About Virginia Guesthouses

Fifty Years Serving Central Virginia

Guesthouses, also affectionately referred to as VA Guesthouses or Virginia Guesthouses, was founded in 1976 when two women had the unique idea to rent gorgeous homes as vacation properties. These women were cutting-edge, creating this concept before Airbnb existed and during the revolutionary year of 1976, the Bicentenial anniversary of The United States and the same year Apple and Microsoft were created. After 50+ years in business, VA Guesthouses continues to stand out as a hospitality provider serving guests and homeowners of Central Virginia.

A Stay for Every Traveler

We host guests at over 80 unique vacation rentals, inns, and hotel properties, and our local Charlottesville property management team is here to help you choose the right accommodations for your needs. In fact, past guests tell us they are grateful to speak with a real person at VA Guesthouses when choosing the right place to stay in the greater Charlottesville area.

Whether you are attending a wedding at a local winery, relocating to our area soon, visiting your student at UVA, doing business, visiting Shenandoah National Park, or exploring our local attractions, Guesthouses will help you book the best place to stay in Charlottesville, VA. We manage properties in Charlottesville and the surrounding areas, going east to Keswick, Northeast to Orange, West to Crozet and Staunton, and South to Nelson County and Wintergreen.

If you are interested in renting your home, please contact us today.

Guesthouses History

Created in 1976, Guesthouses Reservation Services in Charlottesville, Virginia emerged at a pivotal time in the hospitality industry — where travelers wanted a more personalized and comfortable stay everywhere they went. 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 nearly fifty 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.

Quotes from the Archives

“It is not alway so important for a breakfast to be 'full' as it is to make it interesting: having fresh ingredients — fresh fruit, a fresh pot of coffee, and croissants or home-made muffins. The way breakfast is served is important: try to make it an elegant, fun way for the guests to start their day”  — October 25, 1985 Newsletter

“Guest especially appreciate: *Real coffee (not instant) — a percolator is a small investment well worth the money... Besides, America is heavily into nutrition these days, and some regard soft white bread as a sin.” — Newsletter