BAYFIELD – For nonresidents, it’s a small town 20 miles east of Durango, where traffic races by on Highway 160.
But Bayfield residents who have opened a series of vacation rentals know differently: not only are people stopping in Bayfield, but businesses are seeing guests from all over the world.
The town has four vacation rentals within one block of Mill Street in downtown Bayfield. They mostly operate through Airbnb, a vacation rental site. The local government is using the resident-operated vacation rentals to gauge how much success a future hotel could have. In the meantime, Bayfield residents are hosting guests from seven different countries who are looking to explore the Southwest.
“A lot of people, especially at the beginning, would ask me, ‘Why are people coming here to Bayfield?’” said Jackie Morlan, who owns the Mill Street Inn. “I said, ‘Hey, I don’t know, but they are. And you’re here, so it must be OK!’”
Morlan has hosted people from South Korea, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Duane and Beamer Greer, who operate Mill Street Cottage and Mill Street Bungalow, have had guests from India, Canada, Germany and New Zealand.
The vacation rentals are booking up. Travelers stayed at the Mill Street Inn, which opened in 2017, for 30 days in July. Its longest streak was 44 reservations in a row, Morlan said.
For the Greers, the Mill Street Cottage, which opened in May, is less busy than the Mill Street Bungalow, which has had less than six unbooked nights every month since it opened in February.
“If we see a strong demand and units are being occupied regularly, at some point you could use that data to show that indeed the town could support some lodging accommodations,” said Chris La May, Bayfield town manager.
People passing through the area see Bayfield as a quiet and convenient stop. Some travelers visit to attend weddings, graduations or to explore the area. The vacation rental prices are comparable to or cheaper than prices in Durango, Morlan said.
With the bungalow’s small size, the Greers also draw people who are interested in tiny homes.
That’s true for Cassandra Quillen, who chose the bungalow because she wanted to try living in a small space while visiting the San Juans, Pagosa Springs and Durango.
“This was right in the middle and very reasonably priced,” she said. “But the tiny house itself, when I walked in there, honestly, I was like, ‘This is incredible!’”
At the Greers’ vacation rental, one guest had a unique reason for visiting, Duane Greer said. A woman traveled from Colorado Springs because she wanted a quiet place to read her book.
“She wanted to come here and sit on the couch in the bungalow and read her book for three days. That’s all she wanted,” he said.
smullane@durangoherald.com
