Ever wanted to stay for a night or two in the heart of historic downtown Franklin or old town Greenwood? A growing number of short-term rentals popping up around the county are making that possible.
Short-term rentals, made popular by sites such as Airbnb or Vrbo, have spread outside of the big cities and popular vacation destinations to more to smaller towns and cities in recent years.
Johnson County, so far, is embracing the slowly growing amount of short-term rentals. These “homes away from home” are factors in growing tourism, and help promote the county, said Ken Kosky, executive director of Festival Country Indiana, the county’s tourism commission.
He’s noticed more have popped up around the county, particularly in Franklin and Greenwood, in the last year.
“Our revenue that we receive from Airbnbs has grown every year,” Kosky said. “That’s a factor of having more of them, but also them being more successful.”
People overall are attracted to them, looking for that “unique experience,” Kosky said. Short-term rentals around the county are more densely populated in historic downtown areas, with more than a dozen or so in downtown Franklin, and around the same amount in downtown Greenwood. A few homes are also listed on Airbnb and Vrbo in Whiteland and Prince’s Lakes.
These areas are popular among tourists with local restaurants and bars, as well as the festivals in Franklin and attractions like The Historic Artcraft Theatre. Most of the short-term rentals promote these businesses in their location descriptions too.
“Tourists especially are looking for that unique experience — something they can’t find in their own backyard,” Kosky said. “They’re more likely to gravitate toward a downtown area, and if you have lodging downtown, it just adds to that experience.”
Local governments also have little control over short-term rentals growing in small communities. Airbnb was the center of some controversy in Indiana in 2017 and 2018, when cities such as Indianapolis and Carmel tried to place restrictions on short-term rentals because of concerns about people renting houses to throw parties and cause trouble, among other concerns. State lawmakers stepped in and passed a law in 2018 banning governments from placing restrictions on short-term rentals.
Kosky does not see short-term rentals as being a nuisance in Franklin, or other areas of the county. Many of the rentals can be expensive, and the area generally is geared to families.
“I’m not aware of any drawbacks. From our standpoint, we take the revenue that we get from both hotels, and Airbnbs, to make our communities better by adding new attractions,” Kosky said.
‘A stones throw’ from downtown Franklin
Two newly-renovated upstairs apartments sit in the heart of downtown Franklin, overlooking the new Youngs Creek Park and DriveHubler.com amphitheater at 198 Jefferson St.
Shannon Hicks and her mom have owned the building since 2015. They rent the first floor to Rue Morgue Tattoo, and above are their new short-term rentals.
Hicks operated a consignment shop with her mom for a few years out of the building, and rented two apartments upstairs. But when construction began on Jefferson Street in late 2016, business slowed and they eventually closed.
In 2019, Hicks decided on a whim to venture into the short-term rental business, and renovate the apartments upstairs. She thought adding lodging would fit with the revitalization of downtown Franklin.
“There’s so much opportunity in Franklin, you know, and they announced bringing the amphitheater and they started announcing a bunch of other stuff for town … we thought, how great would it be if someone could just come stay?” Hicks said.
Renovations took over two years because nearly everything in the upstairs was redone, from the layout to the floors and windows to the bathrooms and kitchen cabinets and counters. Plumbing and electric lines also were replaced. They received a $30,000 grant from the Franklin Development Corporation in 2021 for the renovation of the outside, including the two new balcony windows.
The building is historic, built in the 1920s, and it served a number of purposes in the city. It was first used as a carriage house. Over the years, the building also housed the bus station, a Chinese restaurant, a tavern, the Indiana Water Company and a printing company.
Titled the “198 on Jeff,” the property has two loft apartments that can be rented separately, or together. The themes of both apartments, one called “Just a Stones Throw” and “Jammin’ on Jeff” center around music. Posters featuring different bands and artists, including Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley, hang on the walls. “Jammin’ on Jeff” has a wall decorated with records and a record player.
A highlight is the balcony windows, which can be opened to view and hear downtown Franklin. The two balconies overlook the amphitheater, so guests can hear summer concerts from inside the lofts.
198 on Jeff opened in mid-November, and it’s done well so far. With the holidays, the bookings have mostly been from people with family members nearby. Hicks expects business to pick up in the spring and summer, with the summer concerts and wedding season.
Hicks works in real estate, and venturing into the world of hospitality is new for her, she said. She does like interacting with guests, and sharing her favorite spots in Franklin with them, such as the best restaurants or places to visit.
“We love Franklin. I grew up here and my mom grew up here. My whole family is here,” Hicks said. “So it’s just nice to like think people can come and you know, experience all the cool stuff that we have going on.”
She overall thinks short-term rentals are good for the community and help the local businesses. With her background in real estate, she also doesn’t see the growing amount of these types of lodging affecting the housing market or the availability of homes.
There are only around a dozen of short-term rentals in the Franklin area, which is a small percentage of the available homes.
“I don’t think that there’s so much saturation that we’re losing now on actual homes, but I will say the real estate market in general has been a struggle for buyers and it’s because of the supply issue,” Hicks said.
A noble cause
Tucked into old town Greenwood sits a small stone house at 227 Noble St.
Hannah and TJ Knowland bought the house in October, with the intention of turning it into an Airbnb.
Hannah Knowland is a realtor, and she regularly works with investors who buy and manage Airbnbs, but she never managed one herself. She and her husband, TJ Knowland, saw an opportunity to invest in and manage their own.
“Some of my closest investors were also like, ‘Hannah, you can do this. You do it for us all the time.’ So we took that plunge,” Hannah Knowland said.
The house on Noble Street was a perfect location for them because it’s situated in downtown Greenwood, and also not far from Indianapolis. It also could be split into two units, to make a dual income. They rent out the main floor, with two bedrooms, and the finished basement, which also has a living room, kitchenette and two bedrooms.
The house for their Airbnb, which was built sometime in the 1950s, was not a huge fixer-upper, and many of the changes were cosmetic that they did themselves. They added wallpaper, new lights, and painted over some walls that were a bright lime green color.
Bigger projects ended up being in the kitchen and basement. The main floor kitchen was completely torn up and redone with new shelves, appliances and washers and dryers. New walls were put up in the basement, where the bathroom had no walls.
Funds from the rental also go to a good cause, close to the Knowlands’ hearts — helping young adults with mental and spiritual health.
TJ Knowland works as a family pastor at Greenwood Community Church, and he and Hannah Knowland interact often with many young adults and teenagers. With that, they often see many young adults fresh out of high school who struggle with adapting to life after school, whether that be mentally, spiritually or physically.
So, a portion of the funds from their Airbnb are going to helping fund young adults who need help with their mental, physical and spiritual health. That can be paying for a life coach or a membership at Crossfit, where TJ Knowland is also an instructor.
“It’s kind of frustrating that you have to spend money to be healthy,” Hannah Knowland said. “I don’t want that to ever be a contributing factor to people not being able to get help.”
Their Airbnb has been popular so far, after opening just before Christmas. They’ve had two guests already, and have some bookings out in April. They’ve enjoyed managing the rental themselves, so far.
“I love hosting and hospitality. I just love making people feel at home and helping,” Hannah Knowland said.
The couple hopes the eventually open another Airbnb in the future to continue supporting their cause.
“That’s our heart … I think the Airbnb opens up doors we didn’t think we would ever be able to open.”
