June 24, 2019

Meet Kenyon Waugh of WeeCasa Tiny House Resort in Lyons

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenyon Waugh.

Kenyon, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2013, Lyons experienced a 1,000-year flood. The town was devastated and the Riverbend Mobile Home Park was completely destroyed. After the flood, the owner was looking for a new use for the Property and settled on a wedding venue. WeeCasa was suggested by one of the new partners for the land – Kenyon Waugh, WeeEO of WeeCasa. We decided to try 10 tiny homes set up as a hotel and opened in May of 2015.

The first year was mostly wedding guests and some tiny house enthusiasts. As weddings were booked for 2016, we decided to add seven more homes. We have been growing ever since. We now 22 homes for rent and are now open year round.

Has it been a smooth road?
We were able to leverage temporary emergency zoning to get the resort set up and worked with the town to get permanent zoning. The town was open to the idea but it took to re-zoning attempts to get the zoning we wanted. There were some hiccups about to how to charge for water, sewer and other utilities and the first year was difficult with a lot of time spent in the town hall.

We also had some issues with our original bankers as tiny homes were so new and financing was not straight forward. We have settled into a normal operating procedure now and thanks to the support of our house partners and our guests, we are enjoying good growth in our fifth season.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the WeeCasa Tiny House Resort story. Tell us more about it.
WeeCasa Tiny House Resort is a collection of 22 unique tiny houses (on wheels) set up as a high-end resort. We offer tiny homes from 176 sq feet up to 450 sq feet for rent from one night to 30 nights. Our park-like setting along the St. Vrain River is perfect for quiet reflection, hosting events and “Glamping.”

We offer high-end mattresses, linens, and amenities for our guests including a WeeGather lobby/hospitality suite, lawn games, access to the river, and outdoor seating and gathering areas.

We are known internationally as the largest tiny house resort of its kind. We have been featured in Forbes, USToday, Backpacker Magazine, Sunset Magazine, and many others. I’m proud of our reputation and guest reviews. People love staying with us and talk us up to friends and family.

Our unique model allows tiny house owners and builders to place houses at WeeCasa under a lease and share revenue. Our partners are great at promoting their homes at WeeCasa and building buzz around their homes and the resort. The diversity of homes is also something unique to WeeCasa. With 14 different models from 9 different builders, our homes offer aspiring tiny houser’s a chance to see if they could live full time in a tiny house.

We hold an annual WinterWee Fest that showcases the houses, provides tours and speakers related to Tiny Houses.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
We have seen a lot of changes to the Tiny House community over the last four years. The most frequent question we get, is “Where can I live in a tiny house?” We are seeing more and more full-time living communities opening across the country and even our town has adopted ordinances to allow Tiny Houses as Accessory Dwelling Units.

The hotel industry has been changing significantly around non-traditional hotel rooms and lodging experiences. This includes AirBnB, VRBO, and others. Even major chains are investing in a new cabin and alternative lodging options.

We are currently working to add locations in other parts of the United States and internationally. There has been significant interest in our model and the flexibility of tiny houses as hotel rooms.

Pricing:

Prices start at $149 per night
2-night minimums June – September
Monthly rentals available October through May

Contact Info:

Address: 501 West Main Street, Lyons, Colorado
Website: weecasa.com
Phone: 720.460.0239
Email: info@weecasa.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weecasatinyhomes

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