Stay Safe. Stay Home.
Thanksgiving 2020 is tomorrow. Many of us are facing the holiday with a smaller bird and fewer mouths to feed as we elect to stay safe and stay home. It feels a bit defeating now, but there is so much hope ahead!
The positive vaccine news leads to visions of a late spring and summer reawakening. Dreams of a family-packed Deep Creek Lake vacation full of in-person hugs appear to be our coming reality. Are you ready? 
Family Reunions Are Coming!
Red Barn Vacations launched in mid-September and all of our new homes, and those soon to come, are open for summer bookings. Our homeowner-partners eagerly left full calendars to begin anew in our program and thus their elite homes are open now for you to plan your summer family reunion.
Lake Shore Legacy
The most luxurious and breathtaking home at Deep Creek Lake, Lake Shore Legacy could be yours for an enjoyable week. Bring the grandparents and reconnect poolside! With 6 bedrooms, games galore, two kitchens and more, this home awaits you!
Peregrine’s Perch
Yes! You read that right! Peregrine’s Perch, the iconic 8 bedroom, indoor pool home with the most stunning view of Deep Creek Lake is now with Red Barn Vacations! If you loved it before, wait until you see the upgrades to come! Look for more information on booking this spectacular home in the coming days.
And so much more!
Stay connected to our latest news by subscribing here! We are growing fast and there will be more new home announcements coming soon. If you are a vacation homeowner in Deep Creek Lake, give us a call at 301.387.3373 to discuss how you can join our elite portfolio of homes.
Happy Thanksgiving, All!
~ Lori, Jamie, Anita & Jessie
Smart Safety
Those of us who have ventured into a restaurant lately have quickly learned to use our smart phones to review menu items. It’s as simple as opening your camera app and focusing on the black and white squares to connect to a webpage. No paper to touch and instant information at your finger tips. Smart Safety in the times of COVID.
QR Codes and the Vacation Rental Industry
QR codes have experienced a rebirth with our 2020 restrictions. We at Red Barn Vacations have embraced this technology and discovered innovative ways to use it to support our homeowners. In neighborhoods that allow signage, we have not only added our unique branding, but a qr code to every sign. The qr code directly leads potential guests to a deeper knowledge of the home that they are standing directly in front of!
How Does it Work?
If you find yourself driving past one of our elite vacation homes, stop, and open up the camera app on your phone. Point it at the black and white box and you will notice that the qr code will be framed in yellow. A prompt will appear at the top of your screen, suggesting that you open up the webpage in your browser. Click on it! As soon as you do, you are able to dive into the property description, interior photographs, floor plans, reviews, and availability. Easy Peasy.
You can even book the home directly from your smart phone! Give it a try and let us know what you think.
If you are interested in working with an innovative vacation rental management company that is different by design, call us today! We would love to talk about your Deep Creek Lake vacation rental home and ways we can protect and promote it.
(301) 387-3373
Opportunity to Update
There’s a common thread among our new Red Barn Vacations rental homeowners at Deep Creek Lake. They are committed to the quality of their homes, but have been buried in the murky depths of the two big vacation rental offerings for too long. They knew that investing in their homes was dicey. Neither large local company had the ability to protect those hard-earned investments. The excitement of a small, elite, and ‘Different by Design’ hospitality vs lodging company was just what they were looking for.
New Everything
Best of Both Worlds is the perfect example! After signing with us, the owners of this perfectly placed lakefront home at the foot of Wisp hit the internet in search of a fresh and clean new look. The boxes quickly arrived, filling our farm with crispy new pillows for every bed, new boxspring and mattress covers, and even a replacement king size bed for the queen in the main floor master bedroom.
Our team spent days in the home, replacing artwork and light fixtures, patching drywall and changing out linens. It paid dividends with a number of fantastic reviews such as this one:
So Much More to Come
I don’t know enough about the history of the Harvey Farm, but I want to learn more.
Just prior to the COVID tidal wave that washed over all of us, I was able to briefly connect with a number of the Harvey family members. We made tentative plans for a mini reunion at the farm. I have much to learn and hopefully that reunion will take place in a post-COVID world. Here is what I know so far about the basecamp for Red Barn Vacations.
Life Before the Lake
The Harvey Farm was very large in the 1800’s and full of dairy cows. The lake wasn’t yet created and the property flowed where ever the eye could see. The family worked very hard by day and ate and slept in the small farmhouse that sat above the pond by night. I know there were apple trees on the hill near the top of North Glade. The towering oaks that line the drive even today stood as witnesses to the growing family.
Garrett County Stone
As the story goes, stone was added to the farmhouse sometime in the 1920’s. It was taken from land owned by the family that is now part of the Deep Creek State Park. The same Harvey brother who added stone to the farmhouse, stoned the beautiful church across the street from Uno’s and the Honi.
Three Brothers
Three families lived in the Stone House in the 1900’s, all brothers. They lived one family to a floor. Just imagine living with your grown siblings! As we renovated, I often wished that the walls could talk, and now and then they did, spilling out ancient images and even a few beautifully written notes. They felt like treasures to us.
Potatoes Everywhere
The Harvey family moved away from cows and planted potatoes in the 1970’s. The potatoes were stored in the barn and ultimately shipped to Hanover to become chips for Snyder’s of Hanover. After the harvest, the Harvey’s were known to welcome the community to the fields to collect any leftover potatoes.
The White Barn of Long Ago
As you can see, the red barn was white back in the day. I am not sure when in its history it was painted the red that we see today. There were numerous outbuildings and a garage where the inn now stands. The same white rail fence lines the drive and there were a couple of silos, the foundations of which will become the new wedding stage at Red Barn.
Murder in the Hood
It is the weekend of Halloween so who can resist a little tale of murder? No one can dispute that the women of Garrett County are tough. It is hard to believe that the
sweet face to the right was capable of carving up her husband, but evidently she did somewhere around North Glade.
The Dream of the North Glade Inn
Next up? We will share the story of how the Harvey Farm became the North Glade Inn with out next blog post. Do you know more of the history of the Harvey farm? Share your memories here or on Facebook. Be sure to follow us on Instagram and share our posts everywhere!
Growing up in Annapolis, just down the road from the town of Bowie, I always knew when David Bowie was coming to play at the Cap Center. Inevitably some innovative graffiti artist would craft ‘Welcome to’ then ‘David’ around the Bowie sign on Rt 50. It was as predictable as the yearly addition of “Surrender Dorothy” on the train bridge in front of the Mormon church that so resembles the City of OZ, visible from the DC Beltway.
My fascination with David Bowie was based on his ability to see the world differently; to fearlessly challenge norms and express his thoughts and art in a way that was surprising to others and purely authentic to him. You never quite knew what you were going to get so you kept coming back for more.
We are Different by Design
I have been practicing my particular art in the world of vacation rentals for the last number of years; applying my curious mind on a daily or, more accurately, middle-of-the-nightly basis. I attended industry events, constantly analyzed various markets, and actively sought out brilliant minds with new ideas in our field. It was cathartic and mind expanding for our team.
Worst Answer Ever? This is how it has always been done here.
Pushing for change within a stagnant business model is rarely embraced. There comes a time for a Ziggy Stardust moment. In 2019, the time came to partner with like-minds and recreate vacation rentals at Deep Creek Lake.
An Elite Customer Experience for Only the Most Quality-Committed Homeowners and their Guests
Red Barn Vacations was born of a belief that a vacation rental business is not a mere lodging offering, but belongs firmly in the hospitality realm. Home owners and guests deserve personalized attention. This customer-centric service is only possible in the Deep Creek Lake market when you manage a small number of only the best vacation homes. We are Different by Design.
Follow the story of us through this blog, on Facebook and Instagram, or swing by our basecamp at the Red Barn Inn in Swanton next to Waterfront Greens.
If you are a homeowner and desire to learn more about Red Barn Vacations, click here!
We are only getting started.
I’m not a prophet or a stone aged man, just a mortal with potential of a superman. I’m living on.
~David Bowie