I thought the days of staying anywhere other than a nice hotel were long behind me, but a recent experience in Nashville has changed my mind.
In December, my partner realized we had three Delta companion tickets to use before the end of January 2023. We certainly didn’t want to waste them, so we booked weekend trips. to Nashville, San Francisco and Chicago at the last minute.
To make our trip to Nashville even more special, I decided to look for an alternative experience and that’s how I found it. Little House in Nashville.
It’s about a 10-minute drive from downtown Nashville and seemed like the perfect place for me and my partner to spend some quality time together.
When we arrived, it became quite clear why the rental was named Most popular Airbnb in Tennessee in 2019.
I have bunk beds in my college dorm, so a night in the cottage’s loft bed was pretty comfortable.
Julia E. Steele
The Story Behind Tennessee’s Most Famous Airbnb
After Rebecca, 33, and Jonathan Moody, 34, bought a home in 2012, they wanted a way to comfortably host friends and family without having to stay in the main house.
The couple told CNBC Make It that they initially thought of converting their basement into guest suites but didn’t want guests to get too close to the frenzy of their daily lives. They are the parents of three children under the age of 10.
That’s when Moody’s set its sights on the Canadian construction company summer forestspecializes in small cabins, poolside tents and sheds.
“This is a way for us to be able to host people comfortably, but it doesn’t suit our very noisy home,” says Rebecca. “Instead of leaving it empty when we don’t have friends and family to visit, it makes sense to rent it out on Airbnb.”
The 300 square meter cottage is located in Moody’s backyard. The apartment has a kitchenette, a loft queen bed, a fully equipped bathroom with a freestanding tub, an expandable sofa bed, a Roku projector, air conditioning, a heater, a fan, and three doors. ceiling book.
The couple said the small house can comfortably accommodate four people.
Nashville Tiny Home was named the most popular Airbnb in Tennessee in 2019.
Celia Fernandez
Moody’s spent 11 months and about $40,000 building and operating the tiny house. They do most of the work themselves but hire professionals to handle things like plumbing, sewage, and drywall.
For the interior of the cottage, the couple used salvaged wood, repurposed vintage cabinets and inspired their backyard, a certified wildlife habitat, to decorate. inspired by nature.
“We mean it’s a guesthouse set in our forest-inspired garden in the heart of Nashville,” says Jonathan.
Rebecca adds: “We tried to design it into a space where the outside draws you in and the inside out. “There’s a good mix of different textures to draw the eye to different places and make the space feel larger. I’d say it’s a mix of new and old vintage.”
The little house has an expandable bed. My partner and I hung out here for most of our stay.
Julia E. Steele
Renting the tiny house allowed Moody’s to quit their full-time jobs
Mood small house rent for $80 to $250 a night. They estimate operating costs around $500 a month, and renting it out on Airbnb brings in $5,000 to $7,000 a month.
That extra income allows them to quit their jobs as teachers full-time.
Now Rebecca is spending her free time writing books while Jonathan is pursuing his dream of becoming a musician.
“We can spend our time and energy doing the things we love and satisfy us,” says Jonathan.
“My favorite part is the organizational aspect. We’ve had guests engaged in the cottage and others who are pregnant for the first time and are now back with their children. We can watch the time. Time goes by the stories of my guests, and I Rebecca loves that people will come and use it as a retreat,” Rebecca added.
Jonathan and Rebecca Moody have been renting their cottage on Airbnb for six years.
Chris mood
In the six years that Mood has had its tiny home, they say the experience has been very positive. It even inspired them to start decorating their main house to simulate a rental space.
“I can feel a sense of peace in this space, so in our own home we slowly worked to make it feel like a smaller house,” says Rebecca.
The little house is the perfect getaway
In addition to wanting to try something different, my partner and I wanted our trip to Nashville to be cost-effective, so we turned to Airbnb, which offers significantly cheaper services than other guests. hotels in the area.
We were in Tennessee for three days, so we stayed two nights in a centrally located one-bedroom apartment and one night in Moody’s cottage.
The apartment was spacious, had everything we needed and was within walking distance of Broadway, a main street in downtown Nashville. But the little house made our trip something we will never forget.
Because we were forced to stay together in a small room, my partner and I were able to relax and reconnect. The space is big enough that we don’t feel cramped, but small enough to remind us we’re having a slightly different experience.
I was wary of skylights at first because I like to sleep in total darkness, but it’s actually quite amazing to wake up in the morning and see the sun rise.
And even though we were so close to downtown Nashville, the house was pretty secluded. It felt as if we were really in the middle of nowhere, which was a welcome change.
After our night in the cottage, we decided that for future tips we would explore other unique places to stay.
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