Growing up, Vanessa Shively, co-owner of Slumber Shack, did a lot of camping. With so many fond memories of being out in nature with her family, away from the distractions of our day-to-day, she wanted that for her own kids.
Last year, Shively and her husband, Tim, a local Queen Creek family of five, purchased Slumber Shack from a couple in Gilbert. The founders originally started it with the idea of giving kids this creative, new way to have sleepovers.
Serving Arizona’s Metro Valley area, Slumber Shack offers two modified RVs for your next special event. Shack one sleeps up to 10 people and shack two sleeps seven. Slumber Party Package and the Campground Glamping Package are the two options you can choose from.
They take care of everything from towing to set up and cleanup. With both packages the shacks will come cleaned, sanitized, and the beds will be made with fresh linens. The propane and water tanks will be filled, they’ll ensure the AC and heat are working properly, and all the electronics from karaoke to Just Dance will be set up.
Whether you’re at a campground or have the shack parked in your yard, they’ll have their generator running to ensure you have a comfortable stay. They’ll set up a little outdoor seating area for all your guests, and if you’re camping, they’ll make your reservation and bring along a grill and chairs. Every stay has its own personalized touch.
“We’ve done parties with unique individuals that really just want something special. We try to make sure that when they first walk in it screams their vibes. From the pillows to the banners, beds and music, everything is geared towards them,” Shively said. “We really get to know our customers… we ask them, ‘can you tell us about the guest of honor?’ Then we’ll have a personalized message board so when they walk in they see their name and all of their favorite things.”
They used to have a pop-up camper that they’d take up north with their kids to get out in nature. It was a lot of work, but they got good at it. Seeing how much work it was, and all the equipment needed to tow a 7,000-pound RV, they wanted to help others.
“The main idea is for us to make it easy for everyone to just get outside with their favorite people,” Shively explained. “This way you can have the party or the glamping trip. We set everything up for you, you party, and then we take the mess away. It’s convenient.”
When you book with Slumber Shack you get to choose your theme. Boho rainbow, football, under the sea, super heroes, Tiffany blue and bling, TikTok and happy camper are just some of their options.
“The guests show up and they're jumping and screaming and you know that they’re about to have a great time. And then, the next morning, the parents are still happy because their house is clean and quiet and we just tow away the mess,” Shively said.
When they originally purchased the Slumber Shack, the couple wanted to make it their own.
“People were so used to the Slumber Shack the way the previous owners started it. But, after a while, we realized that it just didn’t have our look, our brand, and we wanted to make it our own instead of just continuing what they were doing. We wanted to take it to the next level,” Shively said. “I’m a very artistic person and I somehow wanted to wrap that into it.”
They reached out to a local artist on Facebook. “We told him that we wanted it to look like overnight someone came and tagged it, like you’d see on a train car… That we had woken up the next morning like ‘oh, someone tagged us,’” Shively explained. “That street art is the look we wanted.”
Down the line they’re hoping to incorporate the shacks with a glamping campsite. Instead of them going to the guests, they’d have this setup with different glampers, offering that full desert experience. The whole environment would be stationary and ready to go.
Since it is such a unique experience, people have reached out to them from across the country to ask if they deliver there or know if there’s a Slumber Shack in their state. They’re working to perfect their business plan so they can share that with others and the concept can spread across the country. They enjoy being the trailblazer. With no hidden fees, it’s an affordable option when looking for a getaway.
“Someone had ‘Shack is no shack’ as the first sentence in their review, and I thought that was exactly what we were going for,” Shively said. “The hardest thing was rebranding, but it was also our most exciting success. We think it looks awesome. When we drive down the road, you can see people taking a second look trying to figure out exactly what it is. And we’re like, ‘yup, it’s doing its job.’”
For the Slumber Party Package, shack one costs $575 to reserve and shack two costs $495. For their Campground Glamping Package, shack two costs $595 for the weekend. Add-ons are available when making your reservation.
For more information or to book your Slumber Shack, visit their website at theslumbershack.com.
