You probably suspected this, but tiny homes can make excellent vacation rentals. After all, a Mint tiny house is probably far less expensive than building a traditional ADU (Auxiliary Dwelling Unit) in your backyard.
But the lower price of a tiny house on wheels doesn’t mean it makes less money. In fact, tiny house vacation rentals can be extremely lucrative. After all, the world loves tiny houses!
What makes a great tiny home vacation rental, though? And what tiny home design elements should you consider if you plan to list a tiny home on Airbnb or VRBO?
Here is everything you need to know about designing a tiny house for the short-term rental market!
The main reason people book vacation rentals is to have a place to sleep, so you’ll want to consider the number of beds in your tiny home Airbnb.
Generally, the more beds you have, the more profitable your tiny house vacation rental will be.
At Mint, any of our tiny homes can be used as vacation rentals, but we’ve designed two tiny home models with short-term rentals specifically in mind.
Our Napa N26 STR (Short-Term Rental) has two king-sized lofts, but since a tiny house with a downstairs bedroom will be accessible to more guests, if you have the room, we’d recommend the Napa L30 STR.
The Napa L30 STR is a tiny home with a downstairs bedroom and two king-sized lofts for your guests to enjoy
If you run a tiny house short-term rental business, you’ll want to consider where guests will put their bags.
Travelers won’t have full wardrobes, but they will have suitcases, which is why our short-term rental tiny houses have dedicated closets and spaces for luggage.
The laundry set up in a tiny house vacation rental is extremely important.
It’s nice for guests to be able to wash clothes on vacation, but if you are buying a tiny home Airbnb, you’ll want to think through laundry from the perspective of the cleaning person.
If the person turning over the unit will be doing the laundry on-site, you will definitely want a tiny house with a stackable washer and dryer. Combo units are great for guests or saving space, but when doing turnover, you’ll need to wash bulky items like bedding and towels quickly.
If, however, you plan to do the laundry off-site, a combo unit washer/dryer will do the trick and is a nice tiny house amenity for guests.
A short-term rental is generally considered one in which guests stay for less than thirty days. Shorter stays mean you can save space with a small refrigerator in your Tiny home Airbnb.
You might be inclined to think that bigger is better, but remember that more refrigerator space means more to clean for your short-term rental turnover service.
So saving space with a small refrigerator will make tiny house cleaning easier, and provide more room for suitcases and other things your tiny house Airbnb guests need.
Like a refrigerator, a tiny house oven is another tiny home appliance that can be time-consuming to clean.
So if you plan to buy a tiny house vacation rental, it might be best to skip the oven altogether and have a simple cooktop or microwave.
You do want your guests to be able to prepare food, but you don’t want to clean up after they attempt to cook baby back ribs in a tiny house!
If you buy a tiny house for short-term rental, it’s a good idea to invest in smart locks and tiny home security systems.
Smart locks will allow your guests seamless access, and give you control over who enters the unit from afar.
A tiny home security system will reduce liability and ensure your guests follow occupancy and pet rules.
Tiny house Airbnbs can be pretty plug-and-play, especially if you have a solid team to help with maintenance calls and tiny house vacation rental turnover.
At Mint, we love to use propane in our tiny home builds because more energy sources offer more options. That being said, if you plan to have a tiny home vacation rental, you’ll want to consider if propane-powered tiny home appliances are right for your situation.
Having propane will require you to invest in a propane service or change the tanks, which might be less than ideal for a tiny house Airbnb, but it’s up to you!
A tiny house parking space will largely dictate your toilet options. If you have sewer or septic available, you can have any kind of tiny house toilet.
If you don’t have sewer or septic available, you’ll need a waterless toilet like a composting or incinerator toilet.
Your tiny house short-term rental guests will likely be most familiar with a traditional toilet, but if that’s not an option, we’ve seen great success with alternative toilets like the Separett!
Whether you call your tiny house income-producing asset a vacation rental, short-term rental, VRBO, or Airbnb, the answer is yes, tiny homes can have a great ROI (Return On Investment)!
Tiny homes not only cost less to build, but they have built-in flexibility. For example, you can move your tiny home vacation rental to a different market, sell it without selling the land underneath, or even partner with a landowner in a joint venture.
If you need a tiny house Airbnb, our team at Mint would love to help you build the perfect one! Just use the link below to book a free appointment to chat.
Thanks for reading our tiny house blog. We can’t wait to meet you!
