A ‘tiny hotel’ built by a 25-year-old has made $500,000 (£441,282) in bookings in a single year.
Isaac French, a bookkeeper and contractor, co-owns the tiny hotel in Texas, which is made up of seven cabins and opened earlier this year.
He began his project after buying a five-acre plot in March 2021, he told Business Insider.
French has since created what is now known as Live Oak Lake at the site near the city of Waco in central Texas. Cabins are all between 550 and 650 sq ft, and built in his signature Scandinavian architectural style.
(Isaac French)
French explained that much of his success came from marketing the properties through social media thanks to partnerships with travel influencers. Live Oak’s Instagram page now has over 50,000 followers, which he said is their “main funnel for bookings”.
Nearly 70 per cent of bookings come directly through Live Oak’s website, and the other 30 per cent come through Airbnb.
His father also owns a construction business, he explained, which allowed him to cover costs. He said: “I was surrounded by lots of incredible people as well, as far as contractors and landscapers.”
Live Oak Lake has generated $500,000 (£441,282) in bookings since it was built, after French used $138,000 (122,020) to purchase the plot of land.
He initially predicted that constructing the tiny hotel would cost around $1.6m (£1.4m); after being hit by rising lumber prices, the tiny hotel ended up costing more like $2.5m (£2.2m).
The seven cabins are identical and spread out over the five-acre area, along with a common area with picnic tables and kayaks surrounding a small dock.
Each cabin has two bedrooms, one bathroom, an open-plan kitchen and a living room, as well a private entrance, parking space, floor-to-ceiling windows, a hot tub, fire pit and a hammock.
French said: “It was very high cost per square foot because these are very high-end — we chose very nice finishes. I’ve always loved design. I wanted to be an architect when I was younger.”
Cabins cost from just under £500 per night and sleep up to four guests.
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