We hear it all the time. Friends who maybe have caught a whiff of Lafayette Flats on our personal Facebook pages often don’t grasp the concept. After running into yet another of these friends last night, we decided to write a post that explains vacation rentals in general, and how ours will work particularly:

First, the reason that we started the project was so we could have a place to stay in Fayetteville. We love it here and like to spend as much time here as possible. We’re not cabin or campground people, so we found the lodging offerings rather limited. There are already a good number of vacation rental properties in the area, but most of these are large houses – great for large groups but not so much for couples. So we thought that it would be great to have a small flat in town where we could leave a change of clothes and a toothbrush so we could come up any time we wanted. So flat #3 (third-floor front) is ours.

Many people are familiar with beach house rental: Lafayette Flats is the same idea except that our beach houses are all in one historic Fayetteville building.

The other three flats are yours. You may stay in them for a couple of days or a few weeks. They will be furnished, decorated, and equipped to be your home away from home while you are climbing, rafting or kayaking, mountain biking, hiking or just enjoying the history of the area.

Many people are familiar with the concept of a Beach House Rental; Lafayette Flats is the same idea except that our beach houses are small flats in a historic building on a historic street in the coolest small town in West Virginia. We can understand the confusion because most vacation rentals are just one house.

Fayetteville already has a great B&B – The Morris Harvey House

But Lafayette Flats is not a Bed and Breakfast either; no food is provided and no communal spaces or meals are forced on guests. And it’s not a hotel; we have no daily maid service, no bellmen, or registration desk.

Guests at Lafayette Flats can come and go as they please, sleep as late or rise as early as they like, cook their own meals in their efficient kitchen if they so desire, and generally act just as though they are at home. The flats will be cleaned between stays, but there will be no daily intrusions to schedule around.

Prospective guests will be able to view availability and prices and make their reservations online. They will arrive at their leisure because they will have unique access codes with which to gain entry to the building and to their individual flat. After their stay is over, the flat will be cleaned and readied for the next guest.

That’s pretty much all there is to it.

Now, about flat #3 (ours); it can be yours too. When we aren’t using it, it will be for rent as well. We will have a private closet for our stuff, and so if someone wants to rent the flat we’ll make it available. This makes it possible for a large group to rent the entire building. Imagine how nice it would be to travel with your extended family and having everyone under one roof, but each unit has its own living and sleeping space!

And we can think of one other use for Lafayette Flats for all you local Fayetteville folks: We hope that you will consider us when you have visitors in from out of town, perhaps during the holidays. Think of Lafayette Flats as your guest room!