Hot Tubs, Fire Pits, and EV Chargers: The Premium Amenities With Real ROI
These cost real money. The right ones pay for themselves in 3-12 months. The wrong ones become maintenance nightmares. Here's the math for each.
A fire pit costs $300. A hot tub costs $4,000. A pool costs $40,000. A pickleball court costs $25,000.
All four can increase your nightly rate. Only some of them make financial sense for your property. The difference between a smart investment and an expensive mistake is running the numbers before writing the check.
This guide gives you the math on every major premium amenity. For each one: what it costs, what it earns, what it takes to maintain, which markets it works in, and the one thing nobody warns you about.
If you haven't read the amenity strategy overview, start there. It covers the framework for deciding WHICH amenity to invest in. This guide covers the specifics of each investment.
Hot Tub: The King of Premium Amenities
Hot tubs are the most searched amenity on Airbnb. In most vacation markets, a listing with a hot tub outperforms identical listings without one by a wide margin.
The Numbers:
Payback period: 3-12 months in vacation markets depending on install cost and nightly premium. Net annual gain after maintenance: $10,000-20,000. In urban markets or properties targeting business travelers, the premium is much smaller — run YOUR market numbers.
Best markets: Mountain, lakefront, rural vacation, any property targeting couples or groups.
The gotcha nobody mentions: The "no glass in the hot tub" rule. Every host learns this the hard way. Guests bring wine glasses. They break. Glass sinks and is nearly impossible to remove — you may need to drain and clean the entire tub. Post the rule clearly, provide plastic wine tumblers near the hot tub, and accept that someone will still bring a glass eventually.
Also: soft hot tub covers get waterlogged and heavy within 2-3 years. Budget for a hard cover from day one — it's $200-300 more upfront but saves you from a guest who can't lift a 60-pound waterlogged cover and just leaves the tub uncovered for three days.
Hot Tub Maintenance Shortcut
Weekly chemical testing takes 10 minutes with test strips. Monthly deep-clean takes an hour. If you self-manage, build this into your turnover checklist. If you hire a service, expect $140-185/month. Either way, read our full maintenance cost guide before committing.
Fire Pit: The Best Cost-to-Impact Ratio
If the hot tub is the king, the fire pit is the best value play. Nothing else gives you this much impact for this little money.
The Numbers:
- Cost: $200-2,000 (from a simple metal bowl to a built-in natural gas pit)
- Monthly maintenance: Nearly zero (gas) to minimal (wood-burning cleanup)
- Nightly rate increase: $15-30
- Best markets: Everywhere except dense urban settings
- Payback: 1-3 months
Natural gas > propane > wood-burning. Natural gas is instant-on, no tanks to refill, and no marshmallow grease clogging the burner. Propane is portable and works anywhere. Wood-burning is romantic but creates ash cleanup, fire risk concerns, and the marshmallow/s'more residue issue is real — dripping sugar and fat can clog burners and damage components if guests try to cook over a gas pit.
Interior design has become the bare minimum. The 'amenities arms race' is won in the backyard with experiential features like fire pits, saunas, and unique outdoor designs.
The fire pit creates your hero photo. A fire pit at dusk with Adirondack chairs and string lights is the most booking-converting image you can produce — especially for cabin, mountain, and lakefront properties. If you add a fire pit, photograph it at golden hour. That single image may drive more bookings than the fire pit itself.
The Fire Pit Photo
Shoot your fire pit at dusk with string lights on, chairs arranged, and a blanket draped over one chair. This is your hero image — the one that makes someone stop scrolling. It works for almost every property type outside of dense urban.
Game Room: The Group Booking Magnet
A game room doesn't work everywhere. But in the right property type — mountain cabin, large vacation home, group-friendly property — a pool table alone is a booking driver.
The Numbers:
- Cost: $500-5,000 (depending on equipment quality and variety)
- Monthly maintenance: $10-20 (re-felt pool table every 2-3 years: $300-500)
- Nightly rate increase: $20-40 in cabin/mountain markets
- Best markets: Mountain, lakefront, large vacation homes targeting groups
- Payback: 2-6 months
The smart approach: Start with a quality pool table ($400-1,200). Add a dartboard ($30-50). Consider foosball or an arcade machine if space allows. Skip anything that requires constant maintenance or breaks easily — air hockey tables need a working motor, and cheap ping pong tables warp within a year.
EV Charger: The Emerging Differentiator
This is the amenity with the biggest growth trajectory and the smallest competition.
The Numbers:
- Cost: $500-1,500 installed (Level 2, 240V)
- Monthly cost: $15-30 in electricity per charging session
- Nightly rate increase: $10-25 in perceived value
- Best markets: Suburban, vacation homes, anything with dedicated parking
- Payback: 6-12 months
Fewer than 5% of Airbnb listings offer EV charging. EV adoption grows 30%+ annually. EV owners tend to be higher-income guests who spend more per trip. The math is straightforward.
Tax angle: Federal and state tax credits may offset 30% of installation costs. Check the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (Section 30C) — it applies to EV chargers installed at rental properties.
The gotcha: Not all electrical panels can handle the additional load. Have an electrician assess your panel capacity before committing. A panel upgrade can add $1,000-2,000 to the project if needed.
EV chargers are the next hot tub. Low cost to install, almost zero competition, and you're attracting a guest who spends more per trip. The ROI math on this one is a no-brainer for anyone with a driveway.
EV Charger Listing Tip
Add "EV charger" to your listing title. Guests who need charging will search for it, and you'll show up where competitors don't. Include the charger type, speed, and connector in the amenity description.
Pool: The Big Decision
Let's be honest about pools: they're a $30,000-80,000 investment with $200-400/month in ongoing costs. This is NOT a "just add it" amenity.
The Numbers:
Payback period: 1.5-4 years depending on market. A pool makes financial sense in warm-climate vacation markets where top performers already have them. It does NOT make sense as a speculative add in a market where pools aren't standard.
Best markets: Florida, Arizona, Southern California, Texas, any warm-climate vacation market where pools are expected by the top-booking properties.
The gotcha: Insurance. A pool significantly increases your liability and your insurance premium. Some insurance companies require a locking fence, pool alarm, and specific safety features. Factor this in before breaking ground.
If you already have a pool: Your maintenance costs are sunk — focus on photographing it well and keeping it immaculate. A clean, well-lit pool with good photos earns its keep. A green pool with a broken skimmer loses bookings.
Outdoor Kitchen / Built-In Grill
The Numbers:
- Cost: $2,000-15,000 (from a quality built-in grill to a full outdoor kitchen)
- Monthly maintenance: $30-60 (propane, cleaning, occasional part replacement)
- Nightly rate increase: $15-40 in vacation markets
- Best markets: Vacation homes, beach properties, anywhere with outdoor entertaining space
- Payback: 3-12 months for a grill, 1-3 years for full outdoor kitchen
A quality built-in grill ($500-2,000) punches above its weight. It's a photo-worthy feature, guests love grilling on vacation, and it requires minimal maintenance. A full outdoor kitchen with counter space, sink, and refrigerator is a bigger investment that works in high-end vacation markets.
Skip the cheap portable grill. A rusty Weber on a concrete patio signals "afterthought." A clean built-in grill with a granite counter signals "this host cares about the outdoor experience."
Sauna: The Niche Play
The Numbers:
- Cost: $3,000-10,000 (barrel saunas are most popular for STR)
- Monthly maintenance: $20-50 (electricity, occasional wood treatment)
- Nightly rate increase: $20-50 in the right market
- Best markets: Mountain, wellness-focused, any market targeting the health-conscious traveler
- Payback: 4-12 months
Being the first in a market to offer a specific unique amenity — like a barrel sauna or glamping tent — provides a competitive advantage the entire region cannot easily match.
Barrel saunas are the most Instagrammable option. They photograph beautifully, they're relatively easy to install, and they create a "I've never seen that before" reaction that drives bookings in the right market.
The gotcha: In humid climates, barrel saunas need more frequent maintenance — the wood swells and can develop mold if not properly ventilated between uses. Dry climates are better for longevity.
Pickleball Court: The 2026 Differentiator
This is the most aggressive investment on this list, and the most market-dependent.
The Numbers:
- Cost: $15,000-40,000
- Monthly maintenance: $50-100 (surface cleaning, net replacement)
- Nightly rate increase: $30-80 for properties targeting sports/active travelers
- Best markets: Vacation homes with land, resort-style properties, large group homes
- Payback: 6-18 months in the right market
Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the US. A dedicated court is genuinely rare on Airbnb — which means being one of the only listings in your market with one makes you the default choice for every pickleball enthusiast booking a vacation.
This only makes sense if you have the space and your market attracts active travelers. A pickleball court on a downtown condo rooftop isn't happening. But a court next to the pool at a 5-bedroom vacation house in Scottsdale? That's a competitive weapon.
How to Decide: The Premium Amenity Checklist
Before spending $1,000+, answer these:
- Does my target guest search for this? Check PriceLabs Desired Amenities or search Airbnb with this filter in your market
- Do my top 3 competitors have it? If yes, you're catching up. If no, you're differentiating
- Does the ROI math work at 80% occupancy? Not 100%. Be conservative
- Can I maintain it? Read the maintenance reality guide before committing
- Can I photograph it? If it doesn't create a compelling listing photo, the ROI drops significantly
Compare your amenities against top-performing listings in your market
And remember: the most expensive amenity in the world can't overcome missing baseline essentials. Fix the foundation before building the features.
Sources & Research
Expert Video Sources (Watch on Learn STR):
- Bill Faeth, Build STR Wealth — Worst Amenity to Add to Your Airbnb
- Robuilt — The Amenities You Need in a Luxury Airbnb ($300K Renovation)
- Al Williamson, LeadingLandlord — EV Chargers for STR Properties
External Sources:
- PriceLabs — Market Dashboard and Desired Amenities
- IRS — Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (Section 30C)
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