Behind the Stays

In just a moment, you’ll meet Daniel and Fawn Shear, the founders of Seasons' Yield Farm. Daniel, like his father before him, served in the military after graduating from college. During his first deployment to Afghanistan, his wife Fawn mailed him a book by Chad Robertson titled Tartine — a book of sourdough bread baking and recipes, but also a compelling story of one couple’s journey building a business around their passion for bread.  Daniel had always enjoyed baking, so after a second deployment, and long stretches of separation, Daniel and Fawn began seriously thinking about what it would look like to work together as a family, on a farm in a home-based food-service business. And it was this dream that ultimately led these entrepreneurs to start the budding empire that is Seasons' Yield Farm. Tune in to hear the enchanting story of how Daniel and Fawn started selling meat and veggies, then became a CSA, and ultimately chose to go all in on the bread and hospitality business…and yes, their gorgeous, top-rated Airbnb sits right above their bespoke, bakery and cafe. You can book your stay at The Bread Barn here.  

In just a moment you’ll meet Michaela Carozza, the creator and host of one of Carmel Valley’s top-rated Airbnbs.  Michaela had been in the market for a property in Carmel Valley for many years.  She loved the diversity of beauty that the central California coast offered, but needed to find a place with both a main house and a second property that she could use as a rental for some supplementary income.  So, in 2011, when a 5 acre plot of land with a house and a horse barn on top of a hill became available, Michaela knew she had to jump at the opportunity. Both properties needed a lot of work, but over the course of several years, Michaela and her partner Micha poured their blood, sweat, tears, and love into transforming the horse barn into an enchanting retreat...one they’ve now shared with over 300 guests from all around the world. Tune in to hear the story of how Michaela brought the rustic retreat that she calls the Valley Eden Barn to life.  You can book your stay at Valley Eden Barn on Airbnb, or with Michaela and Micha directly on their website. 

In just a moment you’ll meet Alla and Garrett Hohn — the creators of The Hohnstead, which is a mini-glamping resort featuring a collection of tiny cabins about 20 minutes from Missoula, Montana. Garrett’s father had always dreamed of buying a plot of land that the whole extended family could enjoy, so when he stumbled upon over 100 acres of untouched Montana forest for sale, he knew it was time to pull the trigger.  So, he called Garrett and Alla who were living in South Korea and asked if they “were in” — and, “in” they were. The following summer, the couple built a small, rustic structure with recycled materials on the property that they dubbed “The Shanty”, and it wasn’t long before Alla asked Garrett and the rest of the family a question that would change their lives forever, “what if we listed the Shanty on Airbnb?” Everyone thought she was crazy! Tune in to hear the compelling story of how the Hohn family built an incredibly unique oasis of tiny cabins that hundreds of guests from all over the world have since come to enjoy.  Book your stay at The Hohnstead here.

In just a moment, you’ll meet Andrew and Bianca — founders of the Serenity Hill Group, a growing collection of luxury Airbnb escapes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.  Andrew and Bianca live in Boston, and while they love all that the city has to offer, their hearts have always found peace in the mountains.   Andrew grew up hiking, skiing, and vacationing in the White Mountains and dreamed of one day buying his own home in the area. As luck would have it, one day, the seemingly perfect opportunity presented itself — a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home tucked away on a private 2-acre lot surrounded by tall pines and the crisp White Mountain air.  But, the home needed a lot of work. So Andrew, Bianca, and their families spent the next year transforming the home into an incredibly beautiful, modern escape from the city.  And while the couple had intended to make this place their permanent home, their circumstances changed and they decided to list the space on Airbnb.  Tune in to hear the story of how Andrew and Bianca learned how to build, design, and furnish Serenity Hill House and how they decided when it was time to open up their SECOND Airbnb, The Rosewood, just a couple of towns away.  Book your stay at the Serenity Hill House or The Rosewood! You can also follow Serenity Hill Group on Instagram @SerenityHillGroup. If you are an Airbnb host or know an Airbnb host,  who’d like to come on the show, send me an email at zach@sponstayneous.com and we’ll chat!   Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous —a carefully curated weekly newsletter that brings you the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  It’s sort of like Scott’s Cheap Flights, but for Airbnb! You can sign up for free at sponstayneous.com  Last, but certainly not least...I didn’t believe in Marie Kondo’s whole “spark joy” mantra until I started podcasting...now, my joy is sparked every time I see a new subscriber roll in!  So please, hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode...and so you add a lil' spark to my joy fire today.

In just a moment you’ll meet Louisa Conrad, Co-Founder of Big Picture Farm.  Big Picture Farm is a Vermont farmstead goat dairy and confectionery whose award-winning caramels have won over a dozen national awards...and while these candies are undeniably decadent, there is more to Big Picture than just the goat dairy…   After leaving their careers in academia, Louisa and her husband Lucas founded the farm in 2010. Their vision was to help their customers understand the rich context that surrounds the milk, cheese, and candies produced on the farm.  They aspired to tell consumers the story behind the food in hopes that they might, well, understand the “big picture” of how, what, and who made the treats they consumed.     But Lousia and Lucas dreamed of taking things a step further...what if they could invite folks to experience the dairy?  Could this be a vehicle through which they might expand their mission and help underwrite the cost of their Animal-Welfare-Approved farm?   Tune in to hear the story behind how Louisa and her husband Lucas built three bespoke residences on the farm that they now rent out on Airbnb. 

In just a moment you’ll meet Maris LeBlanc and JR Amantea, the creators of The Little House of Essex — a chic cottage near the Connecticut River in the most quintessential of quintessential New England towns.   Maris has spent her career in real estate — mostly brokering luxury, waterfront homes along the Connecticut Shoreline. When she met her now husband, JR, he was living in New York working in finance, but his real passion lay in curating and managing classic and exotic cars.    Maris encouraged JR to go all in on his passion and, soon after, he left New York, moved to Essex, Connecticut and started GT Motor Cars — a boutique vintage and exotic car dealership, and collection management company.    And it was here in Essex where Maris and JR bought a beautiful, oversized  ranch-style home which included a shed-like structure behind it.  And while JR had hoped to transform  this shed-like structure into a bachelor’s pad, Maris had bigger ambitions...tune in to hear the wonderful story behind the building of The Little House of Essex.  You can book your stay at The Little House of Essex here.  If you are an Airbnb host or know an Airbnb host,  who’d like to come on the show, send me an email at zach@sponstayneous.com and we’ll chat!   Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous —a carefully curated weekly newsletter that brings you the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  It’s sort of like Scott’s Cheap Flights, but for Airbnb! You can sign up for free at sponstayneous.com  Last, but certainly not least...I didn’t believe in Marie Kondo’s whole “spark joy” mantra until I started podcasting...now, my joy is sparked every time I see a new subscriber roll in!  So please, hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode...and so you add a lil' spark to my joy fire today.

In just a moment you’ll meet Laura Gentry and Carollani Sandberg — the creators of The Sagecliff Satori, a luxurious Airbnb cabin in Quincy, Washington.  Laura and Carollani are what you might call “experience optimizers”.  They love to travel, try new restaurants, and explore off the beaten paths, but can’t help but do so with a critical eye.  They often ask each other, “what would you do differently if you owned this space?” or “how might you enhance this experience to make it even more memorable?” Carollani had decided that it was time to sell her townhouse and explore the possibility of a new rental property -- one that she and her family could use for short term rentals. One afternoon, Laura and Carollani were having lunch with a few friends who worked in real estate investments and the bunch started chatting about up and coming neighborhoods in and around the greater Seattle area, but none of these areas particularly compelled Laura and Carollani.  Right before lunch wrapped up, one of their friends casually mentioned a new development out in Quincy, Washington — about 2.5 hours east of Seattle. This development was to feature a collective of luxury condos that overlooked the Columbia River Gorge. And, while they didn’t know it at the time, that moment was the genesis of what would become The Sagecliffe Satori.  Tune in to hear the inspiring story of how Laura and Carollani brought one of the most incredible and magical stays available on the Airbnb platform to life.  Book Your Stay: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/34682157  Follow the Stay on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sagecliffesatori  Follow the Stay on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sagecliffe/   

On this episode of Behind the Stays, you’ll meet Eli Clark and Alexa Lang from Clark Family Silos.    Eli grew up on a farm in Kalispell, Montana (about 30 minutes outside of Whitefish in the North-Western part of the state). After studying design in college, he moved to Carlsbad, California to work at a design firm where he got the opportunity to work on a couple of Addidas’ leading product lines.    But Eli wasn’t satisfied with the 9-5…so he bought an Airstream and embraced the freelance, digital nomad life…before it was the cool thing — Instagram wasn’t even around yet, so you won’t find any of his posts in #wanderlust.    About a decade later, Eli’s father, Brad, the Clark Family’s Farmer-in-Chief, was eyeing retirement.     Over drinks in a local town pub one evening, Eli and his partner Alexa pitched an idea to Brad that would make stepping back from the farm a bit more possible…and that idea?  It was to transform five grain silos into luxurious Airbnbs.   The problem?     Well, while Clark Family Farms had fields of canola, peas, and wheat, depending on the season, they didn’t own a single silo.    Tune in to hear the exciting story of how Eli, Alexa, the Clark family, and ultimately the entire Kalispell community, came together to erect some of the most inspiring and unique stays on the Airbnb platform.    You can book your stay at Clark Family Silos here — if you do, be sure to tell them that you discovered them through Behind the Stays!    If you are an Airbnb host or know an Airbnb host,  who’d like to come on the show, send me an email at zach@sponstayneous.com and we’ll chat!   Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous —a carefully curated weekly newsletter that brings you the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  It’s sort of like Scott’s Cheap Flights, but for Airbnb! You can sign up for free at sponstayneous.com  Last, but certainly not least...I didn’t believe in Marie Kondo’s whole “spark joy” mantra until I started podcasting...now, my joy is sparked every time I see a new subscriber roll in!  So please, hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode...and so you add a lil' spark to my joy fire today.

In a minute, you’ll meet Valerie Malone — Creator and Founder of Quill Decor, a design consultancy that specializes in short-term rentals.   Valerie studied interior design at Auburn University, but always had a knack for entrepreneurship. After running a successful Airbnb out of her basement in Bloomington, Indiana, Valerie fell in love with the Airbnb community and felt a calling of sorts to make an impact in the budding short-term-rental economy.    After she landed her first Airbnb design gig, Valerie decided it would be worth documenting the entire process so that she could one day teach current and aspiring hosts how to successfully design their homes to stand out.    As fate would have it, her husband landed a professorship at Cambridge and Valerie’s family moved to the UK…but not before she produced one of the most comprehensive, inspiring, and user-friendly e-courses on Airbnb design on the market.   During our conversation, Valerie outlines several helpful frameworks for how to think about the design style of your Airbnb, and shares advice on how to effectively and efficiently craft a memorable experience that compels a 5-star rating.   One last thing before I introduce you to Val…Quill Decor is offering a free Airbnb Design Master Class on Wednesday, July 7th.  So, if you’re listening to this before the 7th, be sure to sign up!     Valerie is also offering Sponstayneous subscribers and Behind the Stays listeners a special offer on her Airbnb Design E-course.  Visit the links below more information.   Airbnb Design E-Course    Quill Decor's Short Term Rental STYLE QUIZ   A Free 3 Day Email Course   If you are an Airbnb host or know an Airbnb host,  who’d like to come on the show, send me an email at zach@sponstayneous.com and we’ll chat!   Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous —a carefully curated weekly newsletter that brings you the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  It’s sort of like Scott’s Cheap Flights, but for Airbnb! You can sign up for free at sponstayneous.com  Last, but certainly not least...I didn’t believe in Marie Kondo’s whole “spark joy” mantra until I started podcasting...now, my joy is sparked every time I see a new subscriber roll in!  So please, hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode...and so you add a lil' spark to my joy fire today.

The idea was born on a road trip from Waco, Texas to Ferndale, California.    Merritt Brodt and her daughter, Callie Alexandre, had gone to the Lone Star State to source antiques for their artisan shop, The Farmer’s Daughter, in downtown Ferndale.    Callie, whose husband's married family owns and operates Alexandre Farms (one of the few organic dairies to produce A2/A2 milk AND secure coveted shelf space at Whole Foods’ across the country) had the idea.   “What if we renovated the barn and turned it into an Airbnb?”   Merritt, mother of 3, grandmother of 4, owner of 500 cows, and founder of The Farmer's Daughter, was skeptical at first.  She had a pretty full plate already!   Upon arriving back home in their lush, almost Ireland-like town just a few hours north of San Francisco, Callie was able to convince Merrit and her husband Brian to give it a shot...and the whole family got to work.    Their mission?  To create a piece of heaven on Earth. Tune in to hear Merritt and her daughter-in-law Amanda share the inspiring story of how the family came together to bring The Farm Stay at the Bluff to life.    To book your stay at the Bluff, or to connect with the Brodt family, visit the links below!    Oh, and the next time you're at the grocery store and pick up a delicious block of Rumiano's Cheese or a pint of Humboldt Creamery's ice cream, say a little "thank you" to Merritt and the Brodt family...chances are, the milk came from one of their cows!    Book Your Stay   Follow Merritt on Instagram   Follow Amanda on Instagram   Follow Callie on Instagram   Follow the FarmStay on Instagram   Follow The Famer's Daughter on Instagram  Follow Rumiano Cheese   Follow Humboldt Creamery    If you are an Airbnb host or know an Airbnb host,  who’d like to come on the show, send me an email at zach@sponstayneous.com and we’ll chat!   Behind the Stays is brought to you each week by Sponstayneous —a carefully-curated weekly newsletter that brings you the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  It’s sort of like Scott’s Cheap Flights, but for Airbnb! You can sign up for free at sponstayneous.com  Last, but certainly not least...I didn’t believe in Marie Kondo’s whole “spark joy” mantra until I started podcasting...now, my joy is sparked every time I see a new subscriber roll in!  So please, hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode...and so you add a lil' spark to my joy fire today.