Inspired by the World

Founder Story

Stay Hygge was born from a love of travel and a belief that the places we stay can become some of the most meaningful parts of the journey.

Over the years, we have traveled throughout the United States and around the world, from Australia and New Zealand to Norway, Iceland, France, China, Japan, Italy, Greece, the United Kingdom and many other places far and in between. We have stayed everywhere from five-star Caribbean resorts, where the staff made us feel like family, to tiny cabins in the plains of Iceland, where the setting and simplicity made the experience unforgettable.

Those experiences taught us something important: the stays we remember most are never just the biggest, most expensive, or most photogenic. They are the ones that feel unique, thoughtful, and genuinely welcoming. The places where every detail has been considered. The places that make you want to settle in, slow down, and feel at home somewhere entirely new.

That became the heart of Stay Hygge.

We wanted to create vacation rentals that feel like more than a room to rent. Homes that are beautifully designed, deeply comfortable, and intentionally equipped for the way people actually travel. Spaces where guests can arrive, exhale, and immediately feel that they are welcome.

Cooking has always been one of our favorite ways to experience a new place. We love visiting local markets, finding regional ingredients, and making a meal wherever we are staying. That is why well-equipped kitchens are so important to us. A vacation home should make it easy to enjoy the local area, whether that means a simple breakfast before a hike, a cozy dinner after a day of exploring, or a bottle of wine and a lingering meal together.

Because the best stays are not just where you sleep. They are where you feel welcome, relaxed, inspired, and fully present in the place you came to experience.

The Stay Hygge Experience

Stay Hygge began with a simple belief: where you stay should feel like part of the reason you traveled.

We believe the best spaces do more than provide a bed for the night. They create a feeling. They slow you down, bring people closer, and give you room to reconnect with the people and places that matter most.

Rooted in the Scandinavian idea of hygge, a sense of warmth, comfort, presence, and ease, Stay Hygge creates thoughtfully designed vacation homes and hospitality experiences that feel both elevated and deeply personal. From the first impression to the smallest detail, every space is designed to feel intentional: beautiful enough to inspire you, comfortable enough to truly settle into, and memorable enough to stay with you long after checkout.

Our approach blends design, hospitality, and practical experience. We do not believe in creating spaces that only photograph well; we create homes that work beautifully for real guests. That means cozy lighting, intuitive layouts, inviting gathering spaces, thoughtful amenities, no clutter, and the small details that make a stay feel effortless.

Stay Hygge is about more than hospitality. It is about creating a feeling of being cared for, of arriving somewhere beautiful, taking a breath, and realizing you do not want to leave.

Thoughtfully designed stays. Meaningful guest experiences. Spaces that feel like a destination in themselves.

Giving Back to Our Community

Hospitality, for us, reaches well beyond our front door. Stay Hygge is proud to call Bethel home, and we believe a business is only as strong as the community and the landscape around it. A portion of every stay goes toward giving back to the place that welcomes our guests.

We focus our support on two causes close to our hearts: Mahoosuc Land Trust, which protects the open spaces, trails, and natural beauty that make this region worth traveling for, and the Bethel Food Bank, which makes sure our neighbors are cared for and no one goes hungry. Conserving the land we love and feeding the community we call home. When you stay with us, you help make both possible.

Built by Hosts, for Hosts

Stay Hygge isn't run by a management company. It's run by Tyler and Chloe, the two people who actually design, build, and host every property in the current portfolio.

Tyler is a self-performing general contractor who has built cabins from the ground up, including The Cabin at Bear River, framed, sided, and finished by hand on 3.5 acres in Newry. With 9+ years hosting short-term rentals across Maine and Florida, he's grown a 5-property portfolio while managing everything from permitting and construction to day-to-day operations and long-term investment strategy.

Chloe brings the strategy, design and photography behind every space, the eye that turns a renovated salon or a raw building lot into a place people plan trips around. Her interior work has been featured in Maine Home + Design, and it's the same design language she intends to bring to every Stay Hygge property and every client project.

Together, they handle the full lifecycle of a short-term rental: acquisition, construction, design, photography, and management. That experience doesn't stop at their own portfolio. Stay Hygge also works directly with other STR owners as consulting clients, helping them navigate everything from property setup and design to positioning and operations, bringing the same hands-on approach that built Bear River, Bethel Hideaway, and Modern Hygge House to properties across the region.

It's a rare combination, and it's why property owners should choose Stay Hygge. Not just for a beautifully designed space, but for a team that has actually built and run several successfully.