Is lack of a hot tub a deal breaker for a ski/mountain rental?

[aprilchem]

Last spring my BIL and SIL just purchased a house outside of Breckenridge that has a hot tub. They do not use it as a rental. They have found that keeping it heated in the cold weather is outrageously expensive. It has more than doubled their electric bill.

This! We own a vacation home in a ski resort (that we've owned since October 2019 but haven't rented yet). We've heard from other owners that it is VERY hard to keep a hot tub heated in cold weather and really raises electricity bills (which are already high, because the mountain houses have super large windows that make it hard to heat). I'd say about 25% of the houses in our resort have hot tubs, but all the houses are rented for all of ski season. So we aren't planning to get one for our home.

 

[bcla]

This! We own a vacation home in a ski resort (that we've owned since October 2019 but haven't rented yet). We've heard from other owners that it is VERY hard to keep a hot tub heated in cold weather and really raises electricity bills (which are already high, because the mountain houses have super large windows that make it hard to heat). I'd say about 25% of the houses in our resort have hot tubs, but all the houses are rented for all of ski season. So we aren't planning to get one for our home.

Wouldn't that depend on the location? I stayed in a timeshare near a ski resort once, although it was like a hotel rental during the summer when they weren't selling too many time slots. Our room had one window, no A/C, and so much insulation that I was sweating. The room did have a whirlpool bath and there was a pool and hot tub in the building.

I see a lot of newer vacation rentals that don't have massive windows because there are local building standards that require a smaller window to wall ratio.

 

[aprilchem]

Wouldn't that depend on the location? I stayed in a timeshare near a ski resort once, although it was like a hotel rental during the summer when they weren't selling too many time slots. Our room had one window, no A/C, and so much insulation that I was sweating. The room did have a whirlpool bath and there was a pool and hot tub in the building.

I see a lot of newer vacation rentals that don't have massive windows because there are local building standards that require a smaller window to wall ratio.

Yes. It would absolutely depend on the location and the house/condo. I was only speaking for our house/ the properties around us.

 

[monsterkitty]

Wouldn't that depend on the location? I stayed in a timeshare near a ski resort once, although it was like a hotel rental during the summer when they weren't selling too many time slots. Our room had one window, no A/C, and so much insulation that I was sweating. The room did have a whirlpool bath and there was a pool and hot tub in the building.

I see a lot of newer vacation rentals that don't have massive windows because there are local building standards that require a smaller window to wall ratio.

I'm not talking the cost of heating the house has doubled the gas and electric bills. It's the cost of the hot tub.

Massive windows are still being placed in houses in our mountain communities. The condos/townhouses still have decks with sliding doors and windows. Even the new builds.