Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
Disclaimer: I am not a believer in ghosts.
We owned a cabin on the Roaring Fork River in Gatlinburg that was over 200 years old. We bought it in 2010, and it was called "Riverhaven" at that time. It had a history of ghosts. We started clean, renamed it, remodeled it, new listing. But over the next 7 years, guests continued reporting invisible visitors fairly regularly. Really bizarre, unexplainable things. Well, it burned to the ground in 2017, and we built a brand new, genuine log cabin in its place.
I figured if there was a ghost, or creaky walls or old pipes or whatever, all of that was gone. Well guess what, guests are reporting visitors again. ;) Nothing scary or threatening, but visitors nonetheless. My question to the forum is, would you give warning of this to prospective guests, or at least mention it? I say no, my wife says yes. Help us settle this! Thank you!
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
4y
Wouldn't say anything. Let them figure out any weirdness. You'll either scare people off or disappoint the ones expecting to see or hear something if they don't.
Realtor · Jupiter, FL · Member since 2022 · 44 posts · 19 votes
4y
I would most definitely tell people. Personally, I would not stay there, whereas I see above, some disagree! Thats great. I liked the halloween comment- you may indeed get a lot of traction that time of year.
Anywho- better to go the honest route, when in doubt. I always say- if I have to question it? Then I know my answer.
Rental Property Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2018 · 73 posts · 35 votes
4y
Several hotels in St Augustine, FL have been featured on ghost hunting shows for years. Specifically, there is one hotel with a specific room that has a history of being haunted. That room is booked out for two years straight.
Oppositely, what if your STR occupants use their ghostly experience to give your cabin a terrible rating. You accumulate enough of those and prospective visitors may see your 2 star rating and not even bother clicking to see your cabin.
I would disclose it with a detailed description of your ghost's, non-threatening antics and run with it. Consider advertising it on several of the ghost hunting forums as well.
Rental Property Investor · Doylestown, PA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Ha ha! Wow. Funniest post I've seen in a while! I say go with it. You'll probably have 100% occupancy if you lean into it. But if you decide not to, there is definitely no legal reason why you'd need to mention it though since ghosts are not an actual thing.
Real Estate Broker · Elmwood Park, IL · Member since 2020 · 55 posts · 32 votes
4y
@Collin H.
For the past 14 years I have owned and still run a Themed Construction company. We actually did some work near the space needle in Gatlinburg TN. We build themed sets like the escape games in town, museum pieces or haunted walk throughs. So this is coming from someone who has literally made a living on scaring millions of people around the world.
If in/near Gatlinburg, which is very high tourists, I would add it to the site. But really try to dig into the history. Have a book on site where guests can write their experiences. Im guessing this is a short term rental? If not it should be!!
I would 100% talk about the hauntings/visitors. Yes you will scare off potential renters if they are not into that sort of thing. But the up side is so much higher.
I know people who travel around the world looking for haunted air bnbs to write about. You never know. Your cabin could be the base of a next King novel?👻
But on a serious note. Its all about the history. Start digging. You never know what you might dig up. 🪦⚰️. I vote to talk about it. But again, not much scares me anymore.
If you really want some help with marketing or ideas I would like to help out anyway I can. Wow.. Talk about my two worlds colliding.
Dm me for my info.
Best of luck with everything and I guess Happy Halloween?!?!? 🎃
Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2018 · 126 posts · 71 votes
4y
The STR business is competitive. Investors are jumping in all the time. I'd personally try to monetize it. Collect "sightings" info from past guests, it's not a marketing ploy if you have actual reviews of things happening. Try and find some history of what happened in the area. Your STR is a business, first and foremost, if marketing it as having ghosts helps drive income, I'm all for it.
The STR business is competitive. Investors are jumping in all the time. I'd personally try to monetize it. Collect "sightings" info from past guests, it's not a marketing ploy if you have actual reviews of things happening. Try and find some history of what happened in the area. Your STR is a business, first and foremost, if marketing it as having ghosts helps drive income, I'm all for it.
I mentioned some of this to my wife, and she ghosted me.