So I’m supposed to fly out to Chicago tomorrow to celebrate my birthday in Wrigley Field with a bunch of friends.
Being the slacker that I am, I still hadn’t booked a room for my first two nights in town. So I headed to Expedia to try and reserve a room somewhere in the Wrigleyville area. Crap! Looks like there’s not too many options and even a crack shack like the Days Inn is $129 a night. Whatever, I tried to book it anyways. Sold out! Double crap 🙁
My next move was to log on to AirBnB.com to see if I could find a room. I’ve never used the service but found out about it from a girl I had been dating recently and she’d been using it to rent out a room in her house. She said it was pretty rad, and so far I have to agree with her.
Their website says this about themselves… “Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 33,000 cities and 192 countries. And with world-class customer service and a growing community of users, Airbnb is the easiest way for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.”
To be honest, I didn’t even look at all the options when I logged on. I took one look at the first apartment near Wrigley and clicked the reserve button. And get this… It was only $72 or something, which is half of what a dive motel would of been after taxes.
After a few quick setup steps like uploading my drivers license and connecting my Facebook profile, I was a member and had submitted my payment and request to rent the place for the two days. Within 20 minutes I got an approval for the owner and it’s done! I’ll update how the trip went and how the experience was once I get back.
Cheers,
Jason
PS: I asked my Facebook friends what they thought about AirBNB and they ALL overwhelmingly agree it’s incredible. You can read that post here – – -> https://www.facebook.com/jasonemoffatt/posts/143383219176227
Whether you’re backpacking around the country, or trying to save a few bucks while in town for a seminar, AirBnB appears to be an absolute gem.
PPS: If you’ve tried out AirBnB before, I’d love to hear your experience. Let us know in the comments below. Thanks!
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