Imagine that you travel to Andalucia in Spain and the 'hotel' you stay is an airstream trailer home located in the middle of nature. Or you spend your annual leave in Chile, and your residence is Elqui Domos, where the roof opens into the night so you can gaze deep into the night sky high in the mountains, hundreds of miles away from any light pollution.
These sort of unusual accommodations are available on the website Airbnb, a company that has attracted attention for its novel business model of linking individuals looking for places to stay with people who have space to rent - a kind of for-profit Couchsurfing.
Established in August 2008, Airbnb, headquartered in San Francisco, has thrived as a result of its quick expansion and wide-ranging resources.
Airbnb offers rental housing from people in over 34,000 cities and 192 countries. They are often not profession hoteliers. In fact, the name Airbnb is a humorous reference to renters putting a cheap air bed in an extra room and letting it out for extra money.
Photo: IC
Photo: IC
Holidaymakers can get the keys to typical homes in places they visit for a price competitive with hotels. Photo: Courtesy of Wang Lin
Necessity is the mother
The idea for Airbnb came to the company's two founders, Nathan Blecharczyk and Brian Chesky, when they couldn't afford to pay rent on their apartment one month. To solve this crisis, they decided to add a couple of inflatable air beds in their flat and rent the empty rooms to people who came to San Francisco for short-term business trips.
The concept expanded, and now the Airbnb website lets you rent out your spare room, sailboat, treehouse or remote cabin like a bed-and-breakfast.
"Airbnb is about making human connections, sharing and travelling. We're a trusted Internet community for people to list and discover exciting and interesting accommodations (villas, boats, tree-houses, castles) around the world. We believe that traveling is the most fun when you can travel like a human and live like a local," according to the company's promotional material.
Touching down in Beijing
Fly By Knight Courtyard Hostel, a member of Airbnb, is a beautifully renovated, traditional Chinese courtyard house. "The hostel was opened two years ago and has attracted quite a few foreign tourists because of its Chinese characteristics and easy access to public transportation," said the manager, Tian Cuiqing, 32. "One of the reasons I chose Airbnb as an advertisement platform is its rating system. Most of the hotel booking websites only allow tenants to leave their comments on the hostels, yet in the system of Airbnb, the hostels have the right to evaluate the tenants as well," Tian explained. "It's much fairer for both sides because the system can avoid untrue feedback."
A tenant of the hostel, Jacky, said in the comments section on the website that the place was a little tricky to find. "But this place is gem. The old-style building takes you back to ancient times. The architecture is world class. The rooms and shower facilities are fantastic."
Yet Jonathan, an Australian restaurateur who traveled to Beijing this April, mentioned the drawbacks. "It isn't cheap (you could get a 3-4 star hotel room, but without the character); it's a bit of a walk to transit and they haven't got a system with taxis to call one for you; it's a bit knocked around the edges and breakfast was pretty ordinary."
In the sprawling city of Beijing, there are around 500 Airbnb accommodations. The cheapest is a bed in a five-bunk dorm room at Minzu University, the university for ethnic minority students. The most expensive is a fully appointed five-room traditional courtyard home. Many places on Airbnb are not like professional hotels, but more like staying in someone's home as a guest. For example, room cleaning service is not always available.
In addition, because each interaction is directly between the renter and the landlord, there is room for negotiation. At Fly By Knight, for example, tenants can negotiate for a free room. "For example, we once had a couple of foreign artists and writers as tenants. If they could have a short-term class for our employees, we won't charge them an accommodation fee," said Tian.
People can now rent out their spare rooms or unused properties to travelers using services like the American company Airbnb. Photo: IC
Going local
Yan Xing, 26, an emerging Chinese artist who travels all over the world for his exhibitions, once rented a house in Philadelphia, which cost him 2,000 yuan ($335) per night. "I can say that it was the most amazing discovery for me this year." Yan says that he can find much better or more unique deals on Airbnb, and prefers it to hotels.
Another new fan of Airbnb is Wang Lin, a freelance stylist based in Beijing. She recently took a 10-day trip to the American West. "The hosts of the rental houses made me feel at home. They kindly told me a lot of local tourist information," Wang added. "My purpose of having a trip in the US is not only for relaxation but for meeting some interesting people with various careers."
She said she has long fantasized about living in an American-style house, and Airbnb fulfilled this dream. She added that she is amazed by the openness of American culture. "I spent one day in Santa Barbara. The hostess was a 80-something-year-old lady. She told me that she had a boyfriend 40 years younger than her. And that's exactly what I want! Beautiful scenic spots are good, yet those people you encounter during your trip are the most interesting experiences for me," Wang said.
She paid less than 6,000 yuan for ten days of accommodation, she said. "The value for money was extremely good." She chose not to stay in youth hostels or do Couchsurfing. "I need privacy because I travel by myself."
Wang was surprised that some Americans renovated their home so they could rent the empty rooms to tourists. "Some hosts choose to give the newer rooms to the guests."
Airbnb is now developing its Asian market, a move that Tian predicts will be well received. "It's a trend. More and more Chinese are willing to be backpackers, so I think it will be good if there are more places to rent," said Tian. Since Airbnb is already very well-known in America, "You have to make the reservation as soon as possible, or you'll stay in a place that you aren't fond of," said Tian. Airbnb says it is quickly flourishing in China. So far, most of the properties for rent in Beijing are rooms, apartments and courtyards, but that could change as the business grows.