Created in 1976, Guesthouses Reservation Services in Charlottesville, Virginia emerged at a pivotal time in the hospitality industry where travellers wanted a more personalized and comfortable stay wherever they travelled. The bed & breakfast was a largely European phenomenon before today's time and Guesthouses sought to bring this type of travel to the United States. With the announcement of the Queen Elizabeth of England's trip to Charlottesville, Guesthouses Reservation Services was born to accommodate all the tourists funnelling into the city to set eyes on the Queen. It was a roaring success in Charlottesville and gave visitors a peak into how the locals lived and gave homeowners a chance to showcase their homes and provide exceptional experiences. Newspaper and magazines all over the country (USA Today, Travel & Leisure, Virginia Pilot), all saw the benefits of this new phenomenon of Bed and Breakfast accomodations.
Guesthouses was started by four women who saw this need for change in the hospitality business long before the times of AirBnB! Guesthouses was the first of its type in the country. The motto of "Guesthouses is YOU and works for you" still stands today over its forty years of ownership. Guesthouses historical, and current, aim is provide guests with a true authentic Charlottesville experience and accommodation that differentiates itself from the traditional hotel.
In July of 2019, Drew Thomasson, a Charlottesville native, became the 5th owner to continue the long legacy of Guesthouses. Drew, son of two UVA Alumni, grew up on Rugby Road immersed in the UVA and Charlottesville culture. Even though he decided to venture to Tennessee for college, he has always been a Wahoo at heart. He has called Charlottesville home ever since from returning from college. Being that Drew had experience in the vacation rental industry and property management (locally and internationally), he saw a great opportunity to take the legacy of what Guesthouses had already established and apply that towards the current market trends of today.