Modular Prefab Cabins for Hospitality Operators
This week, we're diving into modular, sustainable prefab cabins that are transforming connections to nature and hospitality experiences.
Our guest is Vlad Dubovskiy, founder and CEO of ELMNTL, a Boulder, Colorado-based company crafting adventure-ready dwellings for landowners and operators building retreats and micro-resorts.
A former data scientist, Vlad built his own tiny cabin in the Colorado Rockies, sparking ELMNTL in 2017.
The focus: configurable cabins, saunas, and wellness add-ons handcrafted with biodegradable materials to get more people into the wild.
If you've dreamed of launching an off-grid getaway or high-ROI resort blending into stunning landscapes, this is for you.
Anastasia: Vlad, thanks for joining us.
Vlad: Thanks for having me here!
Anastasia: I love your website. Was it built on Webflow?
Vlad: Yes, it was! As a quick aside - we chose Webflow because it shares some of the same principles of ‘modularity’ as we do.
You can select pre-made components and mix and match them to build the website you want fairly easily. It was a pretty cool fit because we want to bring that kind of ease and simplicity to cabin fabrication.
Anastasia: Yep, it's very customizable. Well, let's jump right in. ELMNTL has made waves with its modular Shelter cabins.
Can you start by sharing what inspired you to found ELMNTL, and how your passion for the outdoors shaped the company's focus on prefab dwellings for hospitality and retreats?
Vlad: Yeah, it’s personal. After years as a data scientist in New York, I couldn’t ignore the pull to the wild anymore.
I quit, taught myself to build a tiny home, and hit the road - months waking up in national parks, living simply on the land. There’s nothing like stepping outside with coffee and feeling completely part of the landscape. That changed how I see space, simplicity, and what actually matters.
Everywhere I went, people stopped me - asking about the build, wanting something similar. I met landowners with deep ties to their property and great stories, but no clear way to share them with others.
That’s how ELMNTL started.
We make modular cabins and saunas that let people turn personal land and stories into thoughtful hospitality - tools for sharing a place, a way of life, and real connection to the outdoors.
Anastasia: I love your story. What makes your modular cabins stand out in the crowded tiny home and prefab market?
Vlad: Several things:
We see our cabins as a blank canvas for creating real, memorable hospitality experiences - not just another prefab box.
They’re designed to sit super lightly on the land: minimal posts, or cantilevered on slopes so you barely disturb the earth.
Built like tanks for all seasons - 195+ mph winds, heavy snow loads, killer insulation (think luxury-home level), and 100% up-to-date code compliant.
We run the whole show end-to-end: zoning, permits, fabrication, delivery, install, keys in hand - no headaches for you.
Highly customizable layouts and finishes, but everything arrives as one complete, ready-to-set-up system - like ordering a great car instead of a messy build.
We prioritize stuff that lasts: tough, simple materials and details that handle mud, weather, boots, and time - aging beautifully instead of chasing trends.
Anastasia: I love that you are managing everything end-to-end. I am sure other hosts do too.
Who is your primary target audience: hospitality operators, individual property owners, or developers? And how do these services help them achieve high ROI on modular resorts or ADUs?
Vlad: Our clients want to create something thoughtful and personal.
Most are small operators building micro-retreats, a few cabins, or meaningful places to share. We also help design nature-connected full-time homes.
We start with the land: views, light, weather, privacy. That changes the experience and adds lasting value.
Our prefab cabins focus on memorable stays: big openings, seamless indoor-outdoor flow, saunas, outdoor baths, cooking, gear storage - all pre-planned and ready.
Clients skip build chaos and get turnkey spaces, whether one cabin or the start of a portfolio.
Small, well-designed hospitality is the future: more personal, creative, and story-driven than big operators can be.
Anastasia: Experience-first design is the key here!
Now, guide me through the process; for example, if I want to order a prefab cabin from your firm, how would it work step by step, plus timeline?
Vlad: We try to make the whole experience enjoyable and not intimidating.
It usually starts with people exploring our site and playing with our interactive configurator - choosing models, layouts, materials, and features to get a real sense of what their cabin could become. It’s meant to feel intuitive and a little fun, not like a technical hurdle.
From there, we connect one-on-one to talk through their land, their goals, and how the cabin will actually be used. We help refine the details, make smart decisions around layout and materials, and then lock everything into a clear, fixed-price plan so there are no surprises.
Once that’s set, we build the cabin in our Colorado facility while the client handles basic site prep.
When it’s ready, we deliver it, set it in place, and get hooked up to utilities.
The entire process - from first conversation to a finished cabin on site - can happen in as little as four months.
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Anastasia: Can I order just one cabin?
Vlad: Absolutely. A single cabin is often where it all begins.
Our entire system is designed to work just as well for one thoughtful build as it does for larger projects.
Many of our clients start with a single cabin - sometimes for personal use, sometimes as their first hospitality venture - and grow from there when it feels right.
We’ve built our process to support that kind of flexibility, whether someone is testing an idea or creating something just for themselves.
Anastasia: Your modular platform allows single cabins to expand into connected units or full micro-resorts.
Can you share an example of how a client has grown their setup over time, and what advice would you give someone starting small but aiming for a larger hospitality venture?
Vlad: We see this a lot. Someone starts with a single cabin - often just one thoughtfully placed on their land - and once they see how people connect with it, they choose to build from there.
We’ve designed a whole series of breezeways or deck-connected cabins at this point as proposal to clients. I hope you’ll get to tour one of these connected units soon.
For anyone starting small, my advice is to focus on intention, not scale.
Big hospitality has budgets; small operators have attention.
When you’re building something personal, you can care deeply about the details - how the space feels, how it’s used, how people slow down in it.
That kind of thoughtfulness is what stays with guests and what allows a place to grow organically over time.
Anastasia: I am with you on this one. Start small and build from there. How do customers typically finance such cabins?
Vlad: It really depends on the client, but most people use a mix of funding sources.
Some are working with private investors or business loans, especially if the cabin is part of a hospitality project. Others finance through home equity, which can be a flexible option when the property already has value.
We also partner with Figure, which offers HELOC-based financing that can be used toward our cabins.
In addition, we help clients prepare the documentation they need - budgets, scope, timelines - so they’re in a strong position when speaking with lenders or exploring financing options.
Anastasia: And if I am building a micro resort and I want 5 cabins at once, can you deliver and how long will it take?
Vlad: We regularly work with clients building multiple cabins at once. When someone is developing a small resort or retreat, we plan the project as a single production run, which lets us streamline fabrication and keep timelines efficient.
For orders of five units or more, we offer volume pricing and schedule the builds together so everything moves through our shop in sequence. In most cases, we’re still able to deliver within our standard four-month production window, even at that scale.
Anastasia: Got it. What are the main challenges that you see with prefab homes?
Vlad: There are many challenges with prefab homes that utilize multiple modules jointed together for a larger home, as they still rely on significant amount of site work and finishing at site.
However, ELMNTL focuses exclusively on single module delivery (sometimes connected by a breezeway or a deck), which is like buying a car or a piece of furniture, so our logistical and cost challenges with site work are tightly controlled and those cost tend to be predictable.
Anastasia: Any projects that currently use your prefab homes?
Vlad: We have a few out in the wild! Pick your state: TX, UT, CO, VT, WA - we’ve got them all over the place.
You can check some here.
Anastasia: ELMNTL also integrates adventure elements, such as gear mounts for skis and bikes, thermal bathing units like saunas and cold plunges, and rooftop decks.
Can you walk us through the assembly process for these cabins and how the modular system allows for easy expansion or relocation?
Vlad: These adventure add-ons are meant to attach to our cabins like LEGO blocks.
Each piece is engineered to connect cleanly to the core structure, either at the time of installation or later on, depending on how someone wants to grow their setup.
That flexibility is on purpose. It allows owners to start small, learn how people use the space, and then build outward in a way that feels natural.
Because everything is modular, cabins can be reoriented, expanded, or rearranged as needs change. You can start simple, then add pieces over time as your use evolves - without tearing anything apart or starting from scratch.
Anastasia: Looking ahead, with the wellness retreat trend growing, what innovations or expansions are in the works for ELMNTL: perhaps new models or tech integrations?
And how do you see modular dwellings evolving in the next few years?
Vlad: What we’re really chasing is making it way less painful to go from ‘cool idea’ to ‘built thing.’
Too many great hospitality concepts die in the mess of permits, sequencing, surprise costs, and guesswork about what actually works. We’re focused on killing those barriers.
Product-wise: faster builds, more flexible systems, predictable results.
Business-wise: using every project to give the next operator better intel from day one - what layouts win in certain climates, where guests actually hang out, what lasts.
Long term, we want ELMNTL to become the backbone for lots of small, thoughtful places.
Anastasia: Do you have a spot in Colorado where we can check the cabins in person?
Vlad: Absolutely. We have a fully complete and ready-to-ship Shelter S2, available to tour at our shop in Lyons, CO.
We recently showcased this cabin as part of the Marriott Bonvoy Outdoor Collection expo. We'd love to see this hotel-grade cabin operating - and earning - on a property that can put it to use right away.
A few highlights of this S2:
Wrap-around glass designed to maximize views
Sauna + hot tub attachment compatibility
Floor-to-ceiling windows
Fold-away wall for seamless indoor-outdoor flow
Coffee bar behind the headrest
Casement window in the shower
Steel frame for quick and simple installation anywhere.
We’d love to organize a tour for your readers.
Anastasia: That’s awesome, thank you. And the last one: what would be the best way for someone to connect with you?
Vlad: They can visit our website or email me at vlad@elmntl.io.
Anastasia: Thank you, Vlad, for sharing such an insightful look into ELMNTL and the world of modular, sustainable cabins.
Vlad: You are welcome, and my pleasure.
A quick note for Unique Stays readers:
Vlad mentioned that ELMNTL currently has a Shelter S2 cabin model available and ready for delivery.
This is a fully built hotel-grade cabin.
Detailed specs of the cabin can be found here:
If it’s on your radar, reach out to him and mention my name - it’ll unlock a special $25,000 savings for Unique Stays readers.
This cabin is available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
If you know someone who is interested in prefab homes, or will find this article interesting. Please forward it to them.
That's all for today.
Till next week, dear readers.
