How One Host Turned a Childhood Memory Into a Dream Destination
When guests arrive and realize they’ve landed in a hidden valley of blooms and beauty, it’s pure magic for Whimstay host Marcia.
Located in the lush wine country of Page Springs, Arizona, Whimstay host Marcia has created a living, blooming retreat rooted in family, flowers, and thoughtful hospitality.
From helping international families reunite with ease to planting the literal seeds of community through regenerative gardening, Marcia’s story is one of place, purpose, and passion.
Read on to discover how a childhood road trip helped shape a life of grounded joy, and why last-minute bookings through Whimstay feel like fate for both Marcia and her lucky guests. Check out Marcia’s properties here and here.
Q: Tell us about a time you saved the day as a host when a guest needed special accommodations.
A: I recently booked a family who decided to meet up here from far-flung places around the world. The parents were coming from their corporate jobs in Singapore, a daughter from Manhattan, one son from San Francisco and the other from Denver. I was able to help them arrange a shuttle to the farm from the airport as well as refreshments upon arrival to make the most of their short but memorable gathering here.
Q: What’s your favorite travel story?
A: I traveled to the SW and toured Arizona as a child with my artist parents. We had a VW Bus in the early 70’s and camped all over (who knew about permissions back then lol?) The sense of spaciousness of the skies, the feeling of oasis when finding a creek and discovering green in the desert made a huge impression on me. Later on in life when I had a chance to choose a new place to live, I chose Arizona and when I was able to get out of Phoenix, I gravitated to the wine country of northern Arizona along Oak Creek in Page Springs as my ultimate happy place. Realizing that I had traveled this exact road years ago, I chose it then with great clarity. It was only later that I found this place that I realized it was the same small valley I had identified a decade before.
Learn more about Whimstay’s host referral program
Q: How did you get started in the vacation rental industry and what were you doing before?
A: I am a landscape architect by training and can read the landscape and understand growing conditions. The vineyards and farms in Page Springs are lush. I found a property where my family was able to collaborate and my mother lives next door to my farm in a big home with another guest house so I started to see the potential for creating a place anchored by the flower and herb farm for guests to enjoy. I can rent the whole place for family gatherings, retreats or as individual getaway places. The one acre flower garden is a huge endeavor so making it the feature of the multiple guest houses on three acres allows me to support the work.
Q: What is your favorite way to market your property?
A: I am just at the beginning of marketing now that I am in my fourth growing season. I have hosted some farm to table dinners, flower picking, education on regenerative gardening, small intimiate music events, and many potluck parties with my dear friends, fellow gardeners, and neighbors in our special community of Page Springs. I have provided flowers for local restaurants, where inquiries lead to bookings but honestly, this is still a hidden gem due to my focus on flower gardening over marketing.
Q: How does Whimstay fit into your overall strategy?
A: It’s a big world full of wonderful vacation rentals and so it’s important to be able to offer bookings through as many channels as I can, including impromptu travelers whose hopes and optimism to find a place to stay last minute will be rewarded with this booking!
Q: What are some unique challenges you’ve faced as a host that Whimstay has helped you navigate?
A: When I have openings or cancellations and it is perfect weather here, I feel sort of sad that the place might be vacant. So, for me, that challenge is the deep heartbreak if my place is not booked when the flowers are at their full glory. What a relief to be able to promote it for last minute bookings! The guests are super grateful to get a chance to stay in such a pretty place and feel that the stars aligned for their stay. And their gratitude and amazement upon arrival that they landed here in this slice of heaven is always nice to see. Being promoted on Whimstay allows guests to feel the Kismet, making their stay more special.
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