An American bought a broken-down bus and truck to a mega-popular hotel that became an Airbnb hit

Portlander Scott bought a double-decker bus and luggage 10 months in advance to wait for him at the port house.

It was the most difficult and unusual project, although he had already renovated houses before.

Now he rents it out on Airbnb, and there is no end to the flow of people who want to live in the old bus.

Whit has been renovating homes for over seven years.

This is what the bus looked like before the renovation.

Whit Scott worked as a video editor for 10 years, but decided to change his profession in 2015. Around the same time, he moved into a new house in Portland that is in need of renovation.

I met a new friend named Cody who started me doing some renovation work and we talked about starting Airbnb.

Whit Scott

Empty spaces were found in the backyard and his friends decided to renovate motorhomes.

In parallel, Scott and Cody began a professional home renovation business. These were the first clients who subsequently appeared among the customers.

This continued until the pandemic. In the spring of 2020, faced a halt in tensions. His wife lived at that time in Texas, and he lived in Portland. The distance between the states is about 3000 km. Most of the flights were attracted, so he decided to buy a used minibus to drive in Texas.

Witt Scott in front of the bus.

While browsing an ad on Craigslist, he came across an old double-decker bus, which he immediately decided to buy.

After that, I thought I was piling up, but when I stumbled upon the double decker bus, I decided that this would be my next project.

Whit Scott

Scott bought it without bargaining for $8,000, although the condition of the bus raised many questions.

The bus was first used in the UK and in the US in a canteen

It was a double-decker bus used to travel to the suburbs of Manchester in the UK in the 1950s. At the time of purchase, the bus was over 70 years old.

For 20 years he took people to the UK, then he was brought to San Francisco, and then he used the services of a tourist bus in Washington State.

Salon before renovation.

At some point bus engine caught fire and it became impossible to drive.

But, as far as I understand, he was never able to do this. He had kids and became a jungle gym in their huge backyard.

Whit Scott

For several years, the bus sat in the backyard of a house in Washington, until Matt Breslow, owner of a popular fast food in Portland called The Grilled Cheese Grill, bought it and bought it for the diner.

When Matt bought it they fixed a lot and it really helped. They didn’t cook in it, but they used it as a place to eat.

Whit Scott

Then The Grilled Cheese Grill had three establishments, and each of them had its own bus, which was used as a dining room.

Matt soon sold the bus to a Vancouver businessman who wanted to cook fast food in it and engage visitors in unusual places. But the plans of the new owner changed and in the end the bus stood for eight years in the parking lot of a friend.

The bus was almost completely destroyed, the roof was leaking, there was no metal on the body in some places.

For eight years, the bus stood in one place in an open and dusty parking lot. It was very badly reflected in the body.

The whole bus had to be repainted, but before restore the metal and roof, add the missing cladding, and then insert new glass.

The seats, according to the application, “were defeated.”

The previous owner did some restoration work, which eliminated the need for a complete renovation.

As a result, part of the bus had to be completely sanded and rebuilt. Inside, too, it was necessary to do a lot of work, but it took shape and over.

Whit Scott

Scott completely threw out the old salon and restored the roof. To keep warm, the man insulated the walls and replaced the broken windows.

Part of the ceiling at the end of the bus has been cut off to create more headroom.

I had to cut the floor upstairs in the entryway so you could stand in the kitchen. And I had to do the same at the front of the bus so you could be in the bathroom.

Whit Scott

On the ground floor there is a living room, dining room, small kitchen and bathroom, and the second floor is reserved for the bedroom.

Most flight time for finishing work

According to Scott’s idea, the bus was supposed to stand in his yard, so the technical part did not disappear earlier.

The main thing was to restore the body and make repairs inside, so that the bus could go to a small residential building.

After the man finished restoring the body and bringing it into the required form, he began to engage in cosmetic repairs.

It was decided to sew up the walls and ceilings with wood. Scott’s friend European-style free wood that was left after cutting down old trees.

Wood for walls based on history has taken over most of the door manufacturing company.

They just had leftovers and said we could take as much wood as we wanted.

Whit Scott

Friends and relatives whenever they could. Scott’s father came over from Los Angeles several times to help with the woodwork.

He’s a retired elementary school teacher, but he’s been building things his whole life, so he likes to just come and work on projects with me.

Whit Scott

At the entrance to the bus, the person next to you immediately goes to the kitchen, and then there is a small living room. At the very end of the first floor there was a toilet and a shower.

The bathroom door was made from Scott. The man installed a dry closet and connected the bus to the house for water and electricity.

On the second floor there is a bedroom with a large double bed. In the future, it is planned to install a small forecast so that visitors can watch films.

The entire project cost $25,000 and took almost a year to complete.

Scott started rebuilding the bus in October 2021 and at the start of the project every week. All work was completed in August 2022.

Scott believes he received about $25,000 for the entire project, including the $8,000 purchase of the bus.

The project was discovered not only because of the age of the bus, but also because of the unusual shapes and angles.

The bus sits in Scott’s backyard, and he rents it out on Airbnb for the last few months. Prices vary from $75 to $145 dollars per night depending on the season. Guests leave only positive feedback. [Airbnb]