Will Sutherland and Sabrina Hartley
Will Sutherland runs a tree house that took him six months to build and now rents out through Airbnb.
When he first came up with the idea, he almost wanted to give it up because he thought he couldn’t do something like that.
Now the treehouse brings him $30,000 a year in rent through Airbnb. Cari Shane wrote up Sutherland’s experiences for you.
This article is an edited, transcribed conversation with Will Sutherland.
Even before I had finished buying my house, I had the idea of building a tree house in the garden. I saw two trees on a rock and wanted to have a tree house there. At the time it felt like a pipe dream. But then I started putting it into practice.
In six and a half months I built the tree house almost without outside help
I carried every piece of wood and tile myself. I received a cedar log from a friend who was building a house at the time. I have a sawmill in my house. There I prepared the cedar for the outer cladding of the walls.
Sabrina Hartley
When I told my wife Sabrina I wanted to build an Airbnb tree house, she said she would support me – as long as the guests didn’t use our bathroom. Sabrina and I have been offering an Airbnb in an old school bus that we converted for years. The school bus has no bathroom. In order to shower or use the toilet, guests always had to come into our house.
Next to the tree house I built a small bathroom. Now all our guests, both on the bus and in the tree house, use this bathroom.
Sabrina Hartley
Sabrina supported me during the building process. She cut wooden boards, laid the floor and was by my side every day after work.
With the bunk bed I have more space
The tree house has a double bed and a second bed above. Children love the loft bed. Although there is no water tap in the tree house, there is a water tank with a capacity of about 19 liters. Guests can brush their teeth or wash their hands in the tree house. There is a hot plate for guests to heat water or food, a window air conditioner and an electric heater.
Sabrina Hartley
I installed a steep staircase in front of the house and an emergency exit with a ladder in the back. Because the rocky ground beneath the house is crooked, the tree house is five and a half meters high at the front and four meters at the back.
The first year I rented the house for $30,000
The treehouse gets thousands of views on Airbnb every month. A reservation is almost always only possible in months. Depending on what time of year we are, the price for one night varies between 160 and 250 dollars per night, i.e. 150 to 235 euros.
With the bus and the tree house, I earn enough money through Airbnb to be able to quit my job. I now have enough time to help my friends or family with projects and set new goals. Luckily, I also see myself achieving those goals faster than I did when I was still working full-time.
Sabrina Hartley
Since my main job at the moment is letting and looking after our guests, I have adjusted my daily routine accordingly. For example, I can’t turn on the chainsaw in the sawmill while someone is reading a book in the tree house. As soon as my guests are gone, I quickly mow the grass.
We live in a miniature world here and our guests in the school bus and in the tree house are almost always there.
Sabrina Hartley
Watching our guests create fond memories in the tree house or on the school bus makes me feel happy and fulfilled. Again, I am happy that I can work from home with the Airbnb income and thus have more time for my family and friends.
Axel Springer, Business Insider’s parent company, is investing in Airbnb.
This text was translated from English by Amin Al Magrebi. You can find the original here.
