A 15 second TikTok video changed everything, said Rick Barongi, the founder of Longneck Manor in Fredericksburg.
Barongi, who served as director of the Houston Zoo for 15 years, opened the 100-acre animal conservation and overnight suite in September. Longneck Manor was averaging one or two bookings per week before it was featured on txvacation, a TikTok account with 1.5 million followers that highlights travel destinations in Texas, last week.
About 2.3 million likes and more than 13,000 comments later, Barongi’s phone is still ringing off the hook. Longneck Manor is now completely booked through 2022 after the post, which is by far the most popular post on the account with 21 million views.
@txvacation Imagine a place in #texas where you can wake up with #giraffe and rhinos outside your door ? @longneckmanor ♬ The Lion Sleeps Tonight – Vittorio Fraja
“So we just got flooded for two days, three days, everything got booked,” Barongi said. “People were getting frustrated because it looked like the calendar was open, but somebody else was booking it just before they could press the button.”
Even amongst a plethora of bed and breakfast locations in Fredericksburg, Longneck Manor sticks out because it allows guests to interact directly with the animals on the barn. You can see a family of three giraffes, including one female named Betty White, outside of your second floor window and participate in supervised feedings downstairs. The facility is also home to three male rhinos, called Fred, Barney and Justin, a two-toed sloth and two dogs — Drifter and Boone.
Longneck Manor hopes to expand its stable of animals in the coming years.
Courtesy Longneck ManorThe $900 per night two-story barn takes only one booking at a time with as many as 5 guests. Longneck also does two tours per day. It’s a private, luxury experience, Barongi said.
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“So you walk in and you look to your left and there’s a giraffe staring at you when they’re inside,” he said. “Sometimes they come right up to the window… that opens up during the day where the giraffes can stick their nose in and their tongue and they can sit in the living room and feed the giraffes under supervision.”
Eventually, Barongi hopes to offer more beds. Phase II of his plan includes building another barn inside the giraffe exhibit with six suites and a balcony, allowing a direct interaction. He also expects to grow his stable of animals. Barongi could have another giraffe sometime next year and hopes to build a rhino barn where he can have host females as well.
The animal conservation is home to three male rhinos.
Courtesy Longneck ManorThe massive influx of revenue after the viral TikTok video will help him accomplish Phase II — guests are required to pay upfront.
“The good news is, I’ve got a sustainable business now, and people really appreciate what we’re doing,” Barongi said.
chris.shelton@chron.com