Adding a massage chair to unit?

[Colleen237]

At Costco today we saw and tried a totally amazing massage chair. They are often purchased and used on a charge per use basis. they’re $8,000 at Costco. 

our place isn’t fancy, it’s a sweet and basic vintage 1930s apartment, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, full kitchen (no dishwasher), washer/dryer in unit. My pricing structure is to incentivize stays over 30 days, and have a minimum 5 night stay.

While I’d love to offer a hot tub as a shared amenity, it’s too much of a commitment right now.

But I’m thinking hey, what about a massage chair amenity in the apartment (not shared) ? How much do you think people would reasonably pay for that in the apartment? Currently the nightly rate starts at $90, and goes steadily down to $57/night for stays over 30 days. Would $15-$20 extra a night be accepted? 

would I need to accept shorter stays for it to pay off? What do you all think? 

currently, to be honest, I get a lot of people looking for a deal, which is fine. What’s not fine is that there’s a segment of the older population who expect it to be like a hotel or a new construction rental, and not like a self-catering rental. So I get dinged sometimes on things like cleanliness, even though it’s professionally cleaned after each stay and routinely deep cleaned and rug/upholstery cleaned after each guest. Or that the yard is in an unfortunately long transition phase, and while comfortable, it’s not meticulous. 

Love to hear any and all thoughts, thank you? 

[Louise0]

Whilst I understand others may hold a differing view, I find those massage chairs utterly revolting.  To me they would detract rather than add to the appeal of a place.  They are ugly, pointless, space-wasters. 

As for hot tubs, you couldn't pay me enough to stick my big toe in one, let alone immerse my entire body.  Yuk!

[Gillian166]

@Louise0  lol! i thought I was the only one! when i got for a pedicure i usually have to tell them twice to NOT turn on the massage chair. I cannot stand them. 

@Colleen237  honestly I don't know if this would be enough of a drawcard to get people to stay. you might be better off investing in high quality linens, a bigger TV or putting in a dishwasher. for $8K you might even be able to renovate the whole kitchen (given it's not too large) and that would be a bigger drawcard. 

[Helen744]

@Collen237 Colleen at your nightly price you will never pay this off by charging people .Come back to the real world Colleen and add value where your guests comment and where you feel you can update easily. Buy it for yourself if you think you need it ,but I dont think at twenty extra dollars it will even add that to your nightly rate . sorry H

[Helen744]

buy a dishwasher Colleen

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Colleen237 don't buy a massage chair. It will be an economic disaster and while I don't think it will attract anyone if it did it would probably attract a very dodgy demographic.

[Lorna170]

@Colleen237   NO to the massage chair.  I cannot stress enough how this chair may be misused or may actually hurt a person who is not familiar with the controls.  If the chair comes with a manual that is more than two pages, it can be a hazard to the uneducated user.  

My son-in-law has a massage chair.  He set it up for me to use and it actually hurt me.  I wouldn't "sue" him (just yelled) but you could end up with a guest who is less forgiving.

[Gwen386]

@Colleen237 Save your money. Since you’re getting dinged on things, use the extra money to hire a better professional cleaner. The first time I got dinged on cleanliness, that company would have been history! Also use the extra money for a landscaper that can mow every two weeks if that’s what it takes. Yep, spend that money investing in the upkeep of your property. 

[Louise0]

Agree with @Colleen237 , spend the $$$'s on upkeep. 

I'm looking at photos #7 and #8 of your listing and they're horrifying. 

It's not just the issue that the kitchen is dark and dated to the point that the cupboard doors and drawers are falling off, it's the terrifying fact that there is no exhaust fan over the stove top and there is a kitchen cupboard positioned directly over one of the burners. 

There is no way in hell that that's up to code.  What is going on there?  Do you want your guests to perish in a fiery inferno?  

[Gillian166]

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@Colleen237 wrote:

Or that the yard is in an unfortunately long transition phase, and while comfortable, it’s not meticulous. 

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that review was 11 months ago, have you done anything since then? there are way better ways to spend some money on your place that will result in  better guests, than buying a gimmicky massage chair that will have to be sterilised carefully after each guest, because euwwww. 

I'd consider updating the kitchen for a start, and we haven't seen the back yard so i don't know what "in transition" means, but that could be another area that is a potential drawcard if you can make a beautiful space.  you can make this quite lovely for not a lot of money, and if you are allowing people to bring pets this is even more reason to give it some attention, you are really missing out by not featuring it.  your listing says you have a backyard with outdoor furniture, but you have no photos. as you've been called out by a guest in a review in Sept 2021 i'd consider this a priority to get up to date. 

My renovator's fingers are just itching to get in there, your place could be sooo cute if you gave it a makeover.

@Louise0  who knows what American codes are like? it's electric at least, and hopefully a smoke alarm is fitted in the kitchen. 

[Louise0]

The code stipulates a minimum clearance between the stove top elements and the bottom of the cupboards of 30 inches, which clearly isn't the case here.  It also requires a rangehood that vents to the outside.  Hmmm...