A couple shares their haven in the woods

When Superhosts John and Fin visited New York several years ago, the couple arrived to a drab hotel room. Hoping to salvage their visit, they hopped on Airbnb for the first time and soon found themselves walking down a quirky residential street with art hanging from trees.

Opening the door to their Host’s apartment, they were greeted by a giant mannequin covered in rhinestones. “We became hooked as guests,” John says. “We would’ve never seen this section of New York."

A seed was planted. John and Fin, self-described “tiny house and off-grid nerds” who’d built a 304-square-foot cabin in the woods of Eatonton, Georgia, felt their little haven was worth sharing. In 2018, they listed a Vardo wagon on Airbnb.

They’d first committed to living tiny after meeting online in 2010. When Fin, a Buddhist from Thailand, visited John, an immunologist in Miami, she said his 2,500-square-foot house required too much cleaning, regardless of who did it.

They went on to found the United Tiny House Association to advocate for affordable living and run tiny house festivals. But when the pandemic brought their festival work to a halt, they decided to focus on hosting unique stays.

Between March and August of 2020 they added tiny houses, yurts, and a school bus to their collection of unique stays. By autumn, with Covid safety measures in place, bookings soared. “The passive income from Airbnb saved us,” John says.

They love the flexibility of hosting. They can host when they want to and set their own house rules, all from their tiny cabin in the woods. And sharing their landscape and lifestyle with others fuels them.

“Hosting allows me to create magic—to create something beautiful for others,” Fin says. “When you see that sparkle in someone’s eyes, and you know you made them happy, this is what I’m all about.”