Located just steps from Butterfly Beach in Montecito, California, on one of the most sought-after streets in the American Riviera, Getaway House sees Gray Marin focusing on its mobile lifestyle brand.
For $2,500 a night, guests can stay in the cozy, oceanfront, modern, four-bedroom home that he has thoroughly renovated over the past six months. Upon entering the front door, they'll see a Gray Malin surfboard propped up against the wall. They can lounge in the TV room, decorated with Gray Malin's “Pinstripe Umbrella” wallpaper and Nest x Gray Malin candles, dine in the dining room, which is covered with a Gray Malin Ruggable rug, and admire photos that Marin has taken of Santa Barbara-area hotspots, including Coral Casino Beach & Cabana Club and San Ysidro Rancho, that adorn the walls throughout the home.
Of course, all of this is available for sale on Marin's website.
“I push the boundaries of my photography from a frame on a wall to real-life moments,” says the Los Angeles-based photographer, who over the past 15 years has transformed his stylish Slim Aarons-esque artistic imagery into a lifestyle brand, collaborating with Veuve Clicquot, The Beverly Hills Hotel, Sperry Top-Sider, and Janie & Jack, among others.
Mullin also handpicked some of her favorite brands for the home, choosing Weegee for the monogrammed towels and bathrobes, Biscuit Home for bedding, and Goop for beauty products. “You can use Blue Jay bikes and maps to go on your own adventure, find the perfect backdrop for photos, or discover a fully-stocked wine shop,” Mullin said, explaining how these partners will cross-promote Getaway Houses through social channels. “I built my entire brand around my trademark phrase, 'Make every day a getaway,' and now we're truly opening the door to physical, real-life getaways.”
Marin is one of many designers and creatives who have found their footing in the hospitality industry through vacation rentals as an extension of their own brands, a shopping showcase for an expanding range of product categories, a marketing tool and a source of passive income.
Industry of All Nations' The Landing House in Joshua Tree, featured in Homestead Modern. Courtesy of Homestead Modern
In the high desert of Joshua Tree, California, architects Fernando and Juan Diego Gersovich, co-founders of sustainable apparel brand Industry of All Nations, have built the stunning Landing House and listed it for rent on Homestead Modern for 2023.
Resembling a horizontal wooden box, the structure is made entirely of concrete, glass and cedar and has been intentionally left unfinished to weather and blend in with its environment. Guests can sit in the brand's Panamericana chairs on a deck overlooking the circular pool and take in the ethereal views of boulders, yucca trees and endless skyline that the designers strive to preserve through their eco-conscious approach to clothing.
Inside, the brothers designed all the furniture, draped the sofas with Peruvian alpaca throws and outfitted the closets in both bedrooms with a “desert wardrobe” of casual pants and T-shirts made of undyed natural cotton that can be worn during their stay and can be purchased at the Industry of All Nations store down the hill on 29 Palms Highway.
“The view, the light, the feeling of being there is so peaceful and relaxing, so I wanted to embrace the concept of minimalism and less of everything,” Fernando said of incorporating an edit of clothing from the brand, which also has stores in Venice, California, San Francisco and New York.
Heather Taylor's idyllic alpine cabin in Idyllwild. Courtesy of Airbnb
Located in funky Idyllwild, an hour southeast of Palm Springs, California, high in the San Jacinto Mountains, the Heather Taylor Cabin offers visitors the opportunity to step into the modern-meets-traditional world of this Los Angeles home goods guru, purveyor of trendy cottagecore linens favored by Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow and the Kardashians.
Get cozy in a Heather Taylor gingham robe in your living room furnished with Heather Taylor Home x West Elm furniture, sip hot cocoa on the screened porch while taking in mountain views while sitting on a Heather Taylor gingham upholstered chaise lounge, or tuck into bed on Heather Taylor ruffled linens.
“It's like a giant Instagram story come to life,” says Taylor, who renovated the home during the pandemic and listed it on Airbnb last March after her own “not-so-cute” experience with a vacation rental at the time. Visitors can receive discount codes to purchase products on her website, and Taylor has a permanent backdrop for the brand's photoshoots and marketing efforts.
Taylor sees the 1,800-square-foot, shoppable cabin — which has garnered 73 five-star reviews and appeared on the cover of Country Living magazine — as the next step in experiential travel. And she's not alone.
Following the success of its Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse rental tied to Mattel's blockbuster hit last summer, Airbnb is partnering with Disney and Marvel to debut its Icon Collection of branded experience spaces, signaling its evolution from lodging to experiences and services. One of the Icon Collection spaces is a modern, minimalist home in Los Angeles hosted by Edna Mode, the superhero fashion designer from “The Incredibles,” where visitors can choose fabric samples and design their own custom suits.
But when it comes to designer-led residential rental projects, not all business models are the same.
The Kardashians are vacationing at James Perse's Grey Cape mansion in Baja California, which can be booked through his website and features five suites furnished by Los Angeles designers, a personal chef, butlers, and access to the James Perse store.
LA fashion and home designer Jenni Kayne has made home decor part of her brand DNA, but she's also made it even more special: She and her real estate broker husband, Richard Ehrlich, have purchased, renovated, and staged three luxury homes that incorporate all the elements of her coveted Pacific Natural lifestyle, from Aspen wingback bouclé chairs to Moroccan shearling slippers and Oak Essentials skincare products.
The homes at Jenni Kayne Lake, Jenni Kayne Ranch and Jenni Kayne Hillside Haven were never listed as short-term rentals, but were offered as accommodations for celebrities and influencers, used for content production and client events, and were all for sale, including the homes themselves.
Raquel Allegra's Many Feathers Ranch, courtesy of Airbnb
At the other end of the spectrum, LA fashion designer Raquel Allegra considers Many Feathers Ranch in Valdez, New Mexico, her sanctuary. “It's a place where I don't want to have any work-related stuff, or have to please anybody, or think about what people want from me,” she says. The Wall Street Journal-featured 8,000-square-foot home is set at the foot of Taos Ski Valley, with views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and ponds dotting the property that reflect the sky.
“Most people come because they've seen the photos and are drawn to the space. Then, when they rent, they say, 'Oh, Raquel Allegra, I'm a big fan. So cool. I had no idea.' It's really nice. Sometimes we send them packages…for example, lots of jersey dresses to wear at home.”
Natalie Martin's gorgeous Spanish-style mansion in Palm Springs, courtesy of Airbnb
When Bali-born print fashion designer Natalie Martin bought her Spanish colonial “Hacienda Vaquero” in Palm Springs in 2021, she had no intention of branding it that way. But that's about to change: The 2,000-square-foot home already exuded the same sexy rock 'n' roll vibe as her clothing brand, and it came equipped with plenty of Balinese furnishings, including a collection of whimsical wooden animal head sculptures in the dining room, a saltwater pool, a hot tub, a fire pit, and a shaded outdoor living room.
Now that she's launched NM Home, she's redecorated the living room with her own printed wallpaper and is adding more of her own textiles, including robes and sarongs for guests.
“I need to lean into it,” she says.
Designing and owning a vacation rental as an extension of your brand sounds great, but there are realities to consider.
Corey Lynn Culter's Joshua Tree Geodesic Dome House, courtesy of Airbnb
Los Angeles contemporary designer Corey Lynn Culter was one of the earliest spotters on the trend 10 years ago, when she started renting out her geodesic dome home in Joshua Tree on Airbnb, filling it with vintage lamps, artwork, and pillows, as well as vacation-friendly straw hats, sunscreen, and co-branded bath products, which she sold on a self-service basis.
“We called it a mini-shop,” she says of the concept she recreated in a rental home in Palm Springs and dreams of selling on Airbnb. “I offered discounts on the website, which also drove shoppers to my clothing collection. But there could only be so many shoppers at a time,” she says of the home. “If I was running a store with only one customer in seven days, the business model wouldn't work.”
Though it's not a particularly lucrative venture, her stylish desert project has an upside: “I use the house myself,” she says.
