Image © Dennis Rivera
Farm stays:SPACE TO GROW Could you share your farmland with paying guests and create an additional income stream? We talk to Scottie Jones, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FARM STAY USA, FARMSTAYUS.COM my previous stints as the Arizona franchisee for The Body Shot and the Director of Host and Guests Services at The Phoenix Zoo). It started from there in 2007.
Image © Curtis Anderson
What’s your background and what led you to create Farm Stays US? I have been on my farm for the past 18 years, arriving here directly from a one-acre suburban “lot” in Tempe AZ with 2 horses and little real farm experience other than a huge hydroponic greenhouse my husband had for tomatoes and chilies. Honestly, we were romantically deluded white-collar professionals looking for a change and thinking we would try our hand at farming. I mean, how hard can farming be?! Thankfully, Greg was good at growing things and I knew enough to take classes through our university Extension on things like lambing and living on the land. As for introducing our farm stay, we were on a steep learning curve that, by year 2, had proven to me we weren’t going to be able to cover our farm costs by just selling lamb and hay. I had lived in Europe for a time, and specifically England, so was familiar with the farm stay idea. What better way to diversify and increase our income than to invite guests to our farm? I wasn’t going anywhere anyway, and I didn’t suppose anyone could ask a denser question than I had when we first arrived. I would be the perfect host (I also had a fair amount of customer service and marketing training from
Which states are most likely to allow glamping farm stays? The more unregulated states regarding land use will be those with lots of open space, large acreage holdings, and the philosophy that a person can do what they want with their land. Alternatively, states along both seaboards and with large urban areas close by will likely be highly regulated. Within those states, many have found the closer their county is to an urban area, the more closely regulated. The variation of applied regulations county by county can be maddening. Before buying land, you should always ask your realtor about what you are and are not allowed to do regarding glamping/camping/lodging if that is your intention. You can even go as far as to ask the local planning office (anonymously if need be). I may not be totally correct on these and may also have missed a few, but the most obvious will be: Texas, Florida, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, North and South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico. I am not as sure when you get to the south, but possibly Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina? Interestingly, while western Oregon is
g l a m p i n g s h o w. u s | G l a m p i n g B u s i n e s s A m e r i c a s | 2 7
