My home, your hotel

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This was published 12 years ago

My home, your hotel

Illustration: Michael Mucci.

Illustration: Michael Mucci.

For those who can handle strangers under their roof, Airbnb brings technology, tradition and travellers together, writes Melissa Singer.

HOW much would it take for you to open your house to a complete stranger - to let them poke in your medicine cabinet, use your dishes and then sleep in your spare room?

For some people it could be as little as $20 a night, especially in an area bursting with cheap accommodation. But in the middle of a Sydney summer, when rates at even shabby hotels are high, home owners and renters with space could find an easy way to subsidise the groceries, electricity bills or their own travel.

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The reasons for renting our spare room were about 80 per cent financial, 20 per cent social. But when we're travelling, the priorities are reversed. On a recent trip to Barcelona, we could afford a four-star hotel but liked the idea of "living" the city and not just observing it through rarified air and buffet breakfasts (watery scrambled eggs, anyone?).

After considering house-swapping and couchsurfing, we decided to try airbnb.com, a space-sharing website with listings ranging from a mattress in Brooklyn for $10 a night to a Californian holiday home that would set you back $5000 a day.

Airbnb, literally "the bed and breakfast of the air", started three years ago when a group of housemates in San Francisco realised they could make a few shekels by renting their spare room to conference delegates.

The business has spread to 186 countries and in July was worth more than $US1.3 billion.

Airbnb co-founder, Brian Chesky, says the website offers a new way to do something old-fashioned.

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"My mum thought we were crazy [to start the business]. My grandfather said, 'Of course - I used to stay in people's homes'," he says.

"We're using technology to bring back an old tradition."

Being the guest

There are 1498 listings on Airbnb for accommodation in Barcelona, so it was important to narrow the field. You can refine by area, price, whether the accommodation is shared or private and by keyword.

We ended up with a shortlist of six apartments that met our basic criteria. In Barcelona, proximity to a Metro stop is an absolute must, so it pays to have access to a good map while you hunt.

For security reasons, Airbnb won't provide the actual address of the apartment until you've booked but it gives you an idea within four or five blocks, or you can ask the owner for a more precise location.

We chose an apartment in the El Born area, known for its eclectic mix of restaurants and shops.

It also had lift access (great for those heavy suitcases), an in-room Nespresso machine and - the clincher - a bird of paradise feature wall in the living room.

The downside of booking on Airbnb is you have to pay upfront for the room. With the Australian dollar improving against the Euro before our trip, we probably paid a few more dollars than we would have on the day. The upside of this system is that Airbnb holds on to the money until 24 hours after you check in, in case anything goes wrong. (Chesky says the number of bookings that go awry is very small.)

Thankfully, our apartment was like the photos, only better. Our host, Miguel, had prepared a set of keys, maps and restaurant guides, and two bottles of mineral water waited in our room. After a quick tutorial on how to use the washing machine, we were ready to unpack.

The beauty of staying with a busy host was that we hardly saw him, so we didn't feel like we were invading his space or had no privacy.

Over the five days we would have used the kitchen twice (mainly to make tea) but it was nice knowing it was there.

Being able to wash and hang clothes is also a major drawcard for an apartment over a hotel, unless you're happy to pay $5 apiece to use a laundry.

Of course, staying in someone else's home means you have to clean up after yourself - washing dishes and keeping the bathroom tidy usually suffice; there's no need to get out the broom and mop unless that's made clear before you arrive.

Hosting

The trouble with housemates is you never really know what they're like until about two weeks after they've moved in - and it's usually too late to kick them out. The same goes for hosting guests on Airbnb, so it's important to set ground rules before accepting bookings.

Our first potential guests were a couple from New York who were coming to Sydney for work reasons. Since he was a doctor and she was a nurse, we assumed they would be clean, trustworthy and - a bonus - able to stitch up any kitchen accidents. To prepare the room, we emptied the cupboard - not really necessary if guests are staying only a night or two - and made the bed with hospital corners and rolled-up towels, to give it a hotel feel.

Everything was ready and then a freak snowstorm delayed their arrival by two days. They decided to extend their stay, so there was no need to refund them the days they missed (Airbnb has a range of cancellation policies).

After their initial stay, they travelled to Queensland and asked if they could move back with us on their return. Could we live for 2½ weeks with another couple? Could we use the $2500 for our European holiday? You bet.

There were many positives: hearing stories about the medical profession, sharing a double-date seafood dinner (they chipped in for the food and wine), having somewhere to stay should we find ourselves in Albany, New York.

But it wasn't a total picnic. There was the extra cleaning we had to do and their two laptops chewed through our broadband cap and added to our already soaring electricity bills.

We resolved that while we'd do it again - having two bathrooms is a definite plus - it's unlikely we would host a couple.

Our listing meant that singles pay the same rate as couples, only with half the mess.

Do's and don'ts

- Do background checks on prospective guests. Facebook and other sites might hint at whether they like heavy-metal music or could baulk at your vegetarian diet.

- Set a competitive price but don't undersell your place. Extra guests means higher electricity and water bills and it's taboo to charge them for cleaning, so factor it into the nightly rate. Use homes like yours as a guide.

- Leave reviews for guests and hosts. Websites such as Airbnb survive on "reputation banks", so leaving feedback is essential to build trust between users.

- Respect people's privacy. Looking in someone's pantry is fine in a communal kitchen but your host's bedroom and en suite are off limits.

- Don't overcommit. Two weeks is a long time to live with a stranger, so consider shorter bookings, especially if you're new to the concept.

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