How siblings transformed shipping containers into 2 Airbnb getaways that brought in $10,000 in revenue last month

• Landon and Heather Schlabach run a short-term-rental management firm overseeing 75 properties.
• Their younger brother, Reece, joined them to flip two shipping containers into secluded retreats.

Three siblings who converted shipping containers into two Airbnbs have attracted visitors from California to Canada.

Landon, 31, Heather, 28, and Reece Schlabach, 27, hatched the idea on their parents' front porch in Columbus, North Carolina, a town 45 minutes south of Asheville that is known for hiking trails and wineries.

Landon and Heather run a short-term rental company they named BNB Breeze, which manages 75 properties including beach houses in Florida, cabins in Pennsylvania, and a refurbished barn in Tennessee. Reece invests and works on individual projects with his older siblings.

The siblings own eight of the 75 properties, including the two shipping-container getaways, which they've dubbed "The Green Creek Shipyard."

Landon used a Google search to find the bare steel boxes, which are now outfitted with modern interiors as well as rain showers and hot tubs. Their first container now rents out for $250 a night, while their second container, which just opened in October and has a 40-foot-long covered deck, goes for $315 a night.

It helps that Airbnb pivoted this year to spotlight out-of-the-box rentals. The company redesigned its website in May to highlight "unique" rentals on the front page and even gave away $10 million to people with plans to build "eccentric" homes.

For the Schlabachs, it's a family affair: Landon is the visionary, Heather is detail-oriented, and Reece provides the elbow grease for installations. Even Mom is involved — she handles cleaning the two shipping containers between guests.

Heather breaks down how the containers went from idea to reality.

They found the containers on Google and got them up to code

It all started with a Google search. After their initial porch talk, Landon was able to track down a Spartanburg, South Carolina, company that sells shipping containers that come clean and painted with cutouts for windows.

They purchased their first shipping container in 2020 for $7,200. The second one, bought in 2021, was $10,000 because they requested more window cutouts.

The siblings then brought the containers up to code, adding egress windows, installing proper outlets, and building railings for lofted areas. They put them on property Reece already owned.

Each container is 8 feet by 40 feet, or about 320 square feet, and designed to feel like part of a secluded retreat. The first container has a hot tub and glass garage door for fluidity between the inside and outside. The recently opened second container has a small pond and waterfall feature under the home with a chair swing for relaxing evenings.

In total, Heather says, the setup, which includes buying furniture and decor, cost $85,000 for the first container and $120,000 for the second, which has the massive covered deck.

Heather also cautions that financing can be difficult for nontraditional dwellings. Containers are not considered "loanable," she says.

"Unique stays are really tough, especially a container," she told Insider.

The siblings used their personal savings and revenue from the other short-term rentals they manage to finance the first container, and then revenue from the first container to fund the second.

Insider viewed the total nights booked and average daily rate for both units to work out revenue for October. The first container booked 27 nights at $265 a night, and the second booked 12 nights at $304 a night, estimating over $10,000 in revenue.

They leaned into the small space to make it feel intimate

Instead of seeing the small space as a challenge, Schlabach says, they leaned into the tight parameters. In one container, a king-size bed that takes up almost the whole bedroom is meant to be cozy instead of claustrophobic.

"The entire bedroom is pretty much a bed, which would be pretty weird in a normal home," she told Insider.

Because they weren't outfitting an entire home, Heather also says they were able to choose top-of-the line finishes like a tabletop with a built-in charcuterie board or a Samsung Frame TV that hangs flat against the wall.

Each container sleeps four, but the usual occupancy is two, Schlabach says.

"A lot of couples show up — usually it's some kind of a special trip and they want to get away," she said.

There are no plans for a third container, though Schlabach says it's not out of the cards.

"I have no doubt we'll all three keep doing stuff together," she said.