Owners of home made famous in Twilight movies rake in $140K a year by renting property to obsessed fans
A pair of homeowners have turned a humble Oregon movie landmark into a money-making juggernaut by renting the property to Twilight-obsessed fans.
Amber and Dean Neufeld are reeling in as much as $140,000 a year in Airbnb bookings from diehard fans desperate to sleep where Bella Swan once brooded over her vampire crush.
The Neufelds paid $360,000 for the five-bedroom house immortalized in the $3 billion film franchise and their gamble appears to have paid off spectacularly.
The couple even paid $10,000 over the asking price, fighting off rival bidders with a heartfelt letter and a hefty down payment.
The couple now manages the property as a full-time gig, with bookings selling out in minutes and guests lining up to pose at Bella's green staircase or dine at her on-screen kitchen table.
Twilight exploded onto the big screen in 2008, and Bella's home, complete with its creaky floors and faded trim, became immortalized in vampire-movie lore.
Far from a typical rental, the 'Twilight Swan House' has become a pilgrimage site, its popularity now supercharged by viral TikTok clips and a fresh wave of Gen Z Twilight devotees discovering the saga on streaming services.
'Life was never the same,' Dean told Fortune, recalling the flood of requests that crashed Airbnb 's servers and forced the couple to manage bookings through their own website. Bookings sell out within minutes every quarter.
'I had come up and visited all the filming locations,' Amber said. 'When the house popped up on the market, I was like, "Oh my gosh, I know that house."'
Their $360,000 purchase included movie-accurate details, but the Neufelds poured another $20,000 more into refurbishing fixtures and recreating props, even scouring auction sites to find Bella's dining table and other set pieces.
Amber scoured the internet for authentic movie props while Dean clocked hours after his day job repairing floorboards, patching faucets, and fixing water heaters.
'I would go work my nine-to-five, and then I'd go to the house and be there from five until bedtime just fixing stuff,' Dean explained.
Fans now gladly pay about $400 a night to step into their teenage dreams.
'What actually happened, surprisingly often, was it was the teenagers - the second generation - getting into Twilight too,' Amber said.
Even after mortgage payments and upkeep, the couple says their profits top $60,000 a year.
But they also say that money isn't the only reward and they want to keep the house preserved for movie posterity.
Team Edward fans can 'sleep in the "lookout" room, overlooking the front yard, which is where Bella looks out the window to see Edward parked up
The hosts say encourage renters to recreate their favorite Twilight scenes including dining at Charlie's actual dining table that was used in filming
'What if somebody changes it, and we lose that filming history?' Amber said. 'I just wanted to save it.'
The AirBnb listing exploded following a viral TikTok in 2020 that showed a guest recreating the iconic scene of Bella peering out her window.
'Life was never the same,' Dean recalled. 'Our bookings were filled the moment they were open, and it's never slowed down ever since.'
Fans stay in bedrooms styled to match the movie, including Bella's actual bedroom, or the 'Jacob Black guest room.'
The couple invites guests to 'dine at Charlie's actual dining table that was used in filming', according to their listing, and encourages visitors to recreate their favorite Twilight scenes.
One second-generation fan told Amber, 'It was amazing to spend two nights where the Twilight movie was filmed. It was a dream come true.' Another guest added, 'Was unforgettable, was awesome! There are no words to describe the feeling and joy.'
The two-storey, four-bedroom home hit the market in 2019 for $349,900 but the Neufeld's paid $10,000 over the asking price in order to secure the property for themselves
The couple has refused to raise rates dramatically despite the wild demand, aiming to keep prices affordable for everyday fans while still investing in the house.
'We don't really want to charge more,' Amber explained. 'It's not just, "How can we make the most money?" It's really always been, "How much can we charge and still put money back into the house and pay the mortgage?"'
Even now, 17 years after Twilight debuted, its cultural bite seems unstoppable.
With Midnight Sun released, a fresh wave of Gen Z fans streaming the saga, and TikTok fanning the flames, the Swan House appears to be more popular than ever.
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