New Getaway D.C. brings tiny houses to a wood near you.
Pete Davis says he and Jon Staff, co-founders of tiny house vacation rental outfit Getaway, don’t reject technology and urban living—they’re just trying to provide the yin to your yang.
“Getaway is a counter balance,” says Davis, who grew up in Falls Church and started the business with Staff, his Harvard classmate, in 2015.
Starting with one tiny house in Boston, the pair added more, eventually expanded to New York and last fall launched Getaway D.C. They build 160- 200-square-foot wooden houses that sleep two or four guests, fit them simply with the basics—bed, kitchen, bathroom, a fire pit, board games—and place the mobile cabins in the woods far enough from civilization to be able to get lost in the quiet calm of nature, but close enough not to feel too remote.
“We look for places that balance the excesses of the digital age,” explains Davis. “Too much city noise? Let’s counter balance that with nature. Too much socialization? Let’s counter with solitude. Too much work? Counter it with leisure.”
As Getaway scales up and looks at adding more locations around the country—in what Davis describes as stressed-out cities—he says the company remains “deeply committed to being super simple.” Despite some pressure to add modern connectivity (beyond the landline installed in case of emergency), Davis says they won’t cave; that means no Wi-Fi. In fact, he adds, the cell phone lock box that greets guests with a cheerful sign reading “Start Your Journey Here” may be a Getaway cabin’s most important feature. Prices start at $125 per night.
This article originally appeared in our 2018 Health & Wellness issue.
