We recently connected with Debbie Todd and have shared our conversation below.
Debbie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Through all my seasons of life, there has been a common theme. I tend to look for opportunities to make a difference and have a natural connection with others. Our short term vacation rental business is no different. Although this new season of life was not planned and has totally taken us outside our comfort zone, making a difference and connecting with others is at the forefront of our family owned business.
Our vacation rental business was created by accident and has evolved over the years. It began as a family get-a-way idea to reconnect and slow down from the hustle and bustle of life. We were forced to do this in 2020 when the world shut down from Covid. We closed on our 1st cabin in April 2020 and had the opportunity to spend priceless time together in a time of absolute chaos.
In July of 2020, we decided to rent our beautiful cabin for supplemental income. Little did we know that our family get-a-way would provide the same opportunity for many other families and friends to reconnect and make memories. This is when our vacation rental journey began. We were immediately booked with no time for our own family use. It became our passive income gig although we had no experience or training.
In April 2021, we did it again except this time, there was a lot of work ahead of us. This was a huge risk for us because we had just purchased our first cabin only 1 year before. With a large vision, good building crew, and a husband that is extremely handy, we were able to turn a 1 bedroom 2 bath home into a 5 bedroom, 3 bath, lodge with a theater and game room on 14 wooded acres. This was a huge project to add to our already crazy lives of working full time jobs and having 3 active kiddos. In 3 months, the renovation was complete, and it was time to start the rental process. This time was different though. I knew without a doubt, I wanted more purpose in this process than just passively renting it out to strangers. I wanted to be involved with our guests and I wanted to make a difference somehow using our new short term rental platform.
First, I wanted our short term rental business to be more professional. Not having any experience in this area, I did what anyone else would do and began looking up info on google, listening to podcasts, reading articles, and asking friends, After much pondering and 3 months of sleepless nights, I created a business plan, goals, logo, and website. It was not perfect, but I continued to move forward toward my goals. I quickly realized that I had to start somewhere and would have to be OK with imperfections. I spoke my thoughts into existence to a trusted friend, got uncomfortable, didn’t take no for an answer, learned from my mistakes, and did something everyday to get us closer to our goals.
But there was still something missing and I wanted more. I was feeling led that our vacation rentals were more than the 5 of us but wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. I wanted to use our rentals to give back along with provide a place for people to make memories. I truly wanted our rentals to make a difference. Keeping the kids involved, we had each of them research and pick a charity they wanted to support. We decided as a family to Give Back 5% of each rental to one of their charities and had our guests choose. This has been an awesome experience in many ways for our kids, guests, and the charitable organizations we support. Once again, I wanted more impact and purpose in what we were creating as a family. After multiple no’s and lots of follow ups, we partnered with 8 intentional businesses to provide products to our guests that give back 5% of our purchases to sponsor a child from Compassion International. We also provided a free stay for a healthcare professional, someone in need, and founded a community give back campaign benefiting our local food bank.
In Jan 2023, we were blessed to have the opportunity to purchase our 3rd cabin on 9 wooded acres that also needed a lot of TLC. After a 3 month intense renovation, we are now renting Notestone Cabin for guests to enjoy. My vision is with more properties and amenities, comes more opportunity to give back and make a greater impact.
Our vision will not stop here. We are just getting started on ways we can use our vacation rental platform intentionally and creatively to serve others and make a difference with our guests and community.
Debbie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a mother of three, wife, and Physical Therapist by day and short term rental host/philanthropist by night. Our short term vacation rental business is our newer endeavor we accidentally embarked on but immediately fell in love with. I tend to look for opportunities to make a difference, where I’m placed, regardless of how big or small. I also love connecting with people and listening to their story. I truly believe we have so much to learn from others.
Our 3 properties in Hocking Hills Ohio are designed intentionally for families and friends to make memorable experiences. We provide a functional design with numerous amenities to make guest stays exceptional. All of our properties include a hot tub, fire pit, 65 inch flat screen TVs, game room, fully stocked kitchen, linens, soaps, coffee station, and more. Woodland Lodge has a theater room that has been a guest favorite. We provide a digital guidebook for guests with local recommendations from food and wineries to parks and adventures in the area. We have direct booking access for Notestone Cabin. Guest can save money on bookings, receive emails on last minute deals, and have a more personal experience with host through our website at www.thewoodlandsathockinghills.com.
Our vision is to come up with intentional and creative ways to use our short term rental platform to give back and make a difference. We love having the opportunity to Give Back 5% of each rental to charitable organizations, partner with 8 businesses to sponsor a child through Compassion International, share our rentals with those in need, and rally our community together to support families in our area.
‘The Woodlands at Hocking Hills’ has become more than a vacation rental and place to get away for our family. It has taught us about grit, not giving up, taking risks, and working together. It has made us stronger as a family. We truly believe our journey is bigger than the 5 of us. Our ultimate vision is to integrate our “homes in the hills” with our passion for people. We love sharing this journey in the hopes of encouraging, teaching, and inspiring others to also make a difference where they are placed regardless of how big or small. It all matters.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
In 2019, I never would have believed we would own 4 homes by 2023. This still sounds a little crazy to me. I thought only the rich and famous did this. Well I’m living proof to say that statement is incorrect. We are not rich or famous but by analyzing our finances in detail, meeting with a financial advisor, and purchasing our first 2 homes at the perfect time with low interest rates, we were able to begin our real estate portfolio.
We bought our first rental property using a cash out refinance of our personal home and bought it with partners. We used our personal HELOC to buy our 2nd home and pay for renovations and furnishings. We created a reasonable but strict budget and stuck to it. We were very money savvy with purchasing furnishings and were not too proud to acquire second hand decor as long as it worked with our design. We were able to replenish our personal HELOC and use it again for our 3rd cabin purchase, renovation, and furnishings. We will be incorporating the BRRR method (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) to pay off our 3rd cabin expenses and debt.
Another reason we were able to purchase these homes is because they needed a lot of love, and were therefore in our price range. Our 2nd and 3rd rental properties needed a lot of vision, work, and time to come to life. My husband is extremely talented with building and creating amazing spaces. He was able to save us a lot of money by doing it himself.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I have learned a lot from podcasts, reading, googling, and asking others in the short term rental field. I have begun to surround myself with like minded hosts to share and do this journey with. Running a business can feel lonely and isolated. Finding a community that understands what you are going through and helps you find solutions is literally a game changer.
The Thanks for Visiting Podcast significantly impacted my business style and entrepreneurial thinking toward our short term rental journey. After following them and listening to their podcast for a year, I joined their Hosting Business Mastery Method program. This allowed me to dive in deeper learning more about managing a short term rental and increasing profits all while enhancing the guest experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thewoodlandsathockinghills.com
- Instagram: @thewoodlandsathockinghills
- Facebook: The Woodlands at Hocking Hills
- Youtube: The Woodlands at Hocking Hills