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We’ve recently bought a small office block to convert to 5 apartments. Initially we were planning to let these out as residential lets, but because of the location (1km from a major hospital and railstation), we’re considering using a couple for short term rentals.
As we haven’t started work yet, now’s a good time to include all those essentials or features that will make our life easier, and also be attractive options for guests. We can’t change location unfortunately, these are in the suburbs of a town, and don’t enjoy good views or a holiday location, but I suspect they’re more likely to be used by visiting medics or those with relatives in hospital.
What would you include - or exclude - if you were planning a studio or apartment from scratch?
Smart locks I think would be useful. We have a key safe at our current property but it only works if peeps put the keys back in. I’ve seen some you can actually program to set codes to be live / expire in line with the check in and out times, probably a useful feature when managing from a distance.
Surveillance cameras. IMHO anyone who does not live within 50 feet of their rental should have CCTVs installed to monitor compliance. Also remote controlled AC/Heat thermostats would be very useful I suppose.
Yes, external cameras. Or if they have to be inside, they should be aimed right at the door, not the living area. They must be disclosed and disclosing them acts as a deterrent to bringing extra unpaid, unaccounted for guests.
As for the rest, a similar topic was recently posted here:
You might be able to host traveling nurses, medical residents or surgery guests! (Picturing blood on the linens and bandages in all the trash cans) Kidding. But I do think your location near the hospital will end up being really great.
I’m less than a mile from a hospital and most guests drive past it getting here yet I haven’t gotten a single hospital related booking. Now travel nurses etc might be interested but…no kitchen. It’s occurred to me that if I had to stop Airbnbing but still needed money I’d convert my other front room next to the guest room into a sitting area/kitchen and see if I could attract long term guests.
The travel nurse I have had here because she was going to and from a job in NOLA stayed in both nights and the first night she rang my doorbell asking for a bowl and ate in both nights. The woman who stayed 7 times last summer was here for a medical rotation for nursing school but not at the hospital down the street. She ate in each night.
It’s not a big sample and they weren’t traveling nurses doing a true assignment but still. I could certainly try it with no kitchen. A simple $500 job to put a door way would make it a two room suite. So I’d do that first. Some people I wouldn’t even mind them using my kitchen but it only takes one wrong person to ruin the next two months. LOL.
Kidding. But I do think your location near the hospital will end up being really great.