Tiny house rental startup Getaway scores $15 million in funding

The tiny house movement just got a colossal endorsement. Getaway, a Harvard Innovation Lab startup that builds and rents petite cabins for getting away from it all in the woods, recently closed a round of funding to the tune of $15 million.

This is a significant step up from the $1.4 million it secured in seed financing, the company told CNBC. Stressed out city-dwellers can nab a tiny cabin for as much as it costs to stay in a hotel, but unlike a hotel, these cabins are ideal for enjoying a minimalist, stress (and wi-fi)-free escape from the daily grind. The cabins even include a lockbox for your cellphone so you won’t even be tempted to take a peek.Getaway first emerged in 2015 with three 160-square-foot cabins, which it wheeled into undisclosed locations across the wilds of New England. The mystery—and spontaneity by proxy—is part of the allure, although Getaway says it strives to place its abodes within a two-hour drive of a major city. Backing the round of funding is L Catterton, a private equity group that has thrown its clout behind more than 80 consumer-facing brands, including Bliss,Edible Arrangements, Pepe Jeans, and Sweaty Betty.

At $99 a night, a Getaway stay costs about the same as a hotel. You won’t have to sleep too rough, either. Each fully furnished mini-residence comes with fresh linens, shower products, and kitchenware, plus coffee, tea, and a variety of pay-as-you-eat snacks.

Although current locales are limited to Boston and New York, the fresh injection of funding will allow Getaway to seek pastures further afield, which is great, because people across the country are finding themselves wanting a way to live a simpler existence – even if it is just for a weekend.

“We have thousands of people writing in from around the country asking to nominate their city,” Jon Staff, Getaway’s founder and CEO, told CNBC. “The game for the next year and beyond is trying to get to as many of those people as possible.” Taking a break from tech life is important for mental health, but very few people actually do it. Getaway, on the other hand, has been booked nearly solid since launching in July 2015 in Boston, proving that if you build it, people will come.