Accommodations for sledding trip?

[Jaynelson]

Indulge my extremely hypothetical market research if you have a minute. Those of you who take trips to sled further away from home....do you usually stay in hotels/motels? Sledding specific on-mountain type lodges? Vacation rentals by owner?

Would you (theoretically) have any interest in renting a house, or part of a house instead of a a hotel/motel? Maybe you already do/have done this?

Rent by the night, or by the week in a great area for big-mountain sledding. Not sled in/out, but right in town (fun town too), sledding as close as 5 minutes away, and 6+ large sledding areas within a 1/2 hour driving radius. Walking distance to bars/restaurants/shopping....spouse friendly if you will. Basically a 3-bedroom 2-bath house, not extravagant, but clean, modern, pimped out bathroom and kitchen, gas fire, access to heated garage, driveway parking to fit a trailer, etc.

Would this be appealing over a hotel or other alternatives? Could easily sleep 4-6 with lots of room, so could split with buddies/couples/whatever. Would $250-$300/night be reasonable? Too much? Not enough?

I've been toying with this for awhile, so feel free to fire any thoughts.

 

[hivoltagesledhead]

We rented an older house in Sicamous last year. It was on the same property as the motel and we had access to the hot tub and continental breakfast. Slept 5, fully furnished, all kitchen utensils, BBQ, cable/sat TV, phone, parking.........$75/nite split between 5 guys !!!!

A rare find inded.

 

[Finnlandr]

Indulge my extremely hypothetical market research if you have a minute. Those of you who take trips to sled further away from home....do you usually stay in hotels/motels? Sledding specific on-mountain type lodges? Vacation rentals by owner?

Would you (theoretically) have any interest in renting a house, or part of a house instead of a a hotel/motel? Maybe you already do/have done this?

Rent by the night, or by the week in a great area for big-mountain sledding. Not sled in/out, but right in town (fun town too), sledding as close as 5 minutes away, and 6+ large sledding areas within a 1/2 hour driving radius. Walking distance to bars/restaurants/shopping....spouse friendly if you will. Basically a 3-bedroom 2-bath house, not extravagant, but clean, modern, pimped out bathroom and kitchen, gas fire, access to heated garage, driveway parking to fit a trailer, etc.

Would this be appealing over a hotel or other alternatives? Could easily sleep 4-6 with lots of room, so could split with buddies/couples/whatever. Would $250-$300/night be reasonable? Too much? Not enough?

I've been toying with this for awhile, so feel free to fire any thoughts.

I've rented the various scenarios you described....the type of lodging chosen depended on the logistics as you mentioned.

I rented from an owner once and everything was excellent except trailer parking was a pain and it was too far from riding....probably wont go back there.

Any guides available for hire in the area? This would be something of high interest to me.

Your price point seems fair if its as described.....when will it be available?

 

[rmscustom]

If you can put together a large enough group it's the only way to go. At least once a year I go with a group of 8-12 and rent a house for $1700 for a week plus we bring all our own food which works out to about $60 a piece. Doesn't get cheaper than that.

 

[AZ800]

Sounds about right and very marketable.
Haven't traveled to sled in a while living where day trips are feasible but when we did, the type of place we'd stay at was dictated by where we were. Lodges with cabins or a house like yours is preferable over a hotel room hands down.
Sounds like a great place. Only question is if you could market, manage and maintain it yourself. Having rental houses now that are cross country from where I live I can tell you that not being able to do these things personally will cut into the profitability of it significantly. I'd only do it if I had direct control and lived nearby.

 

[AZ800]

Other question is how much income can you generate the rest of the year to make it truly profitable? Because it sucks as a hobby or necessity.
Or maybe its your vacation place already and you're just supplementing to cover costs you already have ( mortgage, insurance, taxes, upkeep).

 

[Jeff C]

We rent places like this:

$350-$400 night for 12 people is cheap.

Years ago, we would do the hotel room thing. After doing some quick math, the cost is way less renting a nice cabin that has a hot tub, sat tv, internet, tons of living space, washer dryer, nice kitchen that you can work up some great meals in. Plus the view from the cabin is unbelievable.

Our group is all about coming home after a days ride, and mixing up a cocktail, having a great meal, taking a tub, playing cards, watching TV, and a cabin is a much better setting than a hotel room anyday.

If you have a real small crew, I can understand a hotel set up, but anything around 6 people or more, it is way worth it to rent a nice place........

Not sure if I would want to rent a house in town where you can't ride right from your door in the morning, but having said that, we sometimes trailer up in the morning to start our ride 1/2 hour away

 

[Jaynelson]

I've rented the various scenarios you described....the type of lodging chosen depended on the logistics as you mentioned.

I rented from an owner once and everything was excellent except trailer parking was a pain and it was too far from riding....probably wont go back there.

Any guides available for hire in the area? This would be something of high interest to me.

Your price point seems fair if its as described.....when will it be available?

Lol...lots of work to do before such a thing was up and running! Not much for guides here, trail maps and such would be about it. It's a little different around here than the more popular sledding destinations....less developed as far as sledding goes I suppose. I think that would potentially appeal to some and deter others.

 

[Jaynelson]

Great stuff thanks guys.

Other question is how much income can you generate the rest of the year to make it truly profitable? Because it sucks as a hobby or necessity.
Or maybe its your vacation place already and you're just supplementing to cover costs you already have ( mortgage, insurance, taxes, upkeep).

It would be a house in the same city I live. I want to build a new one on some property I have and thought this might be something to do with the current one. Theoretically it would rent good in winter and summer....both are very nice here and lots to do. I don't think I would get rich regardless, but potentially make a little more than just renting it monthly....make a little side business kinda thing. And i kind of like the idea of being able to clean it to my standards on the regular...vs. someone rents it for a year and destroys it.


Jeff c - I think the in-town thing could go either way. I think some people would prefer to be out in the country for sure, but other might like restaurants, bars, coffee shops, shops, etc nearby....potentially? Would keep the wife busy if she comes and doesn't sled (or ski or whatever). I guess I keep thinking sledding because I enjoy it and feel I could provide a good venue ya know? Would have to branch out to others to keep it full I'm sure.

 

[rmscustom]

Sledding out of a house is great but I would prefer to haul to a spot 1/2-1 hour away to skip 10-20 miles of trails... Backcountry access out of the door would be a huge bonus but I think the price would be a premium as well.

 

[sweetxc654]

i have stayed in everything and let me tell ya hotels are too dang much money if you stay someplace for a week and it costs ya 125 a night for 7 days thats a huge chunk of money you could have spent on something else. We rented a townhouse(it was in the parking lot of a hotel) once that slept 15 people and it didnt cost us squat once we split it up and we had access to all the hotel stuff for a fraction of the price.

I do think that access to trails and gas and parts needs to be less then 5 min away.

 

[AZ800]

If you're planning on renting it out anyway and think it could generate more income this way then I'd agree its a good choice.
In my experience tenants are farking slobs! Period. I have 3 high end houses for rent, not crappy slumlord places. All less than 15 yrs old custom homes. Chose to keep my mortgage commitment rather than turfing them to Obama like the rest of the a holes did. Even folks that pay upwards of 2500 in rent are still worthless slobs for the most part. They do not respect others property.
With your scenario yes you have more cleaning and bs with reservations booking, etc but I'd say 9 of 10 people renting your place will be well to do and probably treat your place as their own vs your standard low life tenant.

 

[Blk88GT]

If it's got a hot tub, it's an easy sell for sledders.

 

[Jeff C]

If you want to keep your place in good condition, require a credit card for a $1,000 damage deposit.

Yep, that will scare away some potential renters, but those people are probably the ones you dont want anyway.

Not to say that you are going to charge the card upfront, but just getting the credit card, serves notice that you had better take care of this place while you are here, or you are going to get charged.

I would also give renters a sheet explaining what is expected of them in terms of garbage, linens being stripped off beds right before you go etc. Spell out exactly what you want them to do prior to departure. Then there are less hassles. Put those terms right in the rental agreement!

I would find a good service that you can call for housekeeping/maintenance.
YOu dont want to be over at your place after someone leaves, washing sheets and cleaning for 6 hours each time.

A hot tub is a huge selling point. If you put one in, dont buy a "cheapie"
Get a good one upfront, and one that there is a local guy who can fix it for you! (Quickly!)

 

[Jaynelson]

If you're planning on renting it out anyway and think it could generate more income this way then I'd agree its a good choice.
In my experience tenants are farking slobs! Period. I have 3 high end houses for rent, not crappy slumlord places. All less than 15 yrs old custom homes. Chose to keep my mortgage commitment rather than turfing them to Obama like the rest of the a holes did. Even folks that pay upwards of 2500 in rent are still worthless slobs for the most part. They do not respect others property.
With your scenario yes you have more cleaning and bs with reservations booking, etc but I'd say 9 of 10 people renting your place will be well to do and probably treat your place as their own vs your standard low life tenant.

From what I've heard your experiences with tenants are not uncommon at all, and that's pretty much what a guy has to plan on unfortunately.

Jeff C - If you want to keep your place in good condition, require a credit card for a $1,000 damage deposit.

Yep, that will scare away some potential renters, but those people are probably the ones you dont want anyway.

Not to say that you are going to charge the card upfront, but just getting the credit card, serves notice that you had better take care of this place while you are here, or you are going to get charged.

I would also give renters a sheet explaining what is expected of them in terms of garbage, linens being stripped off beds right before you go etc. Spell out exactly what you want them to do prior to departure. Then there are less hassles. Put those terms right in the rental agreement!

Totally....we rented a house in Hawaii last year and the guy had it really dialed in like that, with a deposit and great lists on what to expect from him, what to do before leaving, yada yada. It worked out very well....cheaper than a hotel in the same area, plus kitchen, BBQ, and way more space. I really enjoyed it....and since I'm not a ya-hoo I had no problem with the deposit/not destroying the place.

 

[phatty]

Given your specific area, which I visited at least 1 time per year for many years now (13 hours drive for us), here are my thoughts:

We always booked out a house type place because it was more economical with the groups we brought. We typically didn't care about being in the city with its amenities, but wanted to be close to a fuel station and the riding since we came to ride and not to party. Always stocked up on food and drinks so we didn't have to go back into the "big" city. Hot tubs are always awesome after hard days riding.

Parking is going to be an issue if its in the city. If you are renting to a crew of people expect minimum 2 trucks with decks, and probably a couple of trailers as well.

You have awesome terrain and snow that can easily compete with revy, but ask yourself if the marketing you are going to have to do to compete and rent the place out will actually make you money once its all said and done. sure you can rent the place for $1500 for a week couple times over the winter, but if you have to pay $3000 a month in magazine ads, online ads, etc to book the place are you coming out ahead?

 

[Jaynelson]

Thanks Phatty - good to hear from someone who's stayed in the area. I definitely see the appeal of getting a place out of town with tons of parking for large groups. It's definitely not large enough (parking wise) to accommodate that many vehicles for that large of a group. Group of 4-6 would be about it. It's not a place I would buy specifically for this purpose....but since I've got it, it was a thought.

IF I did it, which I'm not 100% convinced on....I wouldn't count on just renting for sledding in the winter. Frankly, renting to the ski crowd in the winter would be easier, simply due to vehicles. The summer is also a big tourist season around here. Totally hear you on the advertising - you would have to get it out there, and all of that costs money. The reasons renting to sledders appeals to me, are because I'm already familiar with the popular forums (maybe a good way for free/cheap advertising), have a big crew that knows many potential renters from out of town, and could point people in the right direction for areas/repairs/ideas etc. Meet some people, go for some rides, shoot the **** y'know.