In the trees
Half an hour up 29 N., property owners in Greene County are also taking advantage of opportunities to generate some income by hosting guests at home. Long-time Greene resident David VanDerveer’s hill-top property has evolved from a 24×24’ A-frame to an elaborate, commune-style retreat center featuring a treehouse, two saunas, a barn with massage tables and a poker room, and picnic areas. VanDerveer’s been renting his property out to individuals and groups through Airbnb, both short- and longer-term for just over a year.
He’s been paying the Transient Occupancy Tax—which the Board of Supervisors raised from two percent to five percent in 2005—and said he hasn’t run into any issues, aside from some annoyed neighbors who don’t want a business next door.
“The zoning is pretty vague, but the county wants to support and help you,” VanDerveer said of Greene officials. “It’s bringing in income for the county, too.”
As he continues to expand the business—he said grass-topped hobbit houses may be on the horizon—VanDerveer plans to apply for a special use permit that allows him to operate a lodging facility in a residentially zoned area. It’s a lengthy process, though, and it’ll be months before the request is approved or denied.
A retired traveling juggler, VanDerveer works other jobs, but said the $100 per room per night he brings in through the retreat center is his primary source of income. He’s more than happy to play by the rules, but hasn’t figured out what he’ll do if the county denies his request for the special use permit.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” he said with a shrug.
A place to crash
Laurie Miller spent the better part of her 20s backpacking and hitchhiking around Europe, crashing on strangers’ couches and finding unlikely friends and travel companions everywhere she went. Since moving to Charlottesville in the 1980s, she’s found herself inviting wanderers into her home without giving it a second thought, and she recently joined the slew of mostly 20-and-30-somethings on couchsurfing.com.
Couchsurfing is a network of 7 million people in more than 100,000 cities around the globe that connects travelers to hosts with room to spare, for free. The community is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and the tagline, “Share your life,” encompasses everything that Miller loves about travel.
“The idea of hosting a stranger in my home is not new to me,” she said.
Miller said she’s always trusted her instincts about other people, and she can tell right off the bat if she’s comfortable allowing someone in her home. The first traveler Miller hosted was Helet Botha, a South African student from her 20s who came to Charlottesville last year to visit UVA. The two bonded instantly, despite the 30-year age difference, and Botha plans to stay with Miller again when she returns to Charlottesville later this year to start graduate school.
“My time with Laurie strengthened my faith in people’s fundamental need to take care of each other,” Botha said over e-mail. “I was a little overwhelmed by how successfully the platform could bring some people with the potential to be friends together.”
