Would you give warning of ghosts in your STR?

Would you give warning of ghosts in your STR?

Collin HaysBusiness Member
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!

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John UnderwoodPro Member
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. 

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  • 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. 

    Best of luck!

  • 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.  

  • Investor · Jefferson City, MO · Member since 2020 · 192 posts · 178 votes
    4y

    Always be honest. "it's either hell yes or its a hell no" if you're questioning if it's ok to not share. it's a hell no. 

    that being said, I sorta wanna stay there now. i'm in Mid-Missouri.... might have to look you up now lol

  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    OP
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    4y
    Quote from @Austin Johnson:

    Always be honest. "it's either hell yes or its a hell no" if you're questioning if it's ok to not share. it's a hell no. 

    that being said, I sorta wanna stay there now. i'm in Mid-Missouri.... might have to look you up now lol


    Warning, if you don’t believe in ghosts, sorry, there aren’t any.  But if you, there probably aren’t any, either.

  • Investor · United States · Member since 2015 · 415 posts · 487 votes
    4y

    I can't believe the number of grown adults in here that take this seriously. 

    Do you guys disclose info about fairies and Santa Claus visits too?

  • 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.
  • Scott JohnsonBusiness Member
    Specialist · Greenville, NC · Member since 2019 · 673 posts · 408 votes
    4y

    I'd totally advertise it as an amateur ghost hunter's haven! Great place for them to learn and practice!

  • Octavio AguirrePro Member
    Visalia, CA · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 9 votes
    4y

    @Collin H.

    Sell it and get your money from it being that it’s a new build. To much drama Associated with the place.

  • 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.

  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    OP
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    4y
    Quote from @Kelly Asmus:

    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.

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