15 years is a long time. I know, because I am old.
After the first 10 years of building the business and the cabins from the ground up, I started to notice I was not being as good a host as I once was. Go figure- I was burned out!
I’m not complaining. I just noticed it, and it was effecting my interactions with guests. I knew I had to make some changes. Either hire more people to clean and do maintenance, or hire a secretary, or hire a reservationist, or all of the above and go crazy. (Some say crazier, but that’s another story.)
“Now I’m not a highly metaphysical man but I know that you can bump into someone”… Lyrics by ??? I can’t remember the tune (post a comment if you know it), but it seems appropriate, because that’s how I met Keith.
Sometimes if you are paying attention and open to it, really good things will happen. I had been invited to go grouse hunting with a couple of regulars and a new guy (no grouse were harmed. Maybe scared, but not harmed). As the day wore on and we were riding out, I commented that I needed a “Mini Me”, someone who was a Jack of all trades…
And the new guy on the hunt said, “I’ll do it.” Just like that: “I’ll do it.”
Really?
Sure.
But you don’t know what it involves.
That’s okay I’ll learn.
Really?
Sure.
Really?
We met for lunch a few days later and Keith started shadowing me. Keith saved my sanity and maybe the business. Most of you who have called in the past five years have talked to him and know why I am so grateful. He pretty much runs the place know and I just sit in my office and get fatter.
So when you call and talk to Keith, know that he can help save your sanity too just by making your vacation planning easy and relaxing. Fun, if you want to know the truth.
It’s been a great five years. Thanks, Keith, for all you do.
Cabin rentals is something I’ve found myself wanting to do lately. When you first started your business what was it like? Obviously i know it’s a lot of work but I’m interested in how it felt starting it up.
Good Questions!
I designed and built all the cabins. I love the hands on project based learning that goes along with designing and building stuff. We are know making furniture for the cabins, little by little. The real joy of the hospitality business, is the feeling of see people having fun relaxing with loved ones.
Making people happy is good for ones sole. We are very lucky to be able to do just that, all year long.
Hi, I’m 34 years old and have a cabin on 20 acres with a 5 acre stocked lake in Missouri. I am very interested in renting my cabin out for tourist season as well as adding 10-12 more cabins. I wasn’t exactly sure what would be a good first step in marketing my cabin and how I know if it will be successful enough to justify building additional cabins. Do you have any suggestions or do’s / dont’s I should be Leary of?
Hello, Sound like a great way to start. We built up slowly over several years, not all at once. The best way to get a feel for it is put your Cabin on Airbnb and see what happens. This was not available back when we started but we wish it had been. 10-12 cabin on 20 acres seems like a lot especially if 5 of the 20 is a pond. Good luck.
I’ve been in the hotel business over 20 years and would like to try some different, like cabin rentals. And I’d maybe like to own some one day. How do I get started?
Hello Diane, WE got very lucky and found property that lent itself to Cabins. It is levelish making it easy to put in power and water.
Since you have been in the hospitality biz you know how nice it can be to make people happy. Doing all the design build myself with a small crew saved a lot of money but others have built cabins hiring contractors to do the work and still make it happen. We started with a place we love and wanted to live and raise a family. Then we dipped our toes in with one cabin at a time until we reached the point of no return. Come visit sometime.