Rosie's Cove was born.
Here's the colorful, shimmery, patchwork, organic, one-of-a-kind story:
Once upon a time, exactly 5 years ago this past New Years Eve, and long before most people--including me--knew about Airbnb (aka Air Bed & Breakfast, at the time), I had an idea.
My idea was to form a global travel community of people interested in holistic and natural lifestyles that could commune together in my dual work/home space. A bed and breakfast meets hostal mets euroflat meets friend's apartment, of sorts.
To combine my great loves...natural healing and travel...into one professional endeavor seemed ideal!
I lived in Spain my junior year of college, attended the University of Madrid, and lived in a resident student hostel with about 30 college kids from around the world. A grand experience in an intimate setting that I will never forget. I was the only student from my cozy JYA (Junior Year Abroad) program who lived in then Hostal Duque, now El Gran Hostal Duque, smack-dab in the old, bustling part of Madrid. As a vegetarian and a Jewess braving the great wide world of JAMON! JAMON!, I needed the creature comfort of living in a setting where the chef would be kind enough to prepare some foods without meat for me. Despite how weird she thought it was--I'll never forget the faces she made at my requests!--I was able to navigate the year with judias rather than jamon.
4 years after Katrina, tourists were just starting to return to New Orleans for good, old fashioned fun (rather than primarily disaster tourism) and I was ready to get in the mix.
I had spent years working contractually for other entities and was ready to be the boss of my own professional world where respect and health were at the epicenter of all. When I took the current Rosie's Cove space, I knew that it would become the home of many experiences and that I would have to do whatever I needed
So, I garnered the courage to invite travelers into my space, trusted my well-seasoned traveler instincts, and posted an ad on Craig's List. Within minutes, I started receiving responses from spiritual kinfolk looking to stay in a friendly atmosphere with positive vibes on an 'earthy' budget, shall we say.
Within weeks, I had hosted double digit guests.
Within months, triple digits.
In April of 2009, I was receiving so many responses to my listings that I knew I needed an online space to keep the pertinent information gathered that potential guests could access instead of beaming me with repetitive questions. So, I made a blog functioning as a simple website. Several weeks later
What went into the making of Rosie's Cove, you might ask?
The Logic:
The Philosophy:
The Tools: A blog functioning as a simple website.
The Wherewithall:
The Passion:
A focus on women travelers.
Here's the colorful, shimmery, patchwork, organic, one-of-a-kind story:
Once upon a time, exactly 5 years ago this past New Years Eve, and long before most people--including me--knew about Airbnb (aka Air Bed & Breakfast, at the time), I had an idea.
My idea was to form a global travel community of people interested in holistic and natural lifestyles that could commune together in my dual work/home space. A bed and breakfast meets hostal mets euroflat meets friend's apartment, of sorts.
To combine my great loves...natural healing and travel...into one professional endeavor seemed ideal!
I lived in Spain my junior year of college, attended the University of Madrid, and lived in a resident student hostel with about 30 college kids from around the world. A grand experience in an intimate setting that I will never forget. I was the only student from my cozy JYA (Junior Year Abroad) program who lived in then Hostal Duque, now El Gran Hostal Duque, smack-dab in the old, bustling part of Madrid. As a vegetarian and a Jewess braving the great wide world of JAMON! JAMON!, I needed the creature comfort of living in a setting where the chef would be kind enough to prepare some foods without meat for me. Despite how weird she thought it was--I'll never forget the faces she made at my requests!--I was able to navigate the year with judias rather than jamon.
4 years after Katrina, tourists were just starting to return to New Orleans for good, old fashioned fun (rather than primarily disaster tourism) and I was ready to get in the mix.
I had spent years working contractually for other entities and was ready to be the boss of my own professional world where respect and health were at the epicenter of all. When I took the current Rosie's Cove space, I knew that it would become the home of many experiences and that I would have to do whatever I needed
So, I garnered the courage to invite travelers into my space, trusted my well-seasoned traveler instincts, and posted an ad on Craig's List. Within minutes, I started receiving responses from spiritual kinfolk looking to stay in a friendly atmosphere with positive vibes on an 'earthy' budget, shall we say.
Within weeks, I had hosted double digit guests.
Within months, triple digits.
In April of 2009, I was receiving so many responses to my listings that I knew I needed an online space to keep the pertinent information gathered that potential guests could access instead of beaming me with repetitive questions. So, I made a blog functioning as a simple website. Several weeks later
What went into the making of Rosie's Cove, you might ask?
The Logic:
The Philosophy:
The Tools: A blog functioning as a simple website.
The Wherewithall:
The Passion:
A focus on women travelers.
