The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals (2021) s02e04 Episode Script

1
You're probably wondering
why we're in a graveyard.
We're on a journey
through all things paranormal.
That's right. Vacation rentals
that connect to the paranormal.
I'm talking creatures. I'm talking aliens.
I'm talking everything scary!
But first, we gotta prepare ourselves.
This is sage.
This is to protect us,
ward off negative vibes,
bad juju, bad mojo.
I have no negative vibes.
All right, let's go.
Come on, back in the van.
Short-term rentals
have changed the way we vacation,
which is why
paranormal travel is trending.
Are you ready? 'Cause we're taking
you on a paranormal trip across America.
We'll start at this affordable
haunted house here in Ohio,
where we're gonna search for ghosts.
To this flying saucer
in the middle of the desert
where we'll try to connect with aliens.
To searching for Sasquatch
at this luxury lodge here in Oregon.
Paranormal travel
is so popular right now.
People flock to places like this
on purpose.
There are certain travelers that only
leave their house to book a haunted Airbnb
or to book a place where
they can see Bigfoot, which is crazy.
My knee armpits are sweating.
That's how scared I am.
No, I'm scared too, Luis.
- Just 'cause you're a non-believer
- I'm not a non-believer.
I just have not seen spirits before.
I am super open in this trip
to finding anything.
I wanna connect
with anything that's real, that's there.
Okay, where are you
gonna take us, Megan?
This is a house that is haunted,
but the spirits in it are nice
because they died of natural causes.
And I felt like
this was a nice place to start
before we start
hunting aliens and hunting Sasquatch.
We're basically prepping ourselves
with the tools of survival.
For my budget property, we're headed
to a haunted house in the historic
and spooky town of Oberlin, Ohio.
We're gonna start our paranormal travels
at a place called the Inspiration House.
- That sounds friendly.
- It sounds friendly.
- Six people have died there.
- That doesn't sound friendly.
Not guests.
It's a big place.
Oh, there's bats.
This looks super creepy.
$140 a night.
- Are they paying us 140 to stay here?
- I know, right?
Why did you pick this property?
I picked it because the owner
is an expert in the paranormal,
and I wanted to have an experience
she thought was good
for someone who's terrified of this stuff.
There's a letter.
"Megan, welcome to Inspiration House.
Sorry you're running late.
I had to head out.
For now, let yourselves in.
Don't forget to introduce yourself
to the ghosts once you get settled."
I wanna try and go in alone.
Ooh.
It looks cozy in there.
What? Stop! Stop!
What? The doll.
There's a there's a doll right there.
Luis!
That's what I saw.
I'm so sorry. I
You okay? I'm so sorry. I really am.
We can do this. We can do this.
- It's okay.
- I got scared myself.
You got this.
This is a creepy place.
I hate that doll.
Oh, my God.
They said there's
it's like friendly ghost.
It's friendly. They're friendly.
I'm just, like, afraid to open any door.
The Inspiration House is a short-term stay
that comes with some
ghostly long-term visitors.
Owned by a psychic researcher and author,
it has three bedrooms
two bathrooms
and a parlor filled
with paranormal paraphernalia.
It sleeps five living guests
and rents for about $140 per night.
It's a beautiful place, though.
Look, if you look at it
with a design perspective
I mean, I love a good arch. You know that.
This is really creepy.
Look at this.
Oh, just the dolls.
Look, there's a sign. "Ghost Hunt Rules."
"Most of the spirits here were longtime
residents. They're not evil or bad.
This is their space too.
Treat them as you would the living."
Who'd have thought
of renting a haunted house?
It does feel like we're kind of
intruding in someone's home.
- It feels like people live here.
- Yeah.
Okay, let's go into the kitchen.
Let's see if the kitchen is up
to your standards.
My stomach is in shambles.
Why did the door close on its own?
You saw that too, Luis.
I did see it. I did see it.
That was weird.
Let's just go upstairs.
Okay, so we have three bedrooms up here.
This one's kind of small.
Now the question is, who sleeps where?
This one's a pretty good size.
Oh, and each room is dedicated to a person
that used to live here
and maybe still does.
"As you settle in for sleep,
set an intention to communicate
with Charles Ken DuBois."
- Oh, God! No, no.
- Oh, my God!
Why do we need to see this?
Like, immediately when you wake up?
Why does this need to be here?
"We'd love for you
to record a little note
about your experiences in this journal,
adding to the story of Inspiration House."
See, I like that.
- It is nice.
- Yeah.
- Because it's comforting.
- Yeah.
You're on this journey,
but people who stayed here have also been.
- Yeah.
- Right.
- Five stars for presentation so far.
- Totally.
This one is Nellie Mary Baxter.
I'm sleeping here, I think.
This is your bedroom?
You're gonna leave me
with that creepy man?
You want the small room then?
You take that one. Fine.
I'll take that guy. I'll get to know him.
I'm liking the experience. I really am.
It's it's fun.
Why am I going downstairs alone?
I know this is how you get killed
in a horror movie,
but we need to make sure
we're the only ones sleeping
in this vacation rental tonight.
I never thought of a creepy
basement as a great amenity until now.
There's a jungle of spiderwebs here.
I'm gonna sit down here.
Look at this, these cute little journals.
I'm always looking out for the amenities.
These are the Inspiration House journals,
and you're supposed to record
what you dream of in here.
Home sweet home? Question mark.
Okay, if you're interested in designing
a haunted vacation rental for your guests,
start with this.
Tell me that front door creak
isn't spooky.
That's just the beginning,
'cause you walk in,
get greeted by
the welcome basket of my nightmares.
Walking into this room
with super-high ceilings,
anything could be
looking down at me at any point,
painted with this blood-red tone,
"redrum" times two, the rooms don't stop.
You have candles everywhere,
Gothic, oversized furniture
and look at these window treatments.
Anything could be lurking.
Floor-to-ceiling curtains
with really intense valances
that I haven't seen ever in my life.
I'm scared just being in here.
What an experience.
I just can't believe that all my friends
that love Halloween haunted houses
don't rent these.
When I used to sell houses,
if a house was haunted, they would say,
"How do we market it
as if it's not haunted?"
But now you see
that there is a market for it.
Because people want to feel like this.
I mean, it has I almost cried twice
but it has been fun
in between.
- I'll never forget this place.
- I will never forget.
I mean, I've been hungry for hours,
but I'm too afraid to leave this bed.
I wanna shower, but I'm like
Why didn't you sleep alone?
Every corner had something scary,
and it felt too big.
It was the larger
A tip is pick a smaller room.
I mean,
Luis is in the tiniest room.
Luis?
Oh, okay, you scared me.
Are you okay?
I am. Are you okay?
Yeah.
How are the dolls?
No!
You know that
if somebody is selling a house,
they don't have to disclose,
in many states,
if the house is haunted
or if somebody has died in it.
Unless you're in California,
which is required by law
to disclose if there have been
any violent acts in the three years prior.
The owner of this property
is an expert in the occult
who likes sharing the house
with guests and visitors of all kinds.
I bought the house because it was haunted.
And one of the things
behind Inspiration House
was to find a place
that had, uh, an active but safe haunting,
where people could explore
and, like, get an experience,
but do it in a way
that it wasn't gonna follow them home,
and it wasn't gonna wreck their lives,
and they could just go,
"Okay, so this
is my relationship with this.
This is what this means for me."
Is there a way that we can
kind of, like, see what you do?
Yeah, um, we could do something formal,
like a seance.
- That would be awesome.
- Have you done those before with guests?
Yes, frequently.
Ooh!
- Am I the only one who's nervous?
- No, I'm excited, nervous.
- My hands are sweaty.
- Okay.
Okay.
Do we have people with us?
Are you present?
- Well, that's a clear "yes."
- Oh, yeah.
- Yay!
- Okay.
Hello.
Hi.
L
U
I
S.
You're saying hi to Luis?
Please tell us tell us some, uh
Is the future promising?
Please don't go to "no."
Uh-oh.
"Unclear."
- I love it.
- Like that answer more than "no."
- Yeah.
- That was awesome.
I don't know
what just happened in there.
I looked at everybody's fingers.
No one was putting any pressure.
I was looking at everybody's arms.
It opened me a little bit.
I was like this.
I'm like this now. No, like this.
No, like this.
Next up in the paranormal journey,
off to the deserts of California
to search for some aliens.
Something that definitely
spooks me out are aliens.
What are aliens to you?
Aliens, to me,
are extraterrestrial life-forms
- Yes.
- that we don't comprehend.
And I know we're not alone!
From spooky Oberlin, Ohio,
we're crossing the US
to the high desert
outside of Joshua Tree, California,
in search of UFOs.
And I found a vacation rental
that is out of this world!
I wanted to bring you guys here
to the middle of Joshua Tree
to the middle of the desert,
because Joshua Tree's one of the top
places in the world for UFO sightings.
I found this amazing
flying-saucer-shaped house
- called the Futuro House
- Okay.
for the alien enthusiasts, like myself,
who come out here to the desert
in hopes of finding a UFO
or just learning more about aliens.
There has to be life outside of ours,
so I wanna be abducted by aliens.
- Oh, my God!
- I wanna hang with them.
I want you to be abducted.
Okay, look, look!
There's our house. How crazy!
Wow,
this guy is not messing around.
I love it so much.
- This is great!
- This is so outrageous.
That is crazy.
That's amazing.
Area 55 Futuro is
a one-of-a-kind glamping experience
featuring a 1960s
prefabricated Futuro home.
It was originally designed
by a Finnish architect
to be easy to construct in rough terrain.
It includes one bedroom,
one outdoor bathroom,
sleeps four guests
and starts at $225 per night.
This is one of less than 70
of these kinds of houses.
This is the only one that you can rent
as a vacation rental in the US.
Exclusive, huh?
Aha?
- Where's the door?
- Okay.
So this is how we get inside the house.
Oh, my God.
The UFO comes with a remote?
This is the coolest thing I've ever seen.
This is the best part.
Okay! Let's go!
This is so cute!
- Look at this.
- Oh, wow!
This is a lot bigger than I expected.
This is so cool.
- You like it?
- I love it.
I mean, have you ever been
in a round room like this?
Usually there are different rooms,
but it is glamping.
We have a dining table, dining room.
Like, we can actually have dinner here.
It is a small space, but the way
that they use the storage is pretty smart.
Look, that's not only a dining bench,
but this is all of our stuff for our bed.
Which is nice.
- Where are the beds?
- They are these ottomans.
What? That's so sick!
Okay, so here's where we're sleeping.
Three ottomans, so three little beds.
This is very cool.
Luis is enjoying the view.
It's a great view.
Honestly, really comfortable.
- Really?
- Yes.
- To the next room.
- The next room.
To the entertainment space.
- Ah, this is so cool
- This little seating area.
- Oh, great chair.
- You guys look adorable.
So these chairs are
a classic design from the early '60s.
They're called ball chairs
or globe chairs, and they're so space age.
Even the stereo looks space age.
- Yes.
- Right.
- Okay, to the next room.
- This is still the living room.
- It's the couch.
- That's the couch.
- This is the couch.
- And this is a two-level couch situation.
Nice.
- She's at the penthouse of the couch.
- You know?
How smart is this?
Like, this is how you design a tiny space.
The Futuro home
is one of the earliest prefab homes.
It's a couple pieces that are panelized
and bolt together,
easy to construct into a sphere shape.
What I find super fascinating is that
the Futuro home was made
as a ski chalet in the '60s,
and generally people were really reluctant
to accept it, because it looks crazy.
The owner of this property took something
that people were confused about
and turned it into something that
people travel all over the world to see.
That is smart!
So what up with the bathroom?
- So the bathroom is outside.
- Oh, man.
It is glamping,
so you have modern conveniences,
but you don't have a bathroom
and a shower inside of the spaceship.
- You have to go outside.
- That's kinda what glamping is, right?
You have to go, kind of, outside.
From a camping perspective,
this is great.
Let's go outside!
- I agree. Let's go outside.
- Come on.
This is like you have your own outdoor
This is your living room.
This is outdoor living.
Okay.
You got a little sports activity,
a firepit.
- Luis, you love that.
- This is great.
And this is the perfect area
for stargazing and alien hunting
which we'll do tonight.
This is the kitchen.
Super nice outdoor dining.
Yeah, this is a great area.
This is our bathroom right here.
- That's the bathroom?
- Yep.
Look at the sign.
Everyone is welcome,
even if you're an alien.
Just please wash your hands.
- Cute!
- I love it.
This is the outdoor shower,
which we love doing.
- Huge!
- This is bigger than the bathroom.
You know what I love,
that there's actually hot water,
because this is a luxury
when you're camping.
This is amazing.
Girls, look at that sun.
Oh, my God. This is it, you guys.
Look at that sunset.
You know what,
no matter what, you find a sunset,
and it all becomes extremely beautiful.
What if aliens came to our planet
just to see the sunset?
- And we could be there?
- And only for $200 a night, man.
Okay, so in 1953, an aviator
by the name of George Van Tassel
claimed to be abducted
by an alien from Venus in this area.
This led to an annual UFO convention
attended by thousands of people
for over 20 years,
making this area a mecca
for alien enthusiasts.
This is the 33rd north parallel.
It attracts the most UFOs
that have ever been seen.
Then that makes this place
the best real estate for UFOs.
Are you gonna try
to sell aliens real estate?
No, I'm just admiring
that we just are in the right spot,
at the right longitude and latitude.
So, Barbara,
we came here to know more about UFOs
- And to find one.
- Check the binoculars.
- Yeah.
- And here's the laser for you.
What are we looking for?
Make sure it doesn't blink,
doesn't have little colored lights.
It will move at a different frequency
or a different pace
than a regular aircraft.
This is my favorite.
- The night sky in the desert.
- Yeah!
This is also
why you book a place like this.
- You can actually see the stars.
- Mm-hmm.
Look at all of these stars.
There has to be life out there somewhere.
And I hope
they come to Joshua Tree tonight.
Honestly, this is zero work
compared to the amount of work it takes
when you're actually camping.
Making the bed
might be my favorite activity.
Yours looks so nice.
It's like a hotel bed.
Um
Okay, have you ever made a bed before?
Listen
It's a yes or no question.
- Have you made a bed before?
- Plenty of beds.
Ah! This is so nice.
- This is made?
- Like, come on.
Good morning from the UFO.
Normally I'm not a morning person,
but when you see this sunrise
This is 360 sunrise.
Looks like
Luis is still having a good slumber.
- What's new?
- Okay.
Let's scare him. Yeah.
Oh, my God!
Joshua Tree is one of
the fastest growing neighborhoods
when it comes
to vacation rental investment,
but this guy is really killing it.
This guy just bought something
from the '60s, put it here
and is collecting $200 a night
at an almost 100% occupancy rate.
This guy's not thinking
about the resale value.
This guy's getting a great return
on investment on a monthly basis,
and his overhead
is almost nothing.
It's brilliant.
- Yes!
- Nice! Oh!
Great shot!
We spent our day playing
with the amenities and taking a hike
in the out-of-this-world landscape
of Joshua Tree, searching for UFOs.
What's that thing?
That's literally a UFO!
Oh, no, that's a plane.
- Did we just see a UFO?
- Okay, it was a plane. Let's go eat!
- Are you guys ready for movie night?
- Yes.
Don't you guys love these movies?
Wow, this is the part when they take them.
- Oh!
- Oh!
- Drama!
- What are you doing?
You know, in all seriousness,
this property puts you in the perfect
state of mind to look for aliens.
If you don't like camping,
this is a good foray into it.
This is glamping. We glamped.
But if you pack right
- Bring champagne.
- Bring whatever.
This is one of those
blank canvas properties.
You come with your intention,
with whatever you like,
and your experience is made
for a fraction of the price.
- Good point.
- Absolutely.
Okay, this is Cliff.
Cliff, this is Megan. This is Jo.
- Hi, Cliff.
- Hey, everybody. Welcome to Oregon.
I did find a very luxurious cabin.
And it comes with a concierge service,
all seasons,
who hooked me up
with this man here, Cliff,
who is the guy when it comes to Bigfoot.
The last 26 years of my life,
I pretty much devoted
to Sasquatch field research,
and you're smack dab in the middle
of the heart of Bigfoot's neighborhood.
From the California desert
to the deep forests of Oregon
and from the little gray aliens
to a big hairy creature,
call him Sasquatch, call him Bigfoot,
call him whatever you want,
this is the right place to find him.
About four weeks ago,
there was a Bigfoot sighting
four miles away from the house
that we're staying tonight.
So tonight,
Cliff is gonna take us to the woods,
and we're gonna go squatching.
- "Squatching"?
- Yes.
Like "squatch watching"?
Yes, squatching is exactly what
it sounds like and three times as fun.
However, you might be able to hear one.
It's easier to hear one
than it is to see one.
What do they sound like?
What are we looking for?
Some of the more commonly heard sounds
are like long howls. Like
I love it.
Okay, here you are.
So we'll see you after dinner.
- Yay!
- Thanks, Cliff.
Wow, this terrain
is not suitcase-friendly.
Look how magical!
Oh, it's so big!
All right,
welcome to Forrest Lodge.
Forrest Lodge is a luxury A-frame
on three acres of old-growth forest.
It combines a cozy cabin vibe with
40-foot ceilings and high-end amenities.
It's 4,200-square feet
four bedrooms
three-and-a-half bathrooms
sleeps 12 guests
and starts at $900 per night.
How cute is this?
We are in the woods,
but sheltered by luxury, which I love.
'Cause you're not really in the woods
in this mansion.
Look at this deck.
So much seating.
Yeah, it's like a little
restaurant. Now let's go inside.
Oh, wow!
Beautiful.
Nice!
Smells like wood.
- What is this?
- Fun!
I believe this is from Cliff's museum,
Bigfoot Museum of America.
- I've never seen a foot this big.
- Look at the size of this foot!
Well, let's talk about something else
that's big, this kitchen!
I love this kitchen.
- Look at the windows.
- So symmetrical.
So beautiful, bringing the inside out.
- Doing the dishes, looking at that view.
- Wow.
It's not a bad view to do the dishes to.
One of the best kitchens
I think we've ever seen, honestly.
- And look at this food!
- Oh, this is the famous spread.
So I asked them to give us
a spread of what Bigfoot eats.
So Bigfoot is an omnivore.
He eats anything
from meat to fruits to berries.
- Mmm! It's fresh.
- Good, no? Hmm.
Me and Bigfoot
have the same taste.
- Nice living room.
- Mmm!
- Okay, this is the common room.
- Cozy!
It's so great that
you can go hunting for Bigfoot
and then come back
to a comfortable property like this.
So many cozy corners!
Every piece of glass,
it's probably bigger than you and I.
When I see an A-frame,
it screams "vacation" to me,
but I've never seen one this big before.
That's why this one is so different
from the rest.
This one is double the size.
- Every angle is picturesque.
- Beautiful.
Okay, luxury.
- Tall ceiling.
- Must be the primary bedroom.
- Nice fireplace.
- Yeah.
Look at the size of this bed.
It's a big bed.
Huge!
This bathroom is a big yeah.
They've done a great job
with the windows here.
- Oh, nice.
- Bedroom number two.
Look at this window!
- See what I'm saying with the windows?
- Wow! That's so Gothic.
- Look at the triangle over that door.
- Mm-hmm.
Guys, I like this bedroom.
It's small. It's cozy.
- You take it.
- It's yours.
Done.
You got your own
little private bathroom.
- Look at this handle.
- Aah! You have a sauna!
Oh, that's unfair!
Megan, we should've called this room.
Look at this!
- Is it too late?
- And it reminds me of Finland.
Whoo! Ha-ha! Check this out.
- This is a Japanese onsen.
- Whoa!
The bathrooms are really shining
in this property.
They're making me happy.
What would you do if we woke up
and, like,
Bigfoot was just sitting here chillin'?
Oh, my gosh.
Does it look like
he could be out here? Yes.
Yeah, it does.
So here's a little travel tip
when you're staying
in the heart of Bigfoot country.
If you plan to go out
and try to spot a Sasquatch,
do not do it alone.
Hire an expert, like Cliff.
I don't know
if I actually believe in Sasquatch.
I still have a healthy dose of skepticism,
because we don't know.
- You know what I mean?
- Yes. They are real.
Got a report just today in the museum,
where somebody got in their car,
turned on the lights,
and there was one just ahead
and was walking across the road.
This is crazy.
Guys, do you see this forest?
This is where we're gonna go squatching.
Here's our spot right up here.
The goal is, of course,
to see or encounter a Sasquatch,
maybe even film it if possible.
We're gonna head that way.
- We'll be in contact shortly, okay?
- Perfect.
- You guys see something, you scream.
- I'm glad I'm with you, Cliff.
- That is a huge tree!
- You wanna go look there?
Yeah, right?
Yeah, let's try it.
Okay.
See, this is what makes
vacation rentals so amazing.
We're really in the wild.
Oh, how about right there?
It looks looks lovely.
- It's getting dark quick, man.
- Yeah.
We are just supposed to listen,
because when we lose our sight, our other
senses are supposed to take over.
And we will hear him before
We will hear a Sasquatch
before we would ever see one.
- Pretty good.
- That was pretty good.
Oh, stars.
Now we're just gonna meditate
and look at the stars.
Oh.
- I saw a little shooting star.
- You saw a shooting star?
Yeah!
I, like I don't even care that
we haven't heard or seen anything.
It is so beautiful out here.
We didn't hear a Sasquatch.
We certainly didn't see a Sasquatch,
but we came out here
and had a fantastic experience together.
- And that's what it's all about.
- Yeah.
I guess I love squatching.
Cheers!
After a morning in the forest
around the house,
we ended the day
enjoying an amazing meal on our patio
and a little time in the hot tub.
Oh, this is so nice.
Wow, Luis.
What would you do
if you see a Sasquatch while we're here?
I would give him wine,
invite him to the house.
Do you believe in Sasquatch?
I don't know.
You can't shift a paradigm in a day. I
Oh, my God! No!
Wow.
Do you mind bringing us
another bottle of wine, por favor?
Luis, you did this!
Oh, look, Sasquatch is nice.
He's grabbing more wine.
- It's all in your face. Oh, my
- He's our butler for the evening.
- Wow!
- Oh, thank you very much. Uh
Very, very, very nice. Very kind of you.
What are we cheersing to?
To, uh, you, man.
Cheers! Okay!
Our paranormal journey was amazing.
It was literally
like living in a horror movie.
What? Stop! Stop!
Inspiration House was incredible.
But I have to say
that my favorite was the Futuro home
because it's so unique,
and what the owner did
with it is such smart business.
Look how magical!
So I really did love
the beautiful design of Forrest Lodge,
but my favorite
is also the Futuro House,
because first of all, it's a UFO,
and second, I love the simple things
like playing games outside with you guys.
- Oh!
- Whoa!
The Futuro House
was my favorite too.
It was such a smart way
to market such an unusual property.
I was never a paranormal traveler,
but honestly,
this trip made me a 100% believer.
Cheers!
All around the world we move ♪
All around the world we move ♪
All around the world we move ♪
All around the world we move ♪
All around the world we move ♪
All around the world we go ♪