Booking Shared Facilities (BBQ, Sauna) at Vacation Rentals and Guesthouses, with a House Rules Template
· By SBGG LLC
BBQ areas, saunas, private baths, and workspaces make vacation rentals and guesthouses more attractive. They can also cause trouble: several groups want the same time slot, or guests stay up late and the neighbors complain.
This guide covers how to allocate time on the shared facilities that guests use during their stay, separately from the lodging booking itself, and how to communicate house rules. It does not cover accepting or brokering bookings for the lodging (guest rooms) itself.
Background: explanations required by law in Japan, and shared facility rules
In Japan, the Private Lodging Business Act (住宅宿泊事業法, often called the “minpaku law”) requires private lodging operators to explain to guests the matters needed to prevent harm to the surrounding living environment, such as points to observe to prevent noise, and to give this explanation in a foreign language to foreign guests. Details of the system are available on the Japan Tourism Agency’s Minpaku Portal Site (in Japanese).
Facilities that produce noise or smoke, such as BBQ areas and saunas, are at the heart of this explanation. Putting your shared facility booking rules and house rules in order together also helps prevent gaps in the explanation.
Accept lodging bookings, keep the guest register, and verify guests’ identity in your own way, as before, in line with the applicable laws (in Japan, the Private Lodging Business Act, the Inns and Hotels Act, and so on; elsewhere, your local rules). This guide covers only the allocation of time on shared facilities that guests use during their stay.
Allocating time on shared facilities
| Facility | Booking hours | Slot | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBQ area | 11 a.m.–8 p.m. | 2 hours | Once a day per group | Put out the fire by 8 p.m. How to dispose of charcoal |
| Sauna | 3–10 p.m. | 60 min | Once a day per group | Precautions before and after bathing; not after drinking alcohol |
| Private bath | 4–11 p.m. | 45 min | Once a day per group | Leave cleaning time between slots |
| Parking | From check-in day | 1 day | 1 car per group | Check the license plate number |
| Workspace | 8 a.m.–10 p.m. | 1 hour | 3 hours a day per group | Take calls in a private room |
Leaving 15–30 minutes between slots for cleaning and tidying up means that if one group runs over, the next group is less likely to be affected.
Template: house rules for shared facilities (example)
This is an example in English. Please also prepare versions in Japanese (in Japan) and your guests’ main languages with the same content.
1. The BBQ area, sauna, and private bath require booking. Please book a date and time during your stay from the QR code.
2. Please keep to your booked time. Other guests have bookings after you.
3. The BBQ area closes at 8 p.m. After 8 p.m., please avoid loud voices and music (there are homes nearby).
4. Fire safety: pour water on the charcoal, then put it in the designated can.
5. The sauna may not be used after drinking alcohol. If you feel unwell, stop using it immediately.
6. To cancel, please cancel from the screen you reached via the QR code. This lets other guests use the facility.
7. If you damage or soil a facility, please contact the host (contact: [phone/email]).
Build consideration for neighbors into the booking system
- Set an early end to booking hours: for example, accept BBQ bookings only until 8 p.m., so late-night use is ruled out at the time of booking.
- Send precautions with the booking: include notes on noise, smoke, and garbage on the booking confirmation screen and in the email.
- Limit each group to once a day: prevents the same group from using a facility for long periods.
- Stop bookings during hours that drew complaints: shorten the booking hours while monitoring the situation.
Checklist for guest instructions
- Included the shared facility booking QR code and instructions in the check-in information
- Prepared house rules in the local language and your guests’ main languages
- Set closing times for BBQ, sauna, and similar bookings with the neighbors in mind
- Included safety precautions, such as fire safety and no sauna after drinking, in the booking confirmation
- Set a per-group limit for each facility and cleaning time between slots
- Decided how cancellations and refunds are handled when a facility breaks down or because of the weather
- Listed emergency contacts (host and management company) in both the house rules and the booking instructions
If you coordinate shared facility times one by one through lodging booking site messages, the work grows with every guest. Moving just the allocation of facility time to a separate system reduces the number of replies the host has to send.
Should you charge a usage fee?
For facilities with costs that depend on use, such as charcoal for the BBQ or utilities for the sauna, you can charge a usage fee separately from the lodging fee. Decide in advance how you will collect it (cash on site, online prepayment, and so on) and how cancellations are handled. When setting cancellation fees in Japan, keep the Consumer Contract Act in mind (the portion exceeding the average damage is void); keeping the fee at or below the usage fee is the prudent approach. For details, see How to set and collect usage fees.
KYOYO Stay is a service that lets guests book shared facilities during their stay in their own language (seven languages are supported). It does not accept or broker bookings for lodging (guest rooms). You can try the settings in the demo.
Sources and references
- Japan Tourism Agency, Minpaku Portal Site (in Japanese)
- e-Gov Laws and Regulations: Private Lodging Business Act (Japan; in Japanese)
- e-Gov Laws and Regulations: Consumer Contract Act (Japan; in Japanese)
Laws and official materials were checked as of the article’s publication or update date. The laws described are those of Japan unless stated otherwise; rules differ in other countries. For decisions about your own situation, please consult a professional along with your own policies and contracts.