Hey
Toby I always like to recommend a
Limited Edition kick-off sentence: "We are a family-owned vacation rental company locally-based in X, that specializes in Y type of properties. This distinguishes you immediately from commodities.
Your
About Us definitely conveys character. But I'd suggest adding some elements of what the final product does for your and your family: describe a moment or favorite thing you guys like to do at this YOUR beach house (so guests can associate). And maybe even the FEELING that having this home brings now ...that "soaking it in " - is it pride, joy, connection with loved ones...etc. In general, if you could inject a little more emotion into that story (the frustration is good) I think it'd be a nice finishing touch.
Alright, thank you for the input. I have worked on it some more with your feedback in mind. Here is 2.0
Love your critiques, don't hold back
🙂
Beachhousewa is a small, local business that is focused on guest experience, we are unique in that we not only own and manage all of our boutique vacation rentals, but we have also built or remodeled each one.
When I was growing up, almost every vacation my family took was spent at the beach. We would rent a cabin and spend the whole drive there anticipating what we would find. I still remember the excitement of arriving at a new place and rushing in to see what it had to offer. The joy of those moments and the memories we made as a family, stayed with me.
After college I started a fitness consulting business and focused on raising my 3 children. Our favorite places to go were always somewhere near the Ocean. At some point I began looking for a house at the beach that we could call our second home. I looked at listings at least once a week for 6 years before I found the right place.
The minute I saw Beach Cabin I knew I had found our beach house. It was in rough shape and needed lots of work, but I saw what it could be. The process of getting a mortgage for a second home that was not finished, while self employed, was a delicate dance. Commuting 2.5 hours to Long Beach WA every weekend to work as long as possible before I had to drive back home for my work week, taught me to appreciate coffee for the first time in my life. Yes, I did not start drinking coffee until my 30’s. Thank you Beach Cabin.
As I worked on fixing up Beach Cabin, I grew frustrated with all the shortcuts the builders and subs had taken. Essentially the job of a finish carpenter is to cover up the mistakes made when building a house and still make it look good; and I was only pretending to be a finish carpenter. I decided that in order to avoid all this frustration I would build my next home from the ground up, and do it right. I loved the location of Beach Cabin so I bought a nearby lot and worked on designing and building my first house, Seagrass.
So, long story short, building a home is really frustrating. And what was once a novelty drink of coffee a few times a week, became a cup a day habit. Thank you Seagrass.
I knew what the kids and I would love to find in a vacation rental, so that's what I started putting in mine. Everyone questioned all the amenities I was putting in my homes saying, “why are you doing that, they are only rentals.” And the answer was simple, because most of my best memories were made on vacation with my family. Why wouldn’t I want to make these homes as special as possible.
My goal was never to have a bunch of houses that I could rent out to maximize profit. My focus has always been on creating beautiful spaces for families and friends to gather and make lasting memories.
One of my favorite parts of doing this is receiving the occasional message when people arrive telling me how much they love the home, and how happy they are. It takes me back to those moments when I arrived, excited for a family vacation, rushing in the house and looking around at our home for the next few days. There is nothing like staying at a beautiful home by the beach.
I spend many Friday evenings driving to the beach with my dog, Patty, in a truck loaded with tools and supplies. There is always something that needs to be fixed or replaced. It is deeply satisfying to look at how far my homes have come and to remember the journey. I always think I will have plenty of time to get everything I have planned done, but it never seems to turn out that way. But every once and awhile, I will get an evening where the wind is calm and the stars are out. I will set down my toolbelt, whistle to my dog and walk to the beach, pulling a wagon loaded with firewood and a cooler. Reclining under the stars, looking out over the Pacific Ocean I will try to soak it in. Life is short and there is always stuff to do, but at this moment I am exactly where I want to be.
