OCEAN SPRINGS, MS
A ‘bed and beer’ overflowing with hospitality
Photographs by James Edward Bates
The ugly green house on Holcomb Boulevard in Ocean Springs might seem like an unlikely place to spend a night away from home. Yet, when the front door opens, Jessie Zenor and her dog greet guests with a smile and an offer of a cold beer. And, soon, any road weariness disappears.
“People need something cold when they get off the road,” said the smiling hostess. “Sharing a beer gives people a chance to stop and talk and get to know each other.”
Jessie is part of a new movement that offers lodging alternatives to those who want to get to know the local culture better when they travel.
Jessie began renting two of the three bedrooms in her home through airbnb.com in June 2013. She estimates she’s had about 60 guests in her “bed and beer.” What she offers is a comfortable bed in a well-appointed bedroom, use of the home’s bathroom and kitchen and plenty of advice on places to go and things to do in the area. Guests come and go at their leisure, making themselves at home in the funky, fun home in the middle of a quiet neighborhood.
A transplant from Auburn, Ala., Jessie moved to Ocean Springs after Hurricane Katrina. She had graduated from the architecture program at Auburn University and gone to work for the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio.
“I worked designing houses that were stronger and nicer than what was here before the hurricane,” she said. “We started a language of building that included front porches on houses, 9-foot ceilings and more windows. We worked to improve the quality of life for the residents on the Gulf Coast.”
Meanwhile, she created a very rich and full life for herself.
Jessie purchased her 1962 mid-century modern home three years ago.
“The original owners decided to ‘update’ the house in the 1980s,” Jessie lamented. “They covered the exterior in hideous green vinyl siding and added a bay window to the front. So, now I call it ‘The Ugly Green House.’”
She has plans to rectify the ugliness on the exterior, but for now she’s slowly re-doing the interior, which features original wood parquet flooring in the living room and original linoleum floors elsewhere.
While she stresses that she doesn’t serve food, Jessie always has a good selection of beer in the fridge, and guests are encouraged to help themselves. If she hosts a party for her friends, her airbnb guests automatically are invited. Often, guests will bring in groceries and they all cook together. Jessie’s specialty is craft cocktails made from her eclectic collection of libations.
“My boyfriend and I traveled to the Florida Keys a few years ago, and we stayed in bed and breakfasts along the way,” she said.
She wasn’t sure if it would be successful, but, within a few days of listing her home on airbnb, a father and daughter from Germany came and stayed four days.
“I’ve also had a couple from England and a woman from Arizona who came with her dog, and we really clicked as friends. There was a lovely older couple from Illinois who came and stayed a month and a journalist from France who stayed a week,” she said.
By using the airbnb system, Jessie feels confident about the guests who book rooms in her home.
“There is a system where the guests rate the place and host, and the hosts also rate the guests, so everyone knows what they can expect,” she said.
She gives each guest a map she designed that indicates places to see, things to do and a list of restaurants and bars in Ocean Springs. Her list includes a barbershop and a yoga studio. Each of the listings comes with her personal recommendation and a line or two describing the place and, often, why she likes it. Guests also get an instruction page with house rules, such as where to put recyclables, how to work the temperamental clothes dryer, where to find necessities in the kitchen, how to work the TV and checkout information.
The Ugly Green House is just a few blocks from the beach and a short jaunt to the main part of town. Ocean Springs is a quaint, Southern town with a downtown that encourages walking to the many shops and restaurants. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art is on Washington Avenue. From the floor-to-ceiling murals in the adjoining community center (painted by Anderson himself in the early 1950s) to the revolving exhibits, the museum is a treasure. Shearwater Pottery, founded in 1928 by Peter Anderson, also is close. The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art and the new Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum are just over the bridge in Biloxi.
For more information, visit www.airbnb.com.
To Visit: Book your stay at The Ugly Green House Bed N Beer on Holcomb Avenue in Ocean Springs online at www.airbnb.com. The home offers two guest rooms for a minimum stay of one night. Guests have access to the kitchen and receive a map of places to visit in Ocean Springs. Weekly price: $275. Monthly price: $600.
“When my roommates moved out, I decided instead of getting more roommates, I’d try renting the rooms out to travelers. It’s been great because I’ve met people from all over, and many have become friends.”
Jessie Zenor
STORY Susan Marquez
PHOTOGRAPHY James Edward Bates
