Today we’d like to introduce you to Alison Tomlinson
Hi Alison, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My husband, Nic, and I first fell in love with short term vacation rentals when we decided that we wanted to move to Destin, Florida. We absolutely loved the area and we loved talking to people on vacation! We thrive on socializing and always want to be somewhere having fun, so the vacation industry felt right to us. We worked hard, managing our traditional salary jobs while preparing for an eventual short term rental business.
Fast-forward 5 years and we successfully started a short term rental property in Destin, utilizing our condo to it’s fullest and truly loving all that vacation rental business had to offer.
That success only drove us more intensely and we decided that we wanted our next property to ring true to another love we have, Disney! So we found a great townhome in Kissimmee, Florida to revamp with inspiration from the magic and enchantment that Disney provides us. It was a big move, literally as we moved ourselves along with a 1 year old and crazy pets, to the area to begin working on our Dream rental home!
We spent countless hours revamping this home to immerse guests into a magical atmosphere that feels more like you’re staying under the sea or on a back patio in Columbia with your favorite characters. Today we are fully operational and bookings are rolling in. We are grateful and excited to share the magic with families and friend groups from all over!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I love this question because Nic and I often remind ourselves of the Iceberg theory and ducks swimming. While on the surface most see the fun, the high points, and the overall wins that we have experienced with our business, underneath the water is a lot of struggle, hard work, tears, disappointments, chasing answers to questions, and fear.
Our road to our rental business has not always been smooth. We’ve had to be creative by living in our homes to prepare them for rental, doing all of the work ourselves, learning the ins and outs of business, Florida laws, taxes, and more. We had a baby in the process which you may know is not an easy feat!
There are some specific struggles that we learned from along the way. We actually did not get to see our Kissimmee home in person prior to purchasing, as there kept being hiccups in planning along the way with the seller and their realtor. That was a wild experience, but we trusted our realtor and our gut, thankfully!
As we made our move to Kissimmee with our child in tow, we had many nap times and nights full of us working on our current rental property and designing the home renovation. We worked tireless nights finishing projects to meet a deadline so that we could get the place operational as soon as possible.
Another struggle during the process was learning the ins and outs of different laws and requirements of the state and city for properties. We spent countless hours on google searches, phone calls, and digging into any resource we could find.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Stay Vacation Rentals is a short-term rental business ran by myself and my husband, Nic. We are small but have a lot of potential for growth, and we love to work with vacation homes in exciting tourist areas, like Orlando! We are also taking on the role of co-host for several vacation homes in Florida and are driven to expand our knowledge and portfolio. Co-hosting is a great option for owners who do not wish to fully run their rental property, but want to have some involvement and personal touch that a traditional rental management company is often not able to provide.
We are known for our intense attention to detail and homey touches to our properties. Every detail in our vacation home is there to either entertain or be functional. Like wireless phone chargers in the bedrooms, hidden gems that only true Disney fans would spot, luxury bedding, and personal touches like wall murals painted by me!
When you book with Stay Vacation Rentals, you are booking with owners that are invested in ensuring that your vacation is amazing. Living in vacation cities has allowed us to meet people from all over the world and get to know what makes a vacation truly enjoyable, meaningful, and run smoothly! Our commitment to the success of your trip is what sets us apart from others.
We are most proud of the organic and homey nature of our brand. Nic and I grew up in a small town in north Florida, and I believe that is where we get our hospitable nature from. It’s very common in our town to become family with those that aren’t blood relatives and cherish time spent together. That human connection is what drives our brand to be truly authentic. I also love how organic Stay Vacation Rentals came about, as it was just two people that wanted to try their hand at the vacation business because they were passionate about people they meet on vacation and wanted to build something of their own.
Our hospitable and homey nature comes across in our property. We offer basic needs of a vacation home like linens, towels, and fully stocked kitchen. Our authenticity comes across via our messages as we do not use AI technology to speak to you. Every message you receive is Nic or Alison and we want to keep it that way.
Two of my favorite services that we are currently offering are a movie night snack pack and stock the refrigerator package. The movie night snack pack is perfect for kids or adults that want a movie night during your stay! Let us know and we can set up movie snacks in the Mickey Movie Room or schedule a viewing in the movie theater located in our community’s clubhouse! Stock the fridge is a solid choice if you are arriving on your vacation and want to skip the stress of the store. We have a list of items that you can purchase and have waiting for you when you arrive to your vacation home!
How do you think about happiness?
Alison: Human connection makes me happy. I use to fear human connection as a shy child that did not have opportunities to social or learn how to make deeper connections with others. As I have grown into adulthood, the desire for human connection has conquered the fear that it originally held. Whether it is finding what I have in common with someone or learning about something that I don’t understand, I think connecting with others is what drives my happiness!
Nic: Spending time with my family makes me happy. I can sit down and think about a lot of days lately where it is just my wife and son hanging out in our living room and it brings me more happiness than any physical object could.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sites.google.com/view/stayvacationrentals/home
- Instagram: @experience.stay
- Other: https://airbnb.com/h/kdreamstay
Image Credits
Trent Smith
