How They Built an Airbnb into the Side of a Mountain (And a Waterfall Too!) — The Story of the River Rock House

Meet Justin and Rebecca Rush, the creators of the River Rock Cabin on the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, Georgia.

Justin and Rebecca are real estate photographers who had always dreamed of one day building their very own Airbnb…long after they had built their primary dream home, of course. 

One day Justin got a text from one of his clients about a piece of land that was for sale along the Toccoa River.  Justin assumed the call was a request to go take pictures of the lot, but his client asked him if HE wanted to buy it…he knew how much Justin and Rebecca loved the area…

Once Justin figured out he wasn’t joking he immediately said, “yes”...

There was only one problem — the home was only permitted for a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom which was too small for the primary residence they were hoping to build.

But the land was WAY too beautiful to pass up and that’s when the idea of building a unique cabin into the side of the mountain that overlooks 300 feet of private river frontage was born. 

In this conversation, you’ll discover: 

• How Rebecca and Justin build a stunning cabin on the side of a mountain during COVID
• How they got inspiration from Levi Kelly’s YouTube channel for their build — and the story behind how Levi wound up coming to the cabin the month after it opened
• How they financed the build 
• Their honest thoughts on the cons of direct booking 
• Some ideas they have for modernizing RV parks as a next project
• And so much more

Book a stay at the River Rock House

Follow the River Rock House on Instagram

This episode is brought to you by our friends at AirDNA

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About the Show

Behind the Stays is brought to you twice a week by Sponstayneous — a free, biweekly newsletter that brings subscribers the best last-minute deals and upcoming steals on Airbnb.  

You can subscribe, for free, at www.sponstayneous.com. 

Behind the Stays is hosted by Zach Busekrus, co-founder of Sponstayneous, you can connect with him on Twitter at @zboozee.