We're Open: Wyo Stays Launches in Sheridan Wyoming with The Pearl

The scissors were sitting on the table by the door, still wrapped in their plastic sleeve. Someone had set a candle beside them — sage and pine, the kind that smells like driving through the Bighorns with the windows down. Outside, Coffeen Avenue was doing its usual Friday-afternoon thing: pickups pulling into the lot at Albertsons, a couple walking their dog past the office park, the mountains going blue-gold in that late-summer light that only lasts about forty-five minutes before it's gone.

Inside, the room was filling up. Chamber Ambassadors in their vests, neighbors from down the street, a few friends who'd been hearing about this idea for months and wanted to see it become real. The kava was poured. The food was out. Someone had propped the front door open because Sheridan in September still feels like summer if you catch it right.

September 6, 2024. Wyo Stays cut the ribbon. The Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce was there to make it official. The candles were lit. The Pearl — the first property in the collection — was open and ready for its first guests. This is the story of that day.

How Wyo Stays Came to Be in Sheridan Wyoming

Dalton Goodyear started hosting guests in Sheridan County in 2017 — long before Wyo Stays had a name, an office, or a ribbon to cut. By 2020, that experience had crystallized into something bigger. He founded Wyo Stays with a simple conviction: Sheridan deserved a locally-owned vacation rental company that operated like a real business — not a listing aggregator running on autopilot from another state, not a platform that takes 15% from guests and another cut from owners and calls it hospitality. Sheridan deserved someone who'd answer the phone at 10 p.m. when the furnace acts up. Someone who'd know which trail to recommend and which restaurant just changed its hours.

Goodyear built Wyo Stays as a licensed, insured Wyoming vacation rental brokerage — the kind where the managing broker lives in Sheridan County, the office is at 2047 Coffeen Ave., and the whole operation is built around one principle: guests book direct, owners get professional management, and the community gets a company that actually shows up.

Joining the Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce on September 6, 2024 — seven years after that first guest check-in and four years after founding the company — wasn't a marketing move. It was a statement of intent. In a small Wyoming city, a Chamber membership means your neighbors know where to find you. It means you're accountable to the community you serve. That mattered from the start.

The Launch Day — September 6, 2024

The ribbon cutting happened on a Friday afternoon — the way these things go in Sheridan. The Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors lined up with their oversized scissors and their genuine smiles: Gail Symons, Jim Schellinger, Jack Wood, Yvonne Swanson, and Nick Cordingly. Dalton Goodyear stood in the middle with the Wyo Stays team. Someone counted to three. The ribbon came down. The room clapped. And just like that, it was official.

But the real texture of that afternoon came from the local businesses that helped bring it to life.

Nakamal served kava drinks — the Sheridan-based kava bar that brings a Pacific Island tradition to downtown Wyoming. If you haven't tried kava, imagine something earthy and grounding, the opposite of a cocktail buzz. Nakamal is the kind of business that could only exist in a town that rewards people who do something genuinely different. Their presence at the launch felt right — independent, interesting, deeply Sheridan.

Olha's Market provided the food. If you've lived in Sheridan for any length of time, Olha's needs no introduction — it's one of those beloved local institutions where the food tastes like someone cared, because someone did. The platters disappeared faster than anyone expected, which is the only review that matters.

Wyo Candle Co. handled the atmosphere. Wyoming-specific scents — sage, pine, mountain air, the kind of thing that makes a room smell like the Bighorns after a rainstorm. Every candle burning that afternoon was theirs, and the room smelled like Wyoming.

Three local businesses. One launch party. The whole thing felt like Sheridan.

The Pearl — Where Wyo Stays Begins

Every collection starts with one property, and for Wyo Stays, that property is The Pearl. It's the one that crystallized the vision — what a vacation rental looks like when it's managed by people who care about the details, the guest experience, and the character of the place itself.

The Pearl sits within walking distance of Main Street Sheridan — close enough to stroll to the Mint Bar, grab dinner at one of the restaurants on the strip, or wander into Luminous Brewhouse for a pint. Step out the back and the Bighorn Mountains fill the horizon. It's the kind of location that makes you wonder why you ever considered a chain hotel.

Inside, The Pearl is elevated without being pretentious. Wyoming-specific aesthetic — not themed, not costume-y, just genuine. The kind of place that makes guests feel like they've arrived somewhere rather than merely checked in. Clean lines, warm textures, the right amount of character in every room.

You can Book The Pearl direct — no channel fees, no platform service charges. Book Direct — No Channel Fees. That's the whole model. Or browse the full Sheridan Wyoming vacation rental collection to find the right fit for your trip.

What Launch Day Meant for Sheridan Wyoming

The launch didn't go unnoticed. Sheridan Media ran coverage the following week, and SheridanWyoming.com published a feature on the new brokerage and what it means for the local vacation rental landscape. The Instagram post from the ribbon cutting pulled in comments from across the county — neighbors, fellow business owners, people who'd stayed at The Pearl during its soft opening and wanted to congratulate the team publicly.

In a city the size of Sheridan, a Chamber ribbon cutting isn't just a photo op. It's a public declaration of intent. It says: we're here, we're accountable, and we plan to stay. The Chamber Ambassadors who showed up that Friday weren't doing a favor — they were welcoming a new member into a community that takes its commitments seriously.

The town showed up. Because Sheridan does that. When someone opens something real — not a franchise, not a satellite office, but a business rooted in the place — the community responds. That's not marketing copy. That's just how it works in a town where you run into your guests at the grocery store and your Chamber Ambassador at the coffee shop.

What's Next for Wyo Stays in Sheridan County

Since that September afternoon, the collection has grown. More properties across Sheridan, Story, Dayton, and the surrounding foothills. Each one selected — not listed. The model hasn't changed: licensed brokerage, local team, book-direct pricing, and properties with genuine Wyoming character managed the way they should be.

If you own property in Sheridan County and you've been thinking about what professional, licensed vacation rental management actually looks like — not a listing on someone else's platform, but a real partnership with a local team — the conversation starts at wyostays.com. No pressure, no pitch deck. Just a straightforward conversation about your property and whether it's a fit.

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