The host's buying guide

Outdoor saunas for hosts

A sauna at a rental gets used by people you have never met, cleaned by someone else and judged in a listing photo. We sell outdoor saunas, heaters and cold plunges for that job, and we answer the questions hosts ask before they buy.

Two guests with a wheeled case on a boardwalk to a lit cabin porch, a lit cube sauna at the side

01

Seats and guests

Count the guests who will sit at once, then look at the outside size: a bigger room also asks for a bigger heater.

  • 2 to 4 guests: the SaunaLife Cube range starts at 2 people (CL3G) and the CL5G seats 4 with a deep lower bench.
  • 5 to 6 guests: SaunaLife CL7G, EE8G and GL6, or Golden Designs Vorarlberg, Kaarina, Klosters and Gargellen.
  • A group of 8: the SaunaLife CL12GCP, with a separate dressing room and porch.
  • No 240V at the site: the HUUM HIVE Wood 13 stove needs a chimney instead. Ask us which sauna can take it.
  • Already have a sauna: HUUM DROP heater packages, the HUUM UKU control and the Harvia Cilindro PC60E heater.

Compare sizes

02

Cube, barrel or cabin

Every shape here stands outdoors on a level base. Open a shape to see its models, sizes and freight.

03

The heat

SaunaLife saunas take a HUUM DROP package that you choose with the sauna. Golden Designs saunas come with their stove.

See heaters and controls

04

Power, base and delivery

Your electrician, your installer and your curb do the rest. This is the list we send with every order.

What you supply

Answer the questions to tick these off.
  • A level baseGravel, concrete or a deck rated for the weight, under the whole footprint, with somewhere for water to drain.Check
  • A 240 V circuitRun from your panel by a licensed electrician. The heater sets the breaker size.Check
  • Permits and your insurerYour county, your HOA and your insurer each have a say. The Launch Pack lists the questions to ask.Check
  • Room for a liftgate truckFreight stops at the curb. Moving the crate from there to the pad is yours.Check
  • A heater sized to the roomSaunaLife ships without one. Pick a package that fits; we confirm the size before we order.Check
  • Wi-Fi at the sauna (optional)Only for a Wi-Fi control, so you can start the heat before check-in.Check

Check my site

05

Rental use and the warranty

None of the four makers' warranties mentions rentals. This is what each one says about commercial use.

  • SaunaLifePlan as not covered

    5 years from delivery on workmanship, residential use; commercial use voids it. The heater you add has its own maker's warranty.

  • Golden DesignsModel by model

    Limited lifetime; 5 years on the wood structure, control panel and lights. The stove is covered by its maker's warranty.

  • HUUM1 year commercial cover

    3 years for private use, 1 year for commercial use (heaters and controls).

  • HarviaNon-consumer periods

    Family use: heaters and controls 2 years (+1 year if an electric heater is registered). Commercial use: heaters and controls 2 years, heating elements 6 months.

Read their warranty

06

The questions hosts ask

Straight answers. Where we don't know, we say so.

Will guests pay more, or book more?

We don't know your market, so we don't put a number on it. The payback calculator takes your own figures: what the sauna costs to buy, ship and install, how many nights a year you book, and what extra you expect per booked night. It gives you a payback time in months. If the numbers don't work, it says so.

Guests I've never met will use it. What helps?
  • Glass doors and glass fronts, so anyone outside can see in.
  • The HUUM UKU control has a heating time setting that caps how long the heater runs, a child safety lock, overheat protection and a door sensor kit in the box. With UKU Wi-Fi you start and stop the heat from your phone.
  • The Golden Designs cold plunge has a cover with child safety latches.
  • The Host Launch Pack gives you a guest rules sign and a QR card with the steps for your model.

Whether guests use the sauna when you're not on site is for you and your insurer to decide. Ask them before you list it.

Is a rental covered by the warranty?

None of the four brands' warranties mentions rentals. Here's what they do say about commercial use:

  • SaunaLife: residential use; void after "commercial use", which isn't defined.
  • Golden Designs: the warranty page doesn't apply after "full commercial use", which isn't defined; the Arlberg, Vorarlberg and Gargellen manuals give 1 year for commercial use.
  • HUUM: 1 year for commercial use, and a private user using the product for commercial purposes counts as commercial.
  • Harvia: shorter commercial periods, and the warranty period ends if use changes from family to commercial.

The rental warranty facts page quotes each one and links the source. Read it before you choose a brand.

Power, base, permits and insurance?

Every electric sauna here needs a 240V circuit put in by a licensed electrician. Each product page gives the breaker size, and most Golden Designs models also need a 120V circuit for the lights control. You need a level, firm base, a clear path from the curb, and answers from your building department, HOA and insurer. Our guide Power, base and permits before you order walks through it.

How much work is it for my cleaner?

A few jobs at each turnover: air it out, sweep, wipe the benches, check the stones and the drains. The Host Launch Pack includes a cleaner's checklist for your model, and our guide Cleaning a sauna between guests explains each step.

How fast can it be in?

Most orders ship within 5 business days of order confirmation. Some models take longer, and we confirm the date by email. After delivery, allow time for your electrician and for assembly. SaunaLife says two people can build its Ergo barrels in a day and its Garden cabins in two.

With every sauna: the Host Launch Pack

A guest rules sign, a QR guest card, a cleaner's checklist, a listing photo and amenity guide, a control setup guide and questions for your insurer.

Host Launch Pack pages on a cabin counter, the lit sauna through the window
  1. 01

    Guest rules sign

    A printable sign for the sauna wall or the door. You pick the rules, such as how long a round lasts, sitting on a towel, what goes in the sauna and what stays out, and whether children can use it. We lay them out in plain words that read at a glance.

  2. 02

    QR guest instruction card

    A card with a QR code that opens the steps for your model: whether it's already warm when they arrive, where the controls are, how to pour water on the stones, how to switch off, and what to leave as they found it. Guests get answers without messaging you.

  3. 03

    Cleaner's maintenance checklist

    A checklist your cleaner can follow at every turnover, with the jobs that come up weekly, monthly and once a season. It uses each maker's own care rules. Golden Designs, for example, says no cleaning agents inside: a cloth and water only.

  4. 04

    Listing photo and amenity guide

    Which shots to take (the sauna lit at dusk, the bench from the door, the view from inside), how to describe the sauna in your listing in words that match what guests will find, and the amenity options worth ticking on the platforms you list on.

  5. 05

    Control setup guide

    Made for the control you have. With a Wi-Fi control, such as the HUUM UKU Wi-Fi: connecting it to your network, setting the delayed start around your check-in time, setting the heating time, and what to check if the signal drops. With a wall panel, built-in controls or a wood stove: the same jobs, done the way your maker says.

  6. 06

    Insurance and permit question list

    The questions to put to your insurer, your building department, your HOA and your electrician before the sauna arrives. It doesn't answer them for you, because the answers depend on where you are. It makes sure nothing gets missed.

What we do

  • Show freight on the product page, before checkout
  • Quote each warranty's own words on rental use
  • Confirm heater sizing with you before we place the order
  • Say when something doesn't fit your space

What we don't do

  • Show reviews or ratings we haven't earned
  • Run countdown timers or stock warnings
  • Inflate a price to show a discount
  • Ship outside the lower 48 states

Buying for more than one property

Send us the properties, the ZIP codes and the guest numbers. We'll send one quote with the models, the freight and a delivery date for each address. Contact us.