Blue Wahoos Airbnb Experience Leaves Guests With Lasting Memories

New Airbnb Dates Are Available: Book Your Stay

Local restaurant owner David Barry had circled the annual road trip with several employees on July 5 to see the Atlanta Braves play the Los Angeles Angels.

“I really wanted, so bad, to see Mike Trout play,” said Barry, owner of Smokey’s Real Pit Bar-B-Que on Pensacola Boulevard.

Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic and baseball’s uncertain shutdown changed plans.

But the alternative proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime thrill when Barry and nine others, including both his sons, became the first booked guests May 31 to enjoy the Blue Wahoos Airbnb experience at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

Barry and his former Tate High baseball teammate, Kirk Waters, 57, joined with younger guests most of who were Barry’s employees, to stay on the field for hours taking batting practice. They enjoyed dinner in the stadium’s Better Homes & Garden lounge, played table tennis in the clubhouse, told stories around the card tables, and relived boyhood joys.

They gave the experience a perfect 10-out-of-10 rating on their post-stay survey.

Their feedback?

“Thank you for making us feel like kids again."

Their stay began an opening week of reservations which has included 10 active military members staying at the stadium on the second night, a couple families joining with their children on another night, and a group of young adults in their 20’s on the fourth night.

Bubba Watson, the PGA Tour star and Blue Wahoos co-owner, joined with his two kids for a specially-arranged stay before the reservations began.

When reservations officially opened online on May 23, Barry’s wife was among the first wave of people to book a night. They learned about the Airbnb, the nation’s first of its kind at a professional sports team venue, through the Blue Wahoos Facebook page.

Bailie Tate, the Blue Wahoos group sales executive, who is managing the Airbnb reservations, informed that the first reservation night, a Sunday, was available.

“When this opened it up it was really a no-brainer,” said Barry, who took over ownership of Smokey’s from his father, who began the business. “When we first looked, every Saturday night taken. And we wanted to Saturday, because (Smokey’s) is closed on Sundays and we wouldn’t have to get up for work.

“But it’s great to be the first ones. You would have never imagined this. You would never think you could do something like this. It’s awesome.”

Their experience brought together different generations. Two of the guests that night were West Florida High players. Six were Smokey’s employees.

“Every year, I take a group to Atlanta on a Sunday to see a Braves game,” Barry said. “We all meet at my house in Molino and head out. So we were planning to do that again.”

But Plan B turned out well.

The 10 men stayed in the converted bedroom area, which is separate from the clubhouse. It has two queen-sized beds, four sets of bunk beds, a kitchenette area that includes a refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave and multiple flat-screen televisions.

“You can’t beat this,” Waters said. “It’s the ultimate thing.”

The entire clubhouse was renovated in the winter with new carpeting, painting, leather couches, wood-grain lockers, new televisions, a new ping-pong table, plus an X-Box gaming unit.

Reservations are being booked through June and the plan is to continue the Airbnb throughout the summer and fall.

“I’m going to tell you, it’s impressive,” Waters said. “The whole set up is impressive. Getting on the field was great. You just don’t get that kind of opportunity. It is really nice.”

Both Barry and Waters have attended multiple Blue Wahoos games each season since the franchise began in 2012. They have a special appreciation for Blue Wahoos co-owners Quint and Rishy Studer, who enabled the Double-A franchise to happen through Southern League membership and now affiliation with the Minnesota Twins.

“I know Quint has gone through some struggles in getting this (stadium) built and to happen. And all those issues,” Barry said. “But I am a huge believer in Quint Studer. Because he puts his money behind it.”

Added Waters: “He’s a Pensacola guy.”

Both men have loved baseball since their childhood days growing up in Pensacola. When the two were playing at Tate, it was part of the city’s most glorious era in baseball.

Jay Bell, who became a major league star and is now manager of the new Southern League member, Rocket City Trash Pandas in Madison, Ala., was a senior on Tate’s team when Waters was a freshman.

The two also remember competing against Jim Presley, who went from Escambia High stardom to MLB success.

Former New York Yankees manager Buck Showalter, who helped Century High School (now Northview) win a state championship, often stopped at Tate during his playing days on way to spring training.

Tate’s coach back then, Floyd Adams, was among the prep legendary coaches.

“We used to hate to see him coming, because he always had new and ‘exciting’ ways for us to run sprints,” Waters said, laughing, a 1981 Tate grad. “Coach Adams would pull all of us off the field to watch him hit line drives. He could hit line drives harder than anyone I ever saw.”

Waters daughter, Amy, was a standout softball player at Tate and Alabama-Birmingham. His son-in-law, Cody Henry, was a two-sport star at Catholic High.

He now has grandkids involved in youth baseball.

“I have lived my life at the ballpark,” Waters said. “A smart person told me a long time ago that baseball brings a lot of people together. You meet your best friends at the ballpark.”

Both men laughed at how they can no longer throw and play all day long. In fact, Barry said his wife provided one reminder as he left to begin his Airbnb experience.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” he said, laughing. “Kirk and I are probably the only ones here (that) day whose wife told them that.”

New Airbnb Dates Are Available: Book Your Stay