From Rental to Experience
A decade ago, the STR rental game was as simple as buying a standalone unit, renting it, and collecting the checks. It’s harder now, but it can be just as lucrative when you focus on placemaking and creative land use.
Guests want stunning views, private spaces, and an experience worth leaving home for. Hosts want heads in beds, consistent bookings, and a portfolio that doesn’t require them to be in three places at once.
The sweet spot in the middle is exactly what this micro-hospitality project in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, was built around. And it didn’t take special zoning or a commercial property to create.
It’s made up of four contiguous plots of land, and we developed each with three individual units the owner can live in or rent. They’re built around the land to highlight the views and maximize the use of natural light inside, but they also provide the sense of privacy guests want, despite being connected by outdoor areas that allow for some social interaction.
But the interesting thing is…these are residential properties, and each set of three units is permitted as a single home. That’s because we read between the lines when it came to permitting. A “house” in this area just has to be connected by something: a breezeway, some outdoor framed space, or…a boardwalk.
The local permitting office sees these as single-family residences. Guests see them as a cohesive micro-hospitality destination they can book with friends or family members, or book solo and enjoy the privacy built into the design. The owner sees them as creative solutions that set them apart from other STR operators and set them up for a big win.
Each microhospitality project we work on is unique, and the placemaking opportunities are dictated by how we can interpret local land use conditions and work with them rather than against them. This particular setup is unique to Berkeley Springs, but the core idea works across the country.
I’ll leave a link in the comments so you can check out more of our current micro-hospitality projects.
