SEATTLE — My flight is early, but so is Timothy Miller. Even before I’ve deplaned, he texts that he’s in the Sea-Tac Airport waiting lot.
Miller and I have never met. But I recognize his shiny black Fiat 500 from its photo on the car-sharing site RelayRides. I climb in, and after dropping him off at his house, drive off in his car.
Minutes later, my cellphone rings. “I was supposed to check your license,” he says. “You’re already down the hill?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, well,” he responds.
My first takeaway from the peer-to-peer marketplace: It is a trusting space.
It is also a rapidly expanding space. Travel-oriented P2P websites — those that allow travelers to rent lodging, cars, sports equipment and more from individuals, along with sites that link visitors with locals for tours, meals and other experiences, are gaining traction.
From websites such as CouchSurfing, which pairs budget travelers with locals who have a spare sofa (or bed), to OneFineStay, which offers “distinctive” rentals and provides some hotel-style amenities (such as professional cleaning), the P2P industry generated an estimated $3.5 billion last year.
Some offerings, like Easynest, a site that enables travelers to cut hotel costs by rooming with a stranger, clearly aren’t for everyone. But others, like Airbnb, are edging into the mainstream. Launched in 2008, it now has 550,000 listings for rent in 35,000 locales worldwide.
Seattle-based Karen Bayne calls Airbnb “a brilliant idea whose time has come.” The retired Boeing employee began renting her garage-turned-efficiency apartment via the site two years ago and declares the experience “fabulous.”
It’s one of two places I’m staying during a mid-January entirely peer-to-peer-based foray in the Emerald City. Bayne, who lives upstairs, makes herself as available — or as scarce — as she thinks her guests would like. She has left a bowl of fruit and snacks on the counter. There’s also a stack of Seattle-centric books and videos. And a refrigerator full of breakfast fixings (which goes beyond the Airbnb mandate) makes this feel like a BB minus the agony of small talk with strangers in the morning.
Not only has Bayne made acquaintances from far-flung parts of the globe, her $85-a-night studio, usually booked solid from mid-May through September, provides bonus income.
The unseen Seattle
The collaborative-travel trend may be enabled by technology, but the troubled economy of recent years has fed its growth. Tonio Tello started his tour company, Immersus, after the bank he worked for went bust a few years back. He’s back at work full time but continues to conduct tours on the side.
I’ve contacted him via Vayable, a P2P site that promises homegrown experiences with locals. After giving me a rundown on the Seattle bus system, we set off for the artsy Fremont neighborhood for a two-hour, $35 walking tour. There’s a stop at Gas Works Park, where the clouds lift briefly for a knockout view of downtown. From there, we make our way into Fremont, stopping at a brewery jammed with locals on a Saturday afternoon. We partake of the generous samples at Theo Chocolate factory and check out statues of a giant Vladimir Lenin and a bridge troll in this quirky neighborhood.
“There’s nothing wrong with touristy places,” Tello says. “But there’s a Seattle beyond the Space Needle and Pike Place Market. It’s a Seattle of interesting neighborhoods. Besides, you don’t need a guide to do downtown,” he adds, handing me a map of the area.
Vayable’s offerings tend to be from people who have day jobs, says founder Jamie Wong. And they don’t necessarily consider themselves traditional guides.
“It’s a whole new generation of freelancers who are cobbling together a living by sharing their expertise and passion,” she says.
But P2P exchanges go beyond economics, Wong insists. “With person-to-person, there’s a human connection. … There’s something more idealistic.”
I suspect Chip Dong Lim hopes that’s true. The University of Washington student has just lugged his Trek bicycle down four flights of stairs to where I stand waiting outside his apartment building. I’ve rented it via Spinlister, a site that matches cyclists and skiers with equipment rentals. At $15 a day, Lim’s price undercuts the bike shop around the corner by half.
The P2P launch pad
In exchange for a commission from the owner (and in some models, such as Airbnb’s, from the renter, as well), P2P sites provide the platform from which to market, schedule and pay for the services. They address security by verifying the identities of owners and renters and by soliciting post-rental reviews from both. (P2P lodging and car rental sites generally provide owners some form of insurance.)
On the minus side, booking P2P travel can be time-consuming — renters must be approved by owners, which can require some back and forth. There’s the inevitable flake factor — I requested a couple of dinners from MealSharing but never heard back. Likewise, a half-dozen tour requests via multiple sites went unanswered. And those who aren’t into social-media-style sharing — many P2P enterprises use Facebook registration or request personal details — may find the process off-putting. After all, would Holiday Inn ask “Tell us a little something about yourself” before letting you check in?
What P2P does offer are travel goods and services that might not be available in the conventional rental marketplace at what could be better value. Seattle RelayRides listings, for instance, range from $25 a day for Zachary’s 1997 Toyota Corolla to $240 a day for Gregory’s 2006 Porsche 911.
The cost of Miller’s Fiat 500 is $39 a day — about twice the rate of a compact car rented at the airport. But, as RelayRides CEO Andre Haddad points out, if I’d rented at the airport, I’d probably be driving a PT Cruiser.
Besides expanded options, “it’s connection that people appreciate … having someone pick you up at the airport curb,” he says. “And that connection makes people feel more responsible. They’ll take care of (the vehicle) as if it was their own car.”
When I pull up outside Miller’s house for a lift back to the airport, he looks at his car and comments, “It’s really clean.”
Of course it is. He knows where to find me.
If you go
Travel-centric peer-to-peer businesses are popping up all over the Web, matching travelers seeking lodging, transportation, tours and more with locals willing to share (for a price). Here’s a sampling of what’s out there.
Lodging
Airbnbhttps://www.airbnb.com/ — The granddaddy of short-term P2P lodging sites has 550,000 listings in 35,000 locales. Guests pay a 6% to 12% commission, plus a cleaning fee where noted.
Roomarama https://www.roomorama.com/ — The Singapore-based company advertises 120,000 listings in 6,000 locales, many of them in Asia and Europe.
FlipKeyhttp://www.flipkey.com/ — Owned by TripAdvisor, the site lists 250,000 vacation rentals in 12,000 destinations, primarily in North America and Europe. Renters pay a 5% to 10% commission.
OneFineStayhttp://www.onefinestay.com/ — The site offers “curated” properties in London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles, adding hotel-like touches such as premium linens, bath amenities and professional cleaning.
Transportation
RelayRideshttps://relayrides.com/ — The site has P2P car rentals in about 275 U.S. locales. (Arrangements are made directly between owners and renters, but most offer airport pickup.) Owners set the rate and pay a commission to RelayRides.
Lyfthttp://www.lyft.me/ — The on-demand ride-sharing service operates in 19 U.S. cities. Users request rides from vetted drivers via a mobile phone application.
FlightCarhttps://flightcar.com/ — The service lets travelers rent their cars while they’re out of town. IT operates near the San Francisco, Boston and Los Angeles airports. A similar service, Hubber, http://www.drivehubber.com/index.html operates from the LA airport. RelayRides also has an airport-based car-sharing service near the San Francisco airport.
Experiences
Vayable https://www.vayable.com/ — More than 5,000 homegrown tours and other experiences are offered in 600 locales worldwide, from neighborhood tours in Seattle to cooking classes in Singapore.
Withlocals http://www.withlocals.com/experiences/eat/ — The just-launched site has 300-plus listings for meal sharing, tours and other activities in seven Asian nations.
Meal Sharing http://www.mealsharing.com/ The site offers the chance to get a dinner invitation from locals in 425-plus cities
Sports equipment
Spinlister https://www.spinlister.com/ The site matches travelers looking to rent bicycles, skis and snowboards with owners willing to rent theirs.
Boatbound https://boatbound.co/ Rent everything from from kayaks to yachts on this site, which pre-screens renters.
Sleep with a stranger -- and save
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét