What a guest house needs that a shed does not
A guest house is a small dwelling, and the moment a unit includes sleeping, washing and cooking it stops being an outbuilding and starts being habitable space. That changes both the specification and the regulatory picture.
The habitable-space threshold
Most jurisdictions have a point at which a structure becomes a dwelling: sleeping accommodation, a bathroom and a kitchen. Past that line you normally need a building consent, and the unit must satisfy requirements for ventilation, insulation, means of escape and sanitation. Build to outbuilding standard and you may end up unable to let it lawfully.
Sanitation is usually the biggest cost
If the main house has capacity on its existing sewer connection, connecting is comparatively cheap. If not, a separate septic or treatment system is a significant cost and may need its own consent and site assessment. Confirm this before choosing the unit, because it can dwarf the price difference between two models.
Specification for paying guests
Guests expect a proper bathroom, reliable hot water, quiet extraction and effective heating or cooling. In a steel shell, insulation quality determines comfort and running cost. A 20FT works for a studio guest house; a 30FT or 40FT gives a separate bedroom and living space, which commands a materially higher nightly rate.
Running costs
For seasonal use, heat loss through an under-insulated shell costs more over a few years than the insulation upgrade would have. Specify the envelope properly at build stage rather than retrofitting later, when access behind the lining is gone.
Tell us the intended use — short-let, family guests, or staff accommodation — when you request a quote, because the right unit and specification differ for each.
How to move forward
Choose the model that matches your site and your budget, then send your destination postal code and the model name. We take that to a customs broker and come back with an all-in delivered figure — unit, ocean freight, duty and brokerage — usually within one business day. There is no online checkout and no obligation: the quote is the start of the conversation, not a commitment.
Payment is by bank transfer in full before production. Units ship from the factory and are delivered port-to-port (FOB); you arrange local transport from the arrival port to your site. Because we work factory-direct with a single vetted manufacturer, the unit price you see is the same price a retailer would pay — there is no distributor margin layered on top.