TimberHut Cabin Company Explodes into Nationwide Market
TimberHut Cabin Company Explodes into Nationwide Market
Hospitality-Bound Cabins Bring Luxury to the Remote Campsite
Marble counters with waterfall edges, hardwood flooring, and acoustic panels for noise control… If you think these features can’t be found in accommodations at a remote campsite, then you don’t know TimberHut Cabin Company. Founder and CEO Brooks Anderson is excited to share his three-year-old company’s newest hospitality-bound cabin models, which are currently being installed at properties throughout the United States.
“We’ve now been credited as a producer of park-model RVs, which allows us to put our product on anything from a campground to a destination resort to any place that requires a certain standard for guest accommodations,” said Anderson. “Our design and production of these hospitality-bound cabins that we’re building has sort of exploded, and we’re not seeing an end to it right now!”
TimberHut Cabin Company began with just a handful of employees making designer glamping units of approximately 144 square feet suitable for everything from a day on the slopes to a day at the beach. The response to these artisan-quality units was immediate, and TimberHut quickly outgrew its original Buffalo location and moved to a much larger site on Route 219 in Great Valley in 2021. At that time, Anderson hoped to hire five people and eventually have around 10 employees. Now, TimberHut is a team of more than a dozen employees, including eight builders led by Randy Wiser, AIA (American Institute of Architects) Architect Ken Klapper, Director of Commercial Projects Jim Dailey, Business and Purchasing Manager Mychelle McNeil-Wedvik, and Tom Kiddoo, southwest representative, builder, and site consultant.
Since receiving their accreditation to manufacture park-model RVs, TimberHut has been able to standardize building methods and expand into a new market. “Because the RV Industry Association (RVIA) is a much bigger governing body, this opens us up to building for a KOA all the way to a five-star destination,” Anderson explained. “That whole industry, which we used to think of as just glamping, has now really taken on a new meaning. There are many different players who are either building or acquiring new properties at a quick clip. Our goal is to find a number of those who we want to grow with us.”
TimberHut’s newest models include the Journey Model, a park model RV sized at 300 to 400 square feet and built on a trailer chassis, as well as the DayTrip Model, an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) sized at 80 to 200 square feet that sits directly on the ground. All cabins are built to last with 35-year weatherproof siding, top-quality windows and doors, and a standing seam metal roof. The possibilities are truly endless, for not only are these suitable for the glamping experience, but also for studios, cabanas, vendor kiosks, festival rentals, and so much more.
“Because we’re building in volume, we’re able to dedicate our design services for that customer,” said Anderson. “We design for their aesthetic, as well as the place where it’s going. A unit bound for Maine will be entirely different than one for a resort down in Florida or a location in the desert. Whether or not it’s up on a trailer chassis or on a shed platform all depends on the property. The properties we sell to have different requirements based on their local codes and zoning laws, which we make it our priority to know and understand.”
Anderson’s goal for TimberHut is to build anywhere from five to 20 to 50 units at a time for any particular property to develop a dedicated customer base that knows their product, like their product, and appreciates their process. “Our first big order came from a resort out in Utah,” said Anderson. “We have 10 units being built right now. Two are on the way, and the rest will be going out in the next six weeks.” The order has been an important learning experience for Anderson and his team, who have been working out the logistics of transporting these units to remote locations on the other side of the country. To that end, Anderson works with Kiddoo in Colorado, who helps coordinate the west coast orders and installations.
While the west coast orders are keeping TimberHut busy, Anderson’s focus is also on producing out of the Great Valley facility for a radius of about 400 miles. This radius includes Maine, Michigan, and North Carolina, which are big markets, Anderson noted. “We are also beginning to fine tune our focus in the seasonal housing or institutional market,” he added. “A place like Ellicottville has limited options for housing seasonal employees or hospitality employees. We’re working to develop a program where we can put 10 or 20 units together that focus on low cost, very nice housing for these employees. This is a need that’s all across these hospitality-driven, destination resort towns.”
Coming from a marketing and business development background, Anderson is used to potential customers hanging up the phone or not even taking the call. However, that’s not been his experience at all with TimberHut! “What we’re finding in this is that if we target the right customers directly, they always pick up the phone. Everyone seems to be interested in our products and our novel approach to design and fabrication,” he noted. “Our products speak for themselves. Getting that initial call to action is a lot more efficient than in other industries. With our trajectory right now, we stand to be a nationally-recognized brand name in the next few years.”
Anderson is looking forward to “big things” that are coming very soon. “We are considering a major production relationship with a national commercial contractor to produce units regionally,” he said. “We'd still do most of the research, development and prototyping locally but production likely will occur at a number of geographies next year.” TimberHut’s production capacity will grow from 50 to 75 units in 2023 to over 250 in 2024. He added, “There are a couple of high-profile projects in Chautauqua County that we, if all goes well, will be able to announce soon!” To learn more about TimberHut Cabin Company, visit www.timberhut.com or follow TimberHut Cabin Company on social media.