STR Amenity ROI: Which Upgrades Actually Increase ADR at 5-30 Doors

TL;DR: Pet-friendly policy is the highest-ROI amenity upgrade for most portfolios: no capital cost, up to +15% documented revenue lift, and fewer than 25% of STRs compete for that demand. Hot tubs produce the clearest documented ADR premium in mountain and resort markets, running 15-20% above comparable non-equipped properties. WiFi and dedicated workspace are required to stay competitive, not to command a premium.

Why measuring amenity ROI is harder than it looks

The question surfaces constantly on STR forums: “Is a hot tub worth it?” The frustrating answer: it depends on your market, your capital cost, and what exactly you’re comparing.

Published amenity premium figures have a structural flaw. Properties that add premium amenities also tend to price more aggressively, renovate more, and generally outperform their comps for reasons unrelated to the amenity. A raw comparison of hot-tub vs no-hot-tub listings in the same city is measuring property quality as much as it’s measuring the hot tub itself.

Second: amenity demand is intensely market-specific. A hot tub in Gatlinburg, Tennessee commands a strong premium because guests actively filter for it in that market. The same hot tub in a downtown Nashville studio adds maintenance costs with uncertain upside. A guest seeking a music-scene city break is not running the hot tub search filter.

The right question for any amenity decision is not “does this increase revenue?” It is: “Does this increase revenue more than its cost, maintenance overhead, and the operational friction it adds to turnover?”

The data we have (and its limits)

The most publicly accessible quantitative amenity data comes from Vacasa, a large STR management company that has published figures from their managed portfolio (44,000+ properties). Two caveats apply before using their numbers.

First, the hot tub revenue figure covers April 2020-March 2021. That is a COVID-distorted period when outdoor amenities outperformed dramatically as guests sought private outdoor space. The 15-20% revenue lift likely captures unusually elevated outdoor amenity demand.

Second, Vacasa’s portfolio skews toward resort and leisure markets. Their numbers may not generalize to urban operators or low-leisure market types.

With those caveats stated, here is what the available data shows:

graph LR
    A["Which amenity<br/>upgrade next?"] --> B{"Market type?"}
    B --> C["Mountain / ski resort"]
    B --> D["Coastal / beach"]
    B --> E["Urban / suburban"]
    B --> F["Rural / lake / countryside"]
    C --> G["Hot tub<br/>15-20% revenue lift documented<br/>28-33% guest filter rate<br/>in top mountain markets"]
    D --> H["Pool<br/>26-36% guest filter rate<br/>in top coastal markets<br/>Capital-intensive, seasonal"]
    D --> I["Pet-friendly<br/>Up to +15% revenue, +9% occupancy<br/>Fewer than 25% of STRs compete here"]
    E --> I
    E --> J["EV charger<br/>Low install cost<br/>Growing filter use<br/>No ADR premium data yet"]
    F --> I
    F --> G

Hot tubs: the clearest signal in resort markets

In the right market, hot tubs are the best-documented amenity play. Vacasa’s analysis of their managed portfolio (April 2020-March 2021, 44,000+ properties) found hot-tub properties earned 15-20% more annual revenue than comparable non-equipped units in the same area.

Their more recent search demand data reinforces the picture. For December 2023-December 2024, 28-33% of guests in top mountain and ski resort markets filtered specifically for hot tub. That includes Gatlinburg TN, Park City UT, Pigeon Forge TN, South Lake Tahoe CA, Sunriver OR, and Breckenridge CO.

At 30% guest demand in a given market, a listing without a hot tub is invisible to nearly a third of potential bookings from the start.

What the numbers do not capture: operational overhead. Hot tubs require regular water testing, chemical balance, filtration maintenance, and periodic professional service. Cleaning turnover runs longer. Guest damage from overfill, chemical misuse, or heavy use generates service calls. Factor all of that into any ROI calculation.

The practical takeaway: if you already operate in a ski or mountain resort market and your direct competitors have hot tubs, not having one is a competitive penalty. Outside those markets, the math gets uncertain fast. A hot tub in a beach market or an urban apartment rarely pays for itself at the same rate.

Pet-friendly policy: the highest-ROI upgrade for most portfolios

This is the one amenity that works across market types, requires no capital investment, and has verified impact data attached to it.

Vacasa’s booking analysis (July 2021-June 2022) found pet-friendly properties earned up to 15% more in rental income, with 9% higher occupancy and 14% longer average stays. The most important figure: fewer than 25% of STRs accept pets. That 3:1 supply imbalance means pet-friendly listings compete in a far less saturated subset of search results while capturing demand that has nowhere else to book.

For growing operators managing 5-20 properties, this creates a genuine advantage at zero capital cost.

The operational adjustments are real. You need clear pet policies (weight limits, breed restrictions, maximum number of pets), a pet fee or deposit structure, and an updated cleaning protocol that accounts for fur, odors, and surface wear. Pet bookings average longer stays, which is favorable for LOS-based revenue management, but longer stays with pets increase wear on upholstered furniture and carpeting.

The risk to model honestly: not every property suits pets. Ground-floor units without enclosed outdoor space will attract dogs that need multiple daily walks through shared areas. Properties in upscale buildings with strict HOA rules may prohibit pets regardless of your preference. Properties with expensive light-colored furniture are higher-risk.

For operators who are uncertain: test pet-friendly on one property for 60 days, compare LOS, revenue, and actual damage costs against the prior period on the same unit, and scale the decision from real data rather than forum debates.

Pools: a coastal capital decision, not a universal one

Pool search demand is concentrated and intense in coastal markets. Vacasa’s amenity demand data (June 2023-May 2024) shows 26-36% of guests filtering for pool in markets including Sandbridge Beach VA (36%), Key West FL (35%), Port Aransas TX (33%), Rehoboth Beach DE (32%), and Santa Rosa Beach FL (28%).

The demand signal is strong in those specific markets. The capital cost is not small: residential pool installation typically runs into the tens of thousands of dollars, with annual maintenance, safety compliance, and seasonal costs adding substantially to that. Properties in condominiums, HOA communities, or urban settings cannot add a pool regardless of intent.

For operators who own the land outright in a top coastal market and can clear permitting: the demand signal is worth running the math. For everyone else, pool is not a meaningful amenity play.

One note on data quality: unlike pet-friendly and hot tub, there is no publicly accessible, controlled ADR premium figure for pools independent of property quality. High-end coastal properties have pools and also charge more for reasons beyond the pool. The search demand percentages above tell you that guests want it; they do not tell you how much more they will pay for it in isolation.

What does not move ADR (but you still need)

Fast WiFi: WiFi is a hygiene factor, not a differentiator. Guests expect it at minimum 100 Mbps speeds; slow or unreliable internet generates negative reviews that suppress ranking and conversion. Fast WiFi does not generate meaningful ADR premium because guests assume it exists. Invest to avoid penalties, not to charge more.

Dedicated workspace: Remote work created real demand for workstation-equipped STRs in 2020-2022. That demand has normalized as hybrid work schedules stabilized. Urban properties near business districts still benefit from a clearly marketed desk setup with a good chair and a fast, wired internet connection. Resort properties see close to no lift. Worth the cost for the right property type; worth close to nothing for a lakeside cabin marketed to families.

Washer/dryer in-unit: Expected for any booking above three or four nights in most markets. Absence hurts you; presence is baseline.

Smart TV with streaming: Same category as WiFi. The absence of major streaming platforms generates negative reviews. The presence is invisible to pricing.

EV chargers sit in a separate category. Airbnb added EV charger as a searchable filter in 2022. Install costs for a Level 2 charger run roughly $500-1,500 including electrician labor, making this the lowest-cost amenity test available. No published ADR premium data exists yet, but the filter is active, the addressable pool of EV-driving guests is growing, and the install cost is low enough to test without significant commitment. Worth considering for properties with accessible, dedicated parking.

Making the call: a framework for 5-30 door portfolios

For growing operators (5-20 properties), the priority order is clear.

Pet-friendly first. No capital cost, documented lift, supply gap in your favor. Test on one property if you’re uncertain about operational fit.

Hot tub second, strictly if you operate in a mountain or ski resort market and your direct comps have them. Outside those markets, the revenue data thins out and the maintenance cost is consistent regardless of revenue lift.

Pool only if you own the land in a top coastal market and can clear permitting. This is a capital decision, not an amenity experiment.

WiFi, workspace, and EV charger: treat these as operational requirements and low-cost tests, not as investments expected to shift your ADR needle materially.

For portfolio operators at 20-50 properties, you have enough inventory to run actual tests. Open pet-friendly on half your properties in a given market, hold the other half, and measure actual revenue difference over 90 days. Your own data will outperform any published study for your specific market mix.

How amenities interact with your minimum stay structure matters significantly for revenue optimization. Gap fill logic and minimum LOS rules need adjusting when you add high-demand amenities that attract shorter leisure trips. The STR minimum stay optimization guide covers this in detail.

For diagnosing underperformance on a property level, the connection between amenities and occupancy benchmarks is direct. Adding a hot tub or pet-friendly policy should show in your booking window and LOS before it shows in ADR. Our STR occupancy rate analysis explains what to track and why market-average figures mislead.

Hot tubs and pet-friendly policies both increase turnover complexity and cleaning time. For cleaning coordination tooling at scale, STR turnover and cleaning tools covers the operational side.

For understanding how amenity-driven ADR shifts interact with dynamic pricing calibration, the short version is that dynamic pricing tools anchor on your base price and historical performance: an amenity upgrade not reflected in your minimum price floor will be underpriced by the algorithm until you manually reset the floor.

What to watch next

AirDNA publishes annual host survey data in Q1. Their amenity premium figures tend to be more methodologically controlled than single-operator portfolio estimates, though still imperfect. Worth checking each spring for updated hot tub, pet, and outdoor amenity data.

Rabbu, which operates an STR market intelligence platform, has published amenity-specific ADR data in the past. Their blog was inaccessible at the time this analysis was written. Check rabbu.com for updated figures.

Your own booking records are more reliable than any published figure for your specific markets. After any amenity change or policy shift, measure LOS, ADR, and occupancy change over 90 days compared to the prior comparable period on the same unit. Three properties in the same market are enough to see a directional signal you can act on.