A stripper pole under a glittering constellation of disco balls. Pop-art portraits pulsing from the bedroom walls. A rooftop hot tub overlooking the French Broad River.
These flamboyant features recently earned a River Arts District vacation rental a spot on HGTV’s “Zillow Gone Wild.” As part of the show’s “Rock Out” episode
, which aired Aug. 14, host Jack McBrayer visited the so-called “Bachelorette Pad” at 26 Upstream Way.Designer Ishita Lalan told HGTV that the space was meant to reflect the vibrant Asheville scene of “music, color, culture and art.” She said she took inspiration from her background as a set designer for Bollywood, the Indian film industry known for over-the-top productions.
Lalan’s work stretches across every inch of the
more than 3,000 square feet inside the three-story, four-bedroom property. Beyond the “adult-themed party room” in the rental’s converted garage, highlights include social media-friendly backdrops — with slogans like “Glitz, Glam, & Casino Vibes” — and a mural map of Asheville featuring many of the city’s breweries.
Tyler Coon, the real estate agent who represents the property for Asheville-based Savvy Realty, said HGTV reached out about featuring the property after it went viral on the "Zillow Gone Wild" Instagram page. He said the network crew was extremely easy to work with and filmed a number of other Asheville-area rentals while visiting in April, including the Earth & Sky Dwellings complex between Woodfin and Weaverville.
The rental’s owner, the Charlotte-based Asheville Affair LLC, bought the property for $1.19 million in May of 2024. It was listed for sale at $1.65 million in March, shortly before the Zillow Gone Wild episode was filmed, but is not currently on the market.
Coon said the property owner had seen weak interest from potential investors due to the impact of Tropical Storm Helene on the area's short-term rental market. The plan, he continued, is to relist later this year after seeing how rental demand plays out over the peak October tourism season.
What is a bachelorette pad worth?
This isn’t the first time that the bachelorette pad has attracted media attention. In February, Asheville-based urban planner Joe Minicozzi referenced 26 Upstream Way in a complaint before the state Property Tax Commission.
Minicozzi had argued that Buncombe County doesn’t consider the income potential of short-term rentals, instead assessing tourism-focused properties as if they were purely residential homes. Without capturing that value, Minicozzi said, the county was undercharging STR owners on property taxes.
For example, Buncombe currently values 26 Upstream Way at $706,000. But stays at the whole-home rental, listed on both Airbnb and VRBO, can go for upward of $1,750 a night during the peak tourist season. At those rates and Asheville’s average vacation rental occupancy rate of 54.7%, as recently reported by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority, the property could gross nearly $350,000 in a year.
Coon, however, told the Citizen Times that event cancellations following Helene severely dented the property's income, with nightly rates closer to $300 or $400 in the aftermath of the storm. The owner, said Coon, "launched something really amazing just at the absolute worst time in probably the history of Asheville to launch something like that."
Zillow estimates the property’s current value at about $1.55 million, while Realtor.com prices it at about $1.61 million. If Buncombe assessed the rental at the average of those numbers, the county would collect over $5,300 in additional property taxes.
The state property tax commissioners dismissed Minicozzi’s complaint in March, agreeing with Buncombe officials that the county’s methods of assessing property value followed North Carolina law. In 2022, Buncombe’s tax department had concluded there was “no legal pathway” to capture the income value of STRs in property assessments.
Daniel Walton is the City Government Watchdog Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email him at dwalton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: RAD 'Bachelorette Pad' short-term rental featured on HGTV
