Here's another great travel resource if you're watching your pennies and would prefer a more home-grown vacation experience: rent a room from a local through AirBnB, an online marketplace for peer-to-peer traveling. AirBnB enables people to earn money by renting out their extra space — be it a room, a couch, terrace or rooftop. They list their accommodations, put up a bunch of pictures, and set their price per night. Simple! You, as the traveler, get to browse through the options in your destination city...
According to the Daily News:
AirBnB co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk, 26, said he and two friends came up with the idea in 2007, when they realized they could rent out spare rooms in their San Francisco apartments to attendees at a big design conference held there. Business is booming, fueled by residents hoping to make extra cash and visitors in search of bargain digs, he said. AirBnB's biggest market is New York, Blecharczyk said. The site has some 800 listings in the city, with as many as 50 new ones put up each week. "New York rents are really expensive," he said. "This is allowing people to hold on to their places." And for travelers, $100 is a pretty good deal for a night in a New York penthouse, even if it's just a tent on a rooftop.
We were very impressed with a lot of the spaces we came across. Most of the pictures were really clear and gave a good overall sense of the apartment and the owner's aesthetic. And it was pretty affordable, too. Prices averaged around $85/night, even for trendy locations like Williamsburg, Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan. (Which may sound outrageous, but is a bargain for New York.)
And personally, we love seeing pictures of people's homes! Just scrolling through the New York apartments gave us plenty of eye candy.
Check it out at AirBnB's website. And let us know if you've ever done this, and what your experience has been!
Via Daily News
Photo: Christine's "Slice of Brooklyn" in Gowanus, Brooklyn, available for for $70/night.
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This looks AMAZING. Thanks for the heads up!
I live in Kentucky and right around Derby people flock to our city. I don't know anyone that has used AirBnB but some friends and family members rent extra rooms and guest houses. Just a warning to anyone considering renting that sometimes things can get trashed and stolen. Including old glass doorknobs original to the house (who does this?).
Renting to business men or someone headed to a conference might not be so bad, even the heavy gamblers that head down here for the races are pretty good people. It was a regular Joe, in town to have fun with his friends that stole the hardware from the house. Just make sure you interview the person, and if you get a bad vibe, pass.
I am one of those people who fantasize about someday running my own B&B -- nothing fancy or anything, just an adorable, rustic cottage in Oregon's Willamette Valley with an overflowing organic vegetable garden out back and perma-cat in the front window, sunning himself. My guests will come from Seattle, England, Brazil and Japan and we'll share travel stories over a pot of coffee and huckleberry pancakes out on the porch that overlooks the rolling hills of the vineyard next door...
Yes, I have given this whole B&B thing some serious thought.
Whenever I travel, homestays and B&Bs are my lodging of choice. I really like the concept of AirBnB, and am set to use it for the first time for an upcoming trip to NYC. But I think outside of expensive cities like NYC or London the prices are kinda steep. (For example you can get a 4-star hotel via Priceline for $69 downtown Seattle right now. Compare that to what's offered in Seattle on AirBnB, and it's the W Hotel that starts to look like the bargain.)
Another great way to cut costs when traveling is to arrange bed and breakfast homestays. In an effort to fulfill my own B&B fantasies, I created a network called Casa Casa, where travelers stay in each other's homes, eat a home-cooked breakfast, and pay a small gratuity of $15 a night to their hosts--a fraction of the cost of a real bed and breakfast. Check it out at http://www.casacasa.org.
Beware of Airbnb!
This site has taken off like wild fire but be aware of the risks. Behind the pretty facade there's little real structure or organisation. They do not offer any sort of protection and are not interested in helping resolve problem situations. And problem situations will come up believe me, in which case you are on your own. I have had a terrible experience with them. Following a failed reservation I was left out nearly $1000 and Airbnb just walked away. Be aware of what you're getting into. These people are just out to make money on your back.
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.