Can you put in a large enough shower so that if you sold later a new owner could easily put a tub/shower combo in that same spot? I think if the opening were framed the right size, you could go with the shower now (which I think is the better choice in your particular situation) and then when it came time to sell, people could be told that a tub would fit in that same spot if they wanted to change it out. They would probably need to change the drain location, etc., but this could keep them from having to mess with framing. As a buyer, I would prefer the tub, but I am part of the smaller percentage that takes a bath 90% of the time and only showers occasionally. In our current house, we have a large garden tub, shower, and tub/shower combo. Normally I use the tub/shower combo to have the smaller tub so that it doesn't take as long to fill up the tub and I don't waste as much water.

The bathtub in my hall bath was "sinking" into the crawl space, and it was old and yucky anyway ... so we had it ripped out and replaced with an all-tile shower. 12x12 tiles on the walls, 2x2 tile on the floor, one shampoo niche, new sliding glass doors. Same size as the tub that was there before. New internal plumbing and plain shower head. No seat, no windows. We paid about $2600 ... that covered yanking out the old tub and surround and laying the tile. The handyman who did it gave me a list of what tile to buy, and I went and picked that myself -- and paid for it separately. That was another $250? Since we are prepping to sell in two years or so, I chose simple and neutral. If I'd chosen what I really like, my tile would've been more expensive. This was JUST the shower. He touched nothing else in the bathroom. My girls are thrilled with their new shower and don't miss the tub in the least. My regrets: I wish we'd had two niches put in -- the 12x12 niche holds a large pump-type bottle of shampoo and conditioner and a liquid soap ... but they also have body wash and shaving cream, and those things are sitting on the floor. And I wish I'd had them a hand-held fixture put in. That's easy enough to fix, we just haven't gotten around to it yet.

A stock shower pan will not slope to a drain at the same place as a tub, so the shower pan will have to be a custom job. Not a big deal, just not off-the-shelf. Beware of two issues, though: A shower is required to have a 2" drain, vice the 1 1/2" required for a tub, so that expense may still be encountered. A tub is narrower than most showers, so it may feel a bit cramped unless you have some extra floor space available to make it wider. (I didn't)

I think AirBnB is different from VRBO, and so we may use VRBO, which might require me to be the agent. If one is using an agent for the rental, then it is illegal for the agent to deny children, but if the owner is the agent and owns fewer than three rental properties, then the owner can restrict his property to adults only. Cathedral City is not really a place that children would want to go - in fact, the owners of the house are selling it because their children refuse to visit there. If we have to offer it to children, I will raise the amount of the deposit, refuse to allow pets (which is perfectly legal), and offer it as a two-bedroom instead of three. The third bedroom is an office at the moment, and so I can easily list it as two-bedroom. I don't want a crowd of people there at one time anyway, and as a two-bedroom, no more than four people would be allowed to occupy it, by CC regulations. We do not need the extra money from six vs four people, but we do need some income from this property, since I am retired. We will, however, be interested in renting to people who attend the Coachella Festival, and the rents for that time period are the highest, but everything still gets booked solid. My sister's stepson in Austin owns several houses (that his father bought for him), and he makes $30K during SXSW. Kevin and I make a point of avoiding visiting our sister during this time, even though it is close to Kevin's birthday in March, and March plus October are the nicest months in Austin for weather. Our nephew had the great consideration to have his wedding in October, and so we went to Texas for that, but our niece had hers the first week in August, and I refused to go, although Kevin did, despite the 110° weather with 90% humidity.