Engineer Builds Rental Business: Ohio couple turns cave into cash; social media drives bookings

An Ohio engineer’s decision to trade a conventional career for an unconventional hospitality business has turned a wooded property in Hocking Hills into a lucrative vacation rental destination. Bryant Gingerich, who founded Dunlap Hollow with his wife, Amy, transformed an old cottage, a contemporary A-frame and a natural cave into distinctive holiday homes. According to Fortune, which reported on the business in January 2025, the three rentals generated more than $700,000 in annual revenue, with net profits exceeding $350,000. The property listings on Airbnb and the business’s official website offer further insight into how the unusual stays have been developed and marketed.From a wooded property to a hospitality businessGingerich’s journey began with a 34-acre parcel in Ohio that offered a combination of rugged terrain, sandstone formations, woodland and natural features. Although he was trained as a mechanical engineer, his interest in construction and design made the land an opportunity to build something beyond his regular professional life.He and Amy acquired the property with financial assistance from family and a local lender. Their first project was an existing cottage that...