinnai. It seems that the system was installed incorrectly to begin with. The company that installed it came back twice, then just started ignoring our calls. 
Plumber # 2 seemed to be getting it in working order, but unfortunately passed away the day before he was to come back & ops check it. Plumber # 3 came by once, & was unable to figure it out. As it stands now, we’re just dealing with it.
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Pro or ACE Pro?
20202020
I would base that on my own personal expected use. If I thought I would use it with 3 other people I would set up for 4.
If it is strictly for guests I would skip the twin beds and set it up for two people. 1/2 the showers 1/2 the septic use 1/2 the wear and tear. I prefer couples for many reasons
RR
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You don’t think that would limit what I could charge and my ability to stay booked? I thought 4 was a pretty low occupancy. The nearby competition are all 8-12 people.
Hosts are always experimenting and changing things if warranted. You could start out listing for 2 and see how it goes. You can always up the guest count if you decide to later. Advertise it as a quiet, private, couples retreat. The whole thing about having a successful listing is to try to make it stand out from the rest. So just because most of the places near you sleep 6-8 doesn’t mean you should try to emulate them. There’s probably plenty of couples who might peruse the area listings and bemoan the fact that they are all big places designed for larger groups. A cozy place for 2 could be a niche market for your area.
Of course you can’t charge as much for a place that sleeps 2 as you can for a place that sleeps 4 or 8, but the trade-off is less issues, less laundry and cleaning (unless they are slobs), less use of utilities, less sheets and towels to buy and deal with, less wear and tear, less overuse of your septic system, etc.
I started out hosting a private room/bath in my home for one person (there is only enough space in that bedroom to have a single bed without it feeling cramped) and was thinking about also listing my own larger bedroom with a queen bed, thinking I’d just move into whichever room wasn’t booked, but I found that I really like hosting solo travelers, so that’s what I have stuck with.
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We had several groups of friends and acquaintances stay for free at our place before I put it on the rental market. NO ONE and I mean no one saw the signs in the bathroom.
So I made large signs and posted right in one’s sight line when they are sitting on the toilets.
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I like Muddy’s advice. Don’t compete with the large group properties. Provide a quality product for the price.
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Having a bigger place doesn’t cost you proportionately more. A two bedroom cottage is not twice the cost of a one bedroom cottage. You have certain fixed costs (including your time) that don’t change much just because you have a larger rental home. You’ll work about the same whether it’s a one bedroom cottage or three bedroom. → So as your home gets larger your costs per potential guest goes down.
When you run the numbers you’ll find that cleaning fees can be a big drag on earnings for lower-cost rentals (a smaller home is likely to garner a lower nightly rate). You don’t pay twice the cleaning fee with a two-bedroom cottage. With your loft concept you’ll likely need to change the sheets/duvet cover even if you have one couple there.
I would think a two-bathroom, three bedroom (or larger) cottage would likely be much more profitable than a one-bathroom one-bedroom/loft. You have 18 acres!
Whichever way you go there is risk. With the smaller rental you risk lower operating profits when occupied, but less money invested upfront. With the larger cottage you have a (likely much) greater upside on operating profits, somewhat more ongoing costs (e.g., r.e. taxes) and more money invested upfront.
Look at it from the guests’ point of view. What are their per-person costs with a larger home? They’re MUCH less.
Run the numbers (this is key) and I think you’ll find a much greater potential upside with the larger cottage IF you can get a decent occupancy. Compare that potential upside to the downside of greater aggregate costs of the larger property. Run scenarios of marketplace demand for 2-person rentals, 4-person rentals, 6-person rentals, 8-person rentals. Do you want to put all your eggs in the 2-person or 4-person scenarios? [If that loft is open (i.e., no privacy) I don’t know how attractive that will be in the 4-person scenario.]
There’s no substitute to running the numbers. Too often decisions are made based on words or logical arguments that fall apart or at least substantially change when informed by the numbers.
ALL: How can the OP get a sense of actual demand in his area for 2-, 4-, 6-, 8-person rentals? Any ideas? Is AirDNA a good resource? [I think it’s worth looking there for your area; data below is national. US Short-Term Rental Market Poised for Further Growth | By Adam Zarczynski]
??? You are talking about a huge increase in building costs. Just because someone has 18 acres doesn’t mean they want to build a big house on it. And the OP has already mentioned concerns about overloading his septic system, so why would he want to build a place with 2 bathrooms that sleeps 6-8 instead of a small cottage that sleeps 2-4?
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But not proportionately more. That is, a place with two bedrooms will not cost double what a one-bedroom place costs. His time as Host won’t be double with the larger property.
He gets a larger septic system. Again, I doubt that a septic system that can handle four people will be double the cost of a septic system that can handle two people.
I’m not saying ‘would’ but ‘might’ AND to run the numbers, ideally get data to inform his decision by running those numbers and perhaps data from AirDNA. If there’s little demand for a property that sleeps 2-4 he can get very little from his investment. Of course the same can be said if there’s little demand for a property that sleeps 6-8. That’s why he needs data.
I’m saying that 18 acres is a huge asset that can accommodate a larger group. To me it feels like some of this asset is not put to its best use with a small rental.
But most of all I’m saying to run the numbers and get data, not to be persuaded by words that I or you or anyone else are using.
Have you ever built a house from scratch? Of course its proportionally more expensive to build and furnish and heat and cool a 3 bedroom house than a 1 bedroom cottage.
You are assuming that “best use” means higher rental profits. Believe it or not, some people might consider “best use” to be retaining as much of the natural environment as possible, rather than paving it over and installing a larger septic system.
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Yes, I have: three homes. It’s really not proportionally more to build a home with more bedrooms. But rather than you or I debate it, my suggestion would be [wait for it] to get the numbers from a builder.
If no one has suggested it yet, if you intend for this house to be a business investment, I strongly recommend starting with a business plan.
You don’t need to pave over land to install a septic system. The septic system is underground and the drain area is landscaped.
I’m suggesting two things:
-
a small point: the larger foot print of a larger home is trivial given that he has so much land and the land cost is a sunk cost. In effect, he’s not paying for that land in building a larger home.
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the main point: 18 acres is A LOT of land for his guests to enjoy. A larger group is going to feel very comfortable on this 18 acre lot, whereas a two-person group might feel just as comfortable on a six acre lot. Why rent this space out to 2-4 people when he can rent them to 6-8+ people and make more money because he is creating more value for more people?
He also has spectacular views. Why rent those views to 2-4 people when he can rent them to 6-8+ people?
I agree.
Running the numbers under various scenarios is part of that business plan.
Getting data on the marketplace through AirDNA or other resources is part of that plan as well.
I am well aware of what is involved in a septic system. I was talking about paving over a larger house footprint, parking for 6-8 instead of one vehicle. In any case, the OP said he wanted to build a small cottage and probably has his reasons for doing so.
I think this is a trivial consideration given that he has 18 acres, but of course others might disagree. [BTW, the greater footprint is not [wait for it] proportionally more.]
Yes, additional parking would be needed though it needn’t be paved.
The OP opened the door to this line of comments with: