When Joe and Rachel Greene bought the property at 1425 Lincoln Highway in Nevada, they knew there was history there, but they hadn’t heard the whole story.
A little research on the Nevada Public Library website of the digital newspaper archives resulted in two written pieces that outline an interesting historical narrative of this property located on the east side of Nevada.
Most who’ve driven by the property know it is unique with its little “cabins” at the north side. Those little cabins have to do with the establishment of the historic Lincoln Highway.
The Andrew Family, according to a Nevada Journal story written about Hub Andrew in 1986, came to Nevada in 1924 and established the Nevada Tourist Camp along the Lincoln Highway.
Prior to Nevada, the family had been living in Davis County, Iowa. Hub’s father, Pete, was a well digger until a broken wrist in the early 1920s made him rethink his occupation. Hub and his brother had heard of a budding business concept called “tourist camps,” products of the automobile age that were springing up along the new transcontinental highway.
In the winter of 1922-23, the two brothers took a trip along that highway in a Model T from Belle Plaine to Los Angeles, looking for a place they might put a “tourist camp.” They decided to return to Iowa and put one in Nevada, population 3,000 at the time.
Hub’s father bought six lots from the City of Nevada at a cost of $250 per lot. Hub designed 19 units (cabins) that he and his brother, Harold, and their father built with the help of a local contractor. Each of the one-room units was 14 x 20 feet and had water service. Three were billed as “deluxe” units, with two rooms and a bath.
Along with the tourist cabins, the Andrews built a two-bay service station to lure more Lincoln Highway travelers to their camp.
The family home, where Joe and Rachel Greene now reside, was built on the property in 1926-27.
Fast forward to 1987 and another Nevada Journal story, this one written about Genevieve and Eugene Cook.
The Cooks owned and operated the “Nevada Motel,” formerly the Nevada Tourist Camp. In 1987 they were being honored as they planned to retire and demolish much of the existing motel, which they’d run since 1950.
They had purchased the property from Sam Peterson, who owned it between the time of the Andrews and the Cooks.
The Cooks, according to the newspaper write-up, had remodeled the hotel around 1960, adding siding, paneling the inside walls and putting in new shower stalls. They felt it wasn’t the fanciest place, but said they took pride in the fact that it was always “nice and clean.” (See the full story about the Cooks at this link: Story on Cooks)
An intriguing investment
Today’s owners of the property, Joe and Rachel Greene, were intrigued when they noticed the three cabins (consisting of four housing units) standing behind the main house. The Greenes had an interest in expanding their “AirBNB” (air bed and breakfast) and/or “VRBO” (vacation rentals by owner) business.
Here’s how the Greenes’ story began:
Joe, originally from Randall, and Rachel, originally from Cedar Rapids, met as teenagers at Hidden Acres Bible Camp near Ogden. They started dating in their 20s and then married.
They moved to Nevada nine years ago into a home on the southwest side of town, where there was space over the garage to make an apartment of some type. Joe, who works for RES Properties in Ames as a maintenance technician, is adept at all kinds of project work and repairs.
“We knew we would finish the space,” Rachel said, “but we thought it would just be for family until a friend told us about AirBNBs. We didn’t really know much about them, but he said we had to try it.”
So, they did. They turned the space over that garage into a western-themed rental unit that they call the “Urban Barn.” It’s been a popular rental for those who love its rustic feel.
“At first, we thought, ‘Will people really come and stay here?’” Rachel said about the idea of an AirBNB. “And they did!”
Now, the Greenes own five short-term rentals(AirBNB/VRBO) in Nevada and also manage another in Ames. (You can view their rental units and photos of them on their website: https://sleepeasy.lodgify.com/.) There rentals are also listed on airbnb.com and vrbo.com.
The beauty of the AirBNB and VRBO online networks, the Greenes say, is that they made the process of owning rental units much easier. With the rating system, rental owners are able to know they’re getting respectful guests, while guests know that they are staying in reputable spaces.
For repeat guests, which the Greenes see often now, they can stay at cheaper rates by renting directly from the Greenes’ own business website, as they have no overhead charges to the other networks there.
As for the historic Lincoln Highway property, Joe and Rachel say they enjoy it. They love the home, where they are raising their two pre-school age daughters, and they love the cabins.
Two of the four viable rental units on the property went “live” as short-term rentals in February and March of this year. One of them, the couple completely gutted and remodeled. It is what they now call the “Cozy Nook Cottage.” The other they cleaned up and decorated as the “Knotty Pine Bunkhouse.”
The remaining two units on the property are still lived in by long-term tenants. The couple plans to leave them that way until those renters are no longer living in them at some point in time. Then they’ll likely remodel those into more short-term rentals.
In addition to the rentals on their current property, the couple still owns their first home in Nevada, where they have two short-term rentals, one the house itself, and the other the Urban Barn over the garage; and they purchased a duplex along Lincolnway, where they have one unit as a short-term rental, and the other as a long-term rental.
When asked about the benefits of owning short-term rental spaces, Joe gave a few basic reasons it has worked for them.
“Profitability,” he said. “It’s definitely more profitable than most long-term rentals.”
Maintenance of the units is another benefit. “Usually, your property is left in much better shape with these types of rentals, especially with the (AirBNB/VRBO) rating system.”
The third big reason, Joe noted, is having a place for relatives and friends to stay. “It’s great when family comes to visit!”
Both Joe, with his job in Ames, and Rachel work other jobs in addition to the rental business. Rachel works mostly from home with the women’s ministry of their church, and as an accomplished musician, she teaches piano and harp lessons.
A Great Team and a lot of Fun
What makes everything work, they say, is having a great “team” with their AirBNBs. The team helps them keep the units cleaned and well-stocked. Wendy Riedell of Nevada is a wonderful help to them on the units here in Nevada.
Owning the short-term rental units has also been fun for the Greenes, who love the variety of people the spaces have brought to town, whether it is people working on projects in this area, going to an event at Iowa State, or being in town for a wedding. They don’t meet everyone who stays, but they do meet many of them.
“Meeting new people is the best part of this,” Joe said. “When they stay longer, you get to know them.” Rachel said a group from Argentina has stayed with them several times, and has been a fun group to get to know.
In addition to meeting people, Joe enjoys completing the initial set-up of each unit, and Rachel enjoys the creativity of decorating the spaces, so they are fresh, clean, inviting and calming.
The couple has very much enjoyed living in and having business properties in the City of Nevada, IA.
“I work in Ames and appreciate going to Ames for things,” Joe said, “but it’s busy. I love that Nevada is much smaller, and yet there are stores and things going on here. We also love the walking system in Nevada.”
Rachel agreed. She loves the trails. “We love biking or walking on the trail system, and we love walking downtown. We also love having Harrington Park so close to where we live and taking our girls there to play.”
Historically, the Nevada Tourist Camp, built by the Andrew Family, and the Nevada Motel, owned by the Cooks, was to give people rest for short-term stays. It seems only fitting that the Greenes have brought a modern-era, short-term stay idea back to the property.
–Written by Marlys Barker, City of Nevada
