- Travelers may crave a break from their phones, but going off the grid can prove difficult for some.
- Airbnbs hosts in Missouri and Georgia share mishaps they've witnessed at their remote properties.
More travelers addicted to their phones are seeking out the greatest escape of all: a complete "digital detox."
As a result — and fueled further by the demand for socially distanced stays during the pandemic — many short-term-rental owners have built off-the-grid accommodations.
Take John Kernohan, who set up a compound of unplugged spots in Georgia during the early months of 2020. Now, his 16-acre property includes a yurt, a school bus, geodesic domes, and tiny homes.
In Missouri, Michael Loftis built an off-the-grid cabin for his family, but eventually moved them to a town nearby. He began renting it out to travelers last year.
Kernohan and Loftis said that while their properties are popular with guests, they have also observed accidents and mishaps that can occur when city slickers head out into the woods. They shared a few of their favorite anecdotes with Insider.
One couple broke up after hearing armadillos outside
Kernohan said he can spot the newbies to nature from the moment they arrive.
Guests have shown up with as many as seven suitcases for a one-night stay, he added, or with appliances they can't live without — like coffee makers, toasters and microwaves — for just one weekend.
"Folks just don't know what it's like to be out in the woods," he told Insider.
Many guests are quick to ask Kernohan if bears or other wildlife are a threat to their stay.
Though the compound's visitors are mostly harmless chipmunks and deer, Kernohan said, one animal has made a bigger impact on guests: armadillos.
When a woman from the Atlanta area and her boyfriend, from Los Angeles, stayed in one of Kernohan's yurts, he said it was apparent from check-in that the boyfriend wasn't "accustomed to" the wilderness.
At 3 a.m. on their first night, Kernohan heard the couple's car leave the compound and never come back.
Three months later, the same woman visited the compound again for a stay with a friend. Kernohan asked what happened on the previous visit, and the woman explained her boyfriend had grown so scared and restless by late-night armadillos rustling outside that he demanded they leave immediately.
She told Kernohan they broke up shortly after.
A 1920s cookstove foiled one guest accustomed to electricity
Loftis said he encourages guests at his Missouri cabin to "turn off your cell phone, walk through the woods, sit by the water, have a cup of coffee in the mornings."
But not every stay goes as smoothly.
To add to the rustic mood of his cabin, Loftis has furnished it with antiques, including a clawfoot tub and a 1920s gas-powered cookstove. He includes detailed instructions for their operation in his guest handbook and makes frequent offers to help, he said.
One guest accidentally turned on the propane for the stove, then struggled to understand how to light it. When she finally managed to light it, a flame exploded in her face and even singed some of her hair.
Thankfully, she was safe, but it reminded Loftis that many guests are unfamiliar with old-school appliances.
"A lot of people just always use electric products. They haven't used a flammable propane product before," Loftis said. "There's a learning curve."