A Utah rental owner lost his foreign guests and cut his rates
Two years after charging $229 a night, Chris Sorbe now charges $179 or $189 after foreign bookings dried up, but he still shares campfire smores with far-flung guests.
Marketplace · Home improvement stores feel the pinchChris Sorbe owns Hummer Hill Vacation Rental in Glendale, Utah, where he welcomes guests around a campfire and shows them how to make s'mores.
He has introduced the treat to guests from Iran, Italy, and India, and he described those evenings as a reminder of "shared humanity."
The rental is the house his father built after moving to the area as a schoolteacher in 1973. In retirement, his father turned the house into a vacation rental listed on Airbnb, and in 2015 Sorbe, who was between jobs, joined him for a massive remodel of the interior. Sorbe said he is now the "sole owner and caretaker of Hummer Hill" after his father died two years ago. The project has been underway for 10 years, with eight years in business.
U.S. travel spending reached $122 billion in July, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Travel Association, while visitors from abroad fell 7 percent from the year before. Neither the travel report nor Sorbe gave a reason for the drop in foreign visits.
Sorbe said the change has reshaped his bookings. The business used to be about half Americans and half visitors from abroad, including guests from Costa Rica and the United Kingdom, groups from China and Korea, and a lot of Canadians. Over the past two years, he said, "I've only had one group from Canada last year and then one group from India this year."
Two years ago, the rental charged about $229 a night. With traffic down, Sorbe said, the rate is now $179 or $189 a night.
Sorbe said Glendale has about 350 to 400 residents, and he is proud of the small town where neighbors know and look out for each other. He said he enjoys sharing that way of life with guests.
By the fire, he said most visitors want what he wants, things that are better for their families, a chance to grow, and "a beautiful place to go on vacation."
Questions people ask
What exactly is a s'more?
A s'more is a campfire treat made with a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate pressed between graham crackers. The name is short for some more, because people tend to want another one. It is a common ritual at American camps and backyard fire pits.
Why would travelers from abroad end up in such a tiny Utah town?
Glendale sits in Kane County in southern Utah, between Zion and Bryce Canyon national parks. Small towns along that corridor serve as quieter, cheaper bases for visitors touring the parks and monuments. That location explains why a town of a few hundred people can draw guests from around the world.
If U.S. travel spending is up, why are foreign visits down?
Travel analysts and industry groups have pointed to factors including visa wait times, the strong dollar, and slower economic growth abroad. Domestic travel spending can still rise when Americans travel more or pay higher prices. That can leave nationally strong totals alongside empty rooms for hosts who relied on foreign visitors.