Editor’s notice: Each month, we prefer to introduce one among our great Glamping Hub hosts and ask what impressed them to create a glamping web site. This month, we’re showcasing Glamping Hub’s Host of the Month for November 2022, Rusty and Cecelia in Oakhurst California. This internet hosting couple started their glamping web site by changing an previous caboose right into a visitor house and has since added an adventurous treehouse and mountain suite. This heat and welcoming duo is presently setting up three extra domes in Baja Califonia, New Mexico, so as to add to their enjoyable glamping websites.
Tell us a bit about your self
My spouse, Cecelia, and I’ve been doing trip leases since 2011, beginning with the caboose close to Yosemite. After 30 years of instructing, teaching golf, and being an athletic director, I hung up schooling for development. During the COVID pandemic, I acquired my contractor’s license and began my very own enterprise specializing in serving to others begin their very own trip leases. We are each educators, properly one among us remains to be an educator. Once Cecelia retires we plan to broaden our trip rental in La Ribera, Baja California, by including three domes we’re presently setting up to the property. Life has been one journey after one other, however we love all of them.
What attracted you to proudly owning a glamping property?
Actually, a buddy of ours had a double-wide cellular house as a trip rental and satisfied us to leap into the holiday rental enterprise. Sharing our distinctive and peaceable locations in addition to assembly new folks is a superb expertise. Being capable of share tales over a glass of wine with friends means we be taught many desirable issues about folks from locations across the USA and the world.
Every glamping web site has a particular story, may you inform us about yours?
Our story begins with us buying a five-acre property that had a tremendous forest of pines and oak timber with a fairly unremarkable home on it. Over the years we’ve lived by the John Muir mantra: “Wherever you go, leave the place better than when you came.” So, with that in thoughts, we’ve cleared brush and cleaned up our 5 acres to create a peaceable sanctuary the place folks can get away to relaxation and loosen up. Along with tending the land, we transformed the home into our personal Oetinger design. All of the development and design work was finished by my spouse and me. The solely factor we subbed out was the drywall, we hate doing drywall.
When you reside close to Yosemite, mates, and household are likely to migrate towards your property, so we began having a whole lot of guests. Despite increasing the home, we simply didn’t have sufficient room, and I acquired the loopy concept to buy the deserted Santa Fe Caboose on the town. Before retiring as a trip rental, the caboose was an deserted Mexican restaurant. I believed I used to be lowballing the proprietor after I supplied him $2000 for the caboose. To my shock, he didn’t even haggle. I understood why later after I needed to rent a large crane, and two semi-trucks to maneuver the factor to my property. $7000 later, I nonetheless figured I acquired a cut price. I spent the subsequent yr and a half, cleansing it out and refurbishing it. In the spring of 2011, we opened the caboose as a trip rental and have by no means appeared again. Since then, we added a 300 sq. ft. treehouse. Initially, it was for my children however they like their previous rooms and so the treehouse has joined our leases. It has been an actual journey ever since.
What are a number of the challenges you face and what have you ever realized since opening?
The challenges that we face are about find out how to preserve nice service whereas we’re touring. We have realized that this can be very necessary to rent nice folks to work with. The biggest problem is making an attempt to be too excellent. What I imply by that’s; you will need to understand that issues don’t at all times run easily or completely and that’s the nature of the enterprise. Most friends settle for our particular place for what it’s and find it irresistible as a lot as we do.
How was your first time internet hosting?
Our first-time internet hosting was excellent! We hosted a pair from Washington DC. We gave all of them the details about the place and the native information concerning Yosemite and the encompassing space. The humorous factor was, that they got here again from their journey to Yosemite and simply frolicked with us, whereas we labored on our backyard planting tomatoes. We ended up getting invited to go to them in DC.
Can you inform us about your most memorable visitor expertise to this point?
Our most memorable visitor expertise was with two {couples} from LA. The household got here to stick with us to rejoice their birthdays. They had been an Armenian household and immediately, I knew we had been going to be good mates. As quickly as I checked them in, that they had me keep and inform me all in regards to the caboose and its story. They shocked my household by cooking us a standard Armenian dinner the subsequent night. They had been treating us as if we had been friends. At dinner, I realized issues in regards to the Armenian genocide that I had by no means heard of and had a number of the most wonderful meals I’ve ever tasted. How the ladies cooked a seven-course meal with a toaster oven, microwave, and a scorching plate, is past me. Amazing! They left and made us promise to go to them in LA. Two months later we had been consuming extra Armenian meals of their home. We are nice mates to at the present time.
If you possibly can have anyone keep at your lodging, who would it not be and why?
I’d like to have Denzel Washington keep. It can be nice to get to know him as an individual fairly than a star. We may hang around across the hearth pit and share tales over good meals and good whiskey. He comes throughout as an individual who embraces life and lives it to the fullest. I believe he would find it irresistible right here.
Where is your ultimate vacation vacation spot? Other than your glamping property in fact!
Our favorites are Roatán in Honduras or anyplace in Thailand. Thailand may be our favourite. We love all the pieces about Thailand, the meals, the folks, the surf, scuba diving, the nice and cozy water, and the enjoyable vibe that simply appears to permeate all the pieces.
What do you’re keen on essentially the most about working a glamping web site?
We love the folks. Definitely assembly new folks! We love sitting and sharing tales and listening to about all of the issues happening in numerous components of the nation and the world. Having the chance to hang around with friends is admittedly superior.
What recommendation would you give to anybody trying to begin or enhance their very own glamping enterprise?
The greatest recommendation we may give is to make your house distinctive and to deal with each visitor as if they’re household. Welcome them and make them really feel heat and cozy. Give as a lot native information as doable and assist them to have essentially the most satisfying expertise they will. I can’t inform you what number of instances we’ve had dinner with friends in our house as a result of I occurred to be cooking one thing on the BBQ. So lots of our friends have written in our visitor e-book about hanging out with us, fairly than writing in regards to the wonderful Yosemite Valley. It makes us proud to know that we made them really feel like locals for a short while.
Our neighborhood of hosts means all the pieces to us right here at Glamping Hub, which is why we like to share their tales in our Host of the Month function. If you wish to be welcomed like an previous buddy and revel in a very native getaway, e-book this treehouse close to Yosemite, California. Rusty and Cecelia are positive to make you’re feeling at house while you lease this cozy caboose in Oakhurst. You’ll really feel identical to household while you keep on this cozy mountain suite close to Yosemite National Park. In Mexico? Enjoy the couple’s heat hospitality in La Ribera, Baja California.
Have you stayed with one among our unimaginable hosts just lately and want to nominate them for Glamping Hub’s Host of the Month? Send us a message through Facebook or Instagram explaining who you’ve chosen and why!
If you have an interest in making a glamping resort, discover out extra details about how we might help you develop or begin a glamping enterprise by means of Develop with Glamping Hub.
