Glamping in the Shenandoah Valley
After reassessing her life and career during the COVID-19 quarantine, Lindsey Severt left behind her job as an engineer in the Greater Flint Michigan Area and started her journey as a glampsite developer and host in the breathtaking Shenandoah Valley near Elkton, Virginia.
Are you dreaming about a career as a glamping host that could help you expand your horizons beyond a regular 9-to-5? Want to build a business that fulfills you while helping to make the world a better place?
If so, this story of embarking on big life changes and bringing the dream of glampsite development to life in the Shenandoah Valley will inspire you to think outside the box and take action. Today, Lindsey partners with her father and uncle operating five in-demand listings on Airbnb.
The Family Connection
The COVID-19 health crisis and quarantine gave Lindsey Severt ample time to consider where she was in life and where she wanted to be in the future. As a child, she had watched her father flip houses and start his own business, so being an entrepreneur was in her blood.
But she also saw how hard he worked and how devastating it was when he lost his business in the recession of 2008. She eventually started looking into long-term rental properties and explored resources on YouTube. That’s when Lindsey discovered influencers like Robilt and others whose content inspired her to consider short-term rentals instead.
In 2016, Lindsey got interested in short-term rental properties as a side gig. In 2020, she bought her first investment property. And in 2021, she jumped into short-term rentals for real. Now was ready to get serious about the business and leave her engineering career behind so she could go after her dream of making a living as a property developer and short-term rental host.
Lindsey settled on the Shenandoah Valley area near Elkton, Virginia, as her destination and found properties that fit her short-term rental goals. She brought in her father and uncle as partners. While her uncle is a math pro who helps her crunch the numbers, her dad is an expert in building anything, so they have been crucial to her business success.
Her father was able to quit his job in 2022 to work with Lindsey full time. She says this meant more to her than being able to quit her own job. Seeing her father become self-sufficient and working for himself again was incredibly fulfilling and helped her know she is on the right path to making a real difference in her family and putting good into the world.
“My primary drive for doing this is my family. It sounds cheesy, but I found myself wanting more for myself and the people in my life, and I realized the engineering job just doesn’t scale,” said Lindsey.
“Short-term rental properties are scalable which also means I can be a good employer, and that changes lives. I want to be able to be a good steward of money and wealth, so I can afford to have a generous nature–this is what drives me every day.”
Lindsey’s Glampsite Details
While Lindsey’s glampsite listings are currently not on the market as she works out some details with the county officials, she found there was tremendous demand for these type of properties.
When she purchased the land for the glampsites, she chose Shenandoah Valley due to the affordable entry-level pricing, high returns, and the opportunity to offer unique experiences to individuals and families.
“In this area, you don’t have to purchase a half a million dollar property; you can purchase smaller properties to spread out the risk and make it more affordable,” said Lindsey.
She quickly discovered people will pay a premium price to stay at a truly unique property where they can enjoy gorgeous natural surroundings. Lindsey’s properties are at the edge of Shenandoah National Park, a destination that extends along the Blue Ridge Mountains, featuring trails, forests, wetlands, waterfalls, and rocky peaks. Guests can catch glimpses of deer, several bird species, and squirrels, and hope not to see a black bear.
Lindsey’s glampsites include two bell tents with slightly different layouts on adjacent properties. When these glampsites were on the market, people could rent the sites separately through Airbnb. Although they are neighboring, guests can only catch a peek of one property from another, so they offer welcomed privacy and escape from the hustle and bustle of the world.
And the money isn’t bad either!
“Glamping returns are insane, and it’s appealing for so many reasons–fun, unique memories, and great conversation starter,” said Lindsey. “I host people from all over the world, and it is definitely a more enjoyable job than anything else I could do.”
To learn more about Lindsey’s currently available short-term rental listings, visit Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/users/72715457/listings.
There’s also a fun video sharing details about her cabin in Shenandoah Valley on YouTube. Or you can keep up with her properties on Instagram.
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