Tiny Estates-Looking back

There’s so much to say about the last nine months, from the nail-biting opening day until now.  Tiny Estates has developed and grown beyond what most expected in just the first few months. Though some of it was challenging, nothing short of growing pains and a learning experience for all, we will go proudly into the new year with great hopes for an even more successful 2019.

We acquired the current Tiny Estates property in January of 2018 and spent the following three months working tirelessly to make the many needed improvements to the land.  Formerly a successful and traditional campground, we still had our work cut out for us to make the property usable and presentable for our tiny house community.  We tested the water wells and found that it wasn’t feasible to use them, or we would’ve had to drill for new wells on the property.  The only option was to connect to public water and sewer.  We chose to connect to public water and sewer and this proved to be a huge undertaking.  Because of this, we kept our growth on hold for a while to limit the number of houses we would acquire until we completed the large project.  We had to clear many trees, brush, and debris from the former campground, test out electrical circuits for capabilities and so much more to even begin to think about an opening.

We opened officially on Monday, April 9, 2018, for tours, on a chilly spring day, with just 13 houses and only 11 available to rent to our first guests. We had our first official bookings stay here the following Friday.  From that day, word spread by those who had stayed here, as well as, a few articles that had been published about us in local newspapers, and a quick spot or two on a few local news programs.  It was a slow and steady start, then suddenly we sprinted off into the summer.  We started booking reservations in advance up to 4-7 weeks out for some houses.  We welcomed guests from California and across the United States, as well as, Ireland and other European Countries.  More houses kept coming, we were doing tours in groups of up to 15 people twice a day during the late spring, summer and early fall.  Investor units were doing well and so we saw a huge interest spike in that area. We were turning people away on weekends who wanted to come for last-minute getaways.

With our original vision of Tiny Estates being around a four-year project, we soon realized, what we had originally seen for the future, might have to grow into a much wider plan.  Further details on the what’s to come will be featured in a later blog, so stay tuned.

TE had a quiet and modest start, but we look back on 2018 as a groundbreaking year for this tiny resort community in Lancaster County and the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.  It’s a great honor to be spearheading the movement in this part of our world. 

We have great people who are staying here with land lease contracts, and we are so excited about the others who will be coming shortly who will call TE their home.  We have a few guests renting for a month or more during our winter special of 50% off a 30-day stay, and we love getting to know them and where they are in their personal journeys.

Our owner, Abby, has put her heart and soul into this project and with the help of fiancé, Ryan by her side, she has just touched the surface of what will be for Tiny Estates.  The long days, sleepless nights, the days when she’s covered in mud from toe to tip, she will be here all day working then come back in the middle of the night (sometimes she doesn’t even leave)  just to help someone navigate their TV,  or give someone an extra key, unclog a toilet or give out an extra set of towels, no matter what, she will be here. It’s her hard work and dedication that inspires her employees to believe in her and the vision for the future of TE. 

Abby is often asked “What is the biggest challenge or obstacle you faced that you didn’t expect or plan for”, her reply is “Hospitality, the little tweaks to homes or issues we faced were not a match for our incredible staff, I wasn’t quite prepared for the challenges we faced with a constant turnover of guests.  Tiny Estates has to stock extra of everything from mattresses to décor, so being prepared for anything and everything was a challenge.”

It’s been nine months, we’ve learned a lot, there have been ups and there have been downs, we’ve come very far in a short amount of time, and all the difficult things we’ve been through to grow, are helping us move to the next level in hospitality.  It wasn’t all challenges though, we had wonderful experiences this past year, and we’ve made so many new friends and formed new relationships with great people.

So now we find ourselves with 28 tiny houses and humbled by the outpouring of support by many near and far.  We want to wish a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has had a hand in the first successful nine months of Tiny Estates, we appreciate everyone who has been a part of this journey and will be forever grateful.  We hope you look back at 2018 and have fond reflections and great inspirations for the new year.  From our tiny family to yours, Happy Holidays and cheers to a prosperous new year!