🚂🛋️ Mailroom to Bedroom

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Welcome to this week's edition of STAYnTELL - “where every STAY has a story to TELL.” Your go-to source for the most fascinating and unique accommodations from around the world. In this issue, we'll take you on a journey through innovative lodgings, from a repurposed train car in Idaho to floating homes in the Northeast, and even to luxury capsule hotels across the globe.

Our curated selection includes:

• The story of how a $2,000 gamble transformed a century-old railcar into a sought-after Airbnb

• The rise of FLOHOM, a fleet of luxury houseboats redefining waterfront stays

• The world's most intriguing capsule hotels

• A $100,000 per night room in Dubai

💬 Weekly Inn-Sight

The ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden, is the world’s first and largest hotel made entirely of ice and snow.

- Founded in 1989

The Incredible Scoop Behind the

🚂 🤑 | Choo-Choo STAY

How a $2,000 gamble turned a 120-year-old train car into one of Idaho's best kept secrets.

Deary, Idaho—a town so small (Population: 550) you might miss it on the map—something extraordinary happened.

A desperate call uncovered a hidden gem: a 1909 WI&M railcar, rotting away in a barn on the edge of collapse. This wasn’t just any old railcar—it was Car 306, a relic from a bygone era, a time when it hauled timber, letters, and people through Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

👍 Most would’ve seen scrap. But the French family? They saw gold.

• …$2,000. That’s all it took to roll the dice on history. The transport alone was a $10,000 headache—two months of mud, snow, and tight turns. But the French family pressed on.

🚂 Fast forward to August 2020

Car 306 went from hauling lumber to housing tourists.

After pouring in $147,000 and five months of sweat, Car 306 is reborn. Wrapped in a timber-framed structure that screams classic train depot vibes, every inch inside is a masterclass in transformation. The mailroom? Now a snug bedroom. The cargo hold? A chic bath. The passenger section? A kitchenette and lounge that belong in a magazine.

• Today, Car 306 is one of Idaho’s hottest Airbnb, going for $300 a night. It’s a time machine, offering guests a taste of history with all the modern comforts.

• The hit TV show Restoration Road with Clint Harp had to get in on the action. They featured Car 306, sealing its fate as an Airbnb legend.

The Dream Behind A

🏠 🌊 | Float-Home STAY

How a dead-end job daydream turned into a floating hospitality empire.

In the competitive world of hospitality, Brian Meyer's wild idea has morphed into a game-changing concept: luxury houseboats that redefine waterfront stays. This isn't your grandpa's creaky lake shack—it's FLOHOM, a fleet of floating homes in the Northeast.

• 👨‍💼 Brian Meyer's journey: Two years ago, Meyer was employed in a position he found unfulfilling, conceptualizing an ideal houseboat design. Currently, he oversees a fleet of five floating accommodations, with plans for further expansion.

🤔🤯 Floating insights

On Twitter, Isaac French spilled the tea on this aquatic success story.

• FLOHOM isn't just changing how we vacation; they're reimagining what it means to live and work by the water. Their first houseboat grossed $135,000 in its inaugural year, with an impressive 84% occupancy rate.

…By leveraging Instagram and direct bookings, FLOHOM has turned the tide on traditional hospitality models. With 65,000 followers and 72% direct bookings, they're proving that in the digital age, you don't need a big hotel chain backing you to make a splash…the sea’s the limit.

🌍 | STAYS around the world

Your passport to global accommodations news

🚢 Ever thought you'd want to sleep in a concrete pipe?

Capsule hotels aren't just for saving money anymore – they're becoming attractions in their own right. From Peru to Canada to Japan, these tiny rooms are offering big experiences. Imagine sleeping suspended in a forest or in a glass pod on a cliff face. Intrigued? 8 incredible capsule hotels that are changing the game. Small rooms, big adventures – what's not to love?

🕒 | TELL-All Hotspot

So, what do you get for $100,000 a night?

The Royal Mansion at Atlantis in Dubai isn’t your average penthouse. It spans two floors in the skybridge on the 18th and 19th floors. You’re looking at 12,140 square feet of pure luxury. Four bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a bar, a game area, and an office. Not to mention a 5,124-square-foot terrace with an infinity pool and views of the Burj Khalifa, Ain Dubai, and the Arabian Gulf. 😍

🤔🏰 Why so pricey

It’s all about. getting the royal treatment

• You walk in through vaulted foyers, greeted by Calacatta marble everywhere—walls, floors, countertops. But it’s not just about the materials. It’s the details. Electroplated gold toothbrushes, Hermès bathroom products, Frette robes, a 146-inch TV, and a Louis Vuitton Ping-Pong table. Because why not?

• But it’s more than just the luxe finishes. It’s about the experience. Private elevator? Check. Custom pop-up gym? You got it. Need an office turned into a massage room? No problem

🌐 | STAY curious

Interesting finds in the world of lodging...

👆️ This couple stayed in the worlds loneliest capsule. At 2,835 meters high, the Gervasutti Bivouac is a modern alpine refuge beneath the majestic Grandes Jorasses in Italy.

🏊‍♂️ This resort has a 350,000-gallon pool with waterslides, swim-through waterfalls, a grotto, and an infinity edge…Voted best hotel pool in the country

…An invite only resort, is now open to the public. When you book a stay at Bunker Hill, you get the whole 450-acre property to yourself — including all-inclusive usage of four lodging options and a host of amenities 👇️ 

• A private chef, a spa, an entire golf course, a private lake with a small beach, a shooting range, and ATVs.

🛋️🍬 | Suite spots

Check in for the hottest updates in accommodations 

• 🏘️🇮🇹 Why settle for a resort, when you can have an entire Italian village instead?

• 🎾🤔 This hotel is dividing the country: is a tennis ball green or yellow?

• 🌵🏖️ Resort style Airbnb, this home in Arizona has all the amenities of a 5 star resort.

🧳 🫠 | Suitcase snippets

Bite-sized lodging insights that fit into your overnight bag

• 🏨✨ 10 cool hotels that are nailing the whole style thing.

• 🌊🏠 Video shows a North Carolina rental home collapsing into the Atlantic Ocean.

• 🏨🎉 Marriott opens it’s 9,000th hotel - the St. Regis Longboat Key Resort in Florida and it’s $1,200 a night.

🛏️💭 | Pillow talk

Lodging whispers from around the world

• 🔭🌠 A future Colorado eco-resort will let you sleep in your own private observatory…(scheduled to open in January 2025)

• ⚠️🏨 Expert warns of holiday accommodation scams this August and September.

  • 🕵️‍♀️🔍 How to know if your accommodation booking is a scam.

🛎️🗣️ | Check-in chatter

Gossip from the guestbook

• 🎭😂 Cult fans gather at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel in elaborate costumes to celebrate the legendary rug.

• 💰🏨 This tech billionaire keeps buying resorts around the country.

• 🚭🎰 Las Vegas casinos might be snuffing out smoking hotel rooms on the Strip?

🤯 | TELL me something I didn’t know

Tidbits and facts you may not know

👀 STAY stat: The Grand Hotel, Michigan opened in 1887, at a cost of $250,000, and rooms were $3-$5 per night including meals.

📜 Tell of time...The Beekman Arms hotel in Rhinebeck, New York, established in 1766, is America’s oldest continuously operating hotel. It has welcomed notable figures like George Washington & Alexander Hamilton. This historic inn remains a cherished landmark, hosting guests for over 250 years.

🙌 See ya next week

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