About us
One handyman, one apartment, and a lot of stays since.
Blue Bayou Stays manages every place on this site directly. There is no call center between you and the person responsible for your stay.
Bellaire · Garden Flat
How we started
I started out as a handyman. When Covid hit and the work dried up, I had to find another way to make a living.
That is when I came across Airbnb and rental arbitrage — leasing a place, furnishing it properly, and hosting it well. I took on one property, then another. Little by little it grew into what Blue Bayou Stays is now.
What I learned along the way is the part that stuck: hospitality is not about sales. It is about service. Nobody remembers a listing description. They remember whether the place was clean when they opened the door, whether the bed was comfortable, and whether someone picked up the phone when something went wrong at eleven at night.
Hospitality is not about sales. It is about service.
Raul · FounderThousands of stays later, I am still hosting, and I still handle it the same way. Every property on this site is one we manage ourselves. When you call, you reach us.
What we hold ourselves to
Three promises, and what happens if we miss.
Standards are only worth stating if there is a consequence attached to them.
Clean when you open the door
Professionally turned over between guests and inspected before your code goes live. If it is not right, tell us and we will have someone there the same day.
Priced the way it was listed
The number you see includes utilities and internet. No resort fee, no cleaning surprise at checkout, no charge for the parking spot that came with the unit.
Someone answers
A real person is reachable for the length of your stay, not a ticket queue. Locked out, no hot water, neighbor trouble in a shared home — one number, any hour.
Who stays with us
One night or one season, the door works the same.
Most of our guests are in the middle of something. Plenty are just in town for the weekend.
Traveling medical staff
Thirteen-week contracts near the Medical Center, furnished and ready on day one.
Families between homes
Closings slip and renovations run long. Space for four, with a kitchen and a washer.
Working stays and relocations
A private room for a few weeks while a job starts or a lease gets sorted out.
Visitors and weekends
In town for a game, a graduation or one night between flights. Short stays are just as welcome.
How we compare
Between a hotel room and a stranger's spare key.
An honest read on where each option is strongest. Hotels genuinely win on some of this.
| Blue Bayou Stays | A hotel | A big rental platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When something goes wrong | One number, any hour, answered by the people who manage the unit and can fix it. | A front desk that can usually help, then a manager, then a corporate line. | Message the host and wait. Platform support is a queue, and it does not hold the keys. |
| The space itself | A full kitchen, a washer, a living room, a door that closes on the rest of the house. | A room and a mini fridge. Reliable, but you eat out and you pay for laundry. | Anything from excellent to a converted garage. You find out on arrival. |
| What it costs | Utilities and internet in the rate. No cleaning fee at checkout, no service fee on top. | Nightly rate plus parking, resort fees and incidentals. Priced badly past a week. | Nightly rate, then a cleaning fee and a service fee added at the last screen. |
| How long you can stay | One night to several months, with weekly and monthly rates built in. | Any length, but the cost climbs in a straight line the whole way. | Whatever each host decides. Minimums and extensions vary listing to listing. |
| Who else is around | Every guest ID-verified, including everyone in a shared home. | Anyone who books. Staffed lobby, which some people prefer. | Depends entirely on the host's own screening, if they do any. |
| Housekeeping | Cleaned and inspected before arrival. Mid-stay cleans on request for longer stays. | Daily, and this is where a hotel genuinely beats us. | Once, before you arrive, and you were charged a fee for it. |
Come stay
Tell us what you need and when.
We will tell you honestly whether we have something that fits, and say so if we do not.