In this Perspective piece, Digital Creator Levi Kelly shares how he made a career out of tiny cabins, and escapism.
I am a YouTuber based in Ohio, but travel across the country often to visit unique Airbnbs such as tiny homes, treehouses, container homes, cabins. I’m the adventurer who want to see everything, down to yurts and windmills. I film tours of these places to show them off and encourage people to come visit themselves — these places are too good not to share. On my website, we write blogs about more Airbnbs to visit that aren’t on my YouTube channel, such as “Best Airbnbs for Groups” or “Best Airbnbs to Visit in the Fall.”
I got into this line of work when I shot a video of a local Airbnb and it garnered a couple million views rather quickly. It’s funny — I had been posting for eight months at that time on YouTube, trying to grow my channel, and that Airbnb video was my last one before I took a break from it, basically giving up. I remember I had 800 subscribers then.
Startlingly that video got shared by Jaden Smith on Twitter, very randomly, a week later. That was a true blessing. That one video jumped from a couple hundred views to millions of views in a couple weeks. It was that experience that launched me into what I do now. It was a huge motivator.
I cashed in my savings to travel to other unique Airbnbs, trying to continue this channel growth. It’s been a process, but also a joy. Ever since then I have visited some really cool spots from Hawaii, to Maine. (I just looked up how far that is and it’s over 5,000 miles!) I’ve stayed in close to 150 Airbnbs and don’t plan on slowing down; I want to keep checking out awesome destinations. This opportunity has become my full-time job, only four months after that first video blew up.
I love what I do. I can take my wife and kid with me wherever I go, and collectively we get to see some cool spots and have fun together. It’s also pretty inspirational, seeing the hosts who really care about their visitors. Those are the stays that are unparalleled, all because of the effort that’s put into them.
The Kapwa Cabin and The Nook tiny houses were built by the same host and his love for the tiny spaces really shines through. The Nook has a fun and unique layout (nothing beats an indoor swing!). The wood used throughout was all gathered locally. And a portion of the Kapwa Cabin’s earnings are donated to local charities.
The Sky Frame immediately caught my eye. I’ve never seen a tiny frame cabin mounted up so high.
The Wapanacki Boathouse is truly something special. Our small family stayed here for two nights, with no internet mind you, and we all loved it. It’s located on a 25 acre lake, so we canoed and hiked around the entire time. The host informed me that in the winter, people cross-county ski on top of the lake, which means I just have to go back in the winter!
I’d have to say that MetalLark Tower was my favorite spot I stayed in in all of 2021. The design and surrounding property are out of this world, with its over 100 acres to explore, a pond to paddleboat in or take a mile long walk around, or reflect in the pasture, where over a million wildflower seeds were planted. We even saw a black bear running through the wildflowers.
That PNW Cabin was a fun one because of the beautiful mountain and rivers to explore right outside its doors. I seem to lean towards the look of A-frames (as you may have noticed), so getting to stay in one there, in such a majestic setting, was life changing. There was also a wood burning hot tub, which I had never experienced before.
The Emerald Forest Treehouse offered many surprises, from the well-thought-out outdoor theater area with a 16-foot-tall projector screen and tons of seating, to the nets, bridges and elevated tree pods. The host met us in the evening and put on a light show in the forest. He also stopped to feed two of the owls that hang around. What an experience. Truly something we won’t forget.
