Airbnb – A Peer to Peer Housing Rental Marketplace

Posted on January 17, 2013 by The Young Urban Unprofessional

Over the past few months I’ve been doing a lot of reading about this peer to peer housing rental company called Airbnb. I first heard about them via this weekly email digest that I get from EscapetheCity.org (these guys are also awesome, check them out). I thought it was a clever idea but I had no idea how enormously popular it actually was until I dug a little deeper into their website. After looking into more I feel truly left out and I plan to get involved as soon as possible.

What is it?

Airbnb is a peer to peer marketplace for home/apartment rentals. It’s a great idea that at first I considered to be pretty niche. How many people in the world would really go stay at a complete stranger’s house? Apparently, there are a lot of people. Since the company founded in 2008 there have been over 5 million bookings in 30,000 cities in 192 countries. Impressive to say the least.

This is the basic homescreen of Airbnb. Just search the city and the dates that you need housing.

How does it work?

As the apartment owner or lessee you can put your couch, bedroom, apartment, or entire home up for rent online. As the traveller it is very easy to find places to stay because there are Airbnb accounts all over the world. You can rent anything from a penthouse room in Paris, to hammocks in Hawaii, to igloos in Alaska, to treehouses in Thailand, or even Castles in Greenland. You can also rent fairly normal places too but where’s the fun in that?

Why not stay in a tree house next time you're in Thailand?

This is probably my favorite booking that I've found so far. An igloo in Germany? Do it for the story (DIFTS).

Is it affordable?

If you’re simply traveling for business or going on a weekend getaway, it’s very easy to find an affordable apartment or room to rent for a few nights. Unless you’re looking for something super exotic, the prices are far cheaper than staying in a hotel. I think that this is a major selling point for a lot of people. When looking around Boston I found hundreds of properties under $100/night which is far cheaper than staying in a hotel downtown.

Here's an example of a very nice place in Boston's South End that runs for $86/night. The apartment owners have had 62 five-star reviews. I'd say their trust-cred is pretty high.

What about trust?

The prices are a nobrainer but where most people get concerned when I talk to them about it is with the trust issue. Couldn’t Airbnb be a great place for rapists, thieves, and generally bad people to hang out and stalk their prey? Maybe, but as a 6ft tall 180lb man who doesn’t really own anything of significant value, I’m not overly concerned about theft or safety. Rightfully, most people are concerned about those issues so Airbnb and other similar companies in the sharing economy have developed great ways to instill trust in their systems.

For example, each property listed not only includes the host’s picture and their bio but it also includes reviews and ratings from people who have stayed there in the past. This goes both ways so the property owner can also see the profiles, ratings, and reviews of the renters themselves and can choose to deny them if they don’t like what they see. As a renter, I am much more likely to stay in someone’s apartment who has had 100 positive reviews than someone who has had 10 positive reviews and 5 bad reviews. This is not much different than buying something on ebay or Amazon where online reputation is either a deal maker or a deal breaker.

You can also sync your Airbnb account with your Facebook account so you can see how you’re connected to that person. I was surprised to see how many bookings in Boston were connected to friends of mine. You could easily then contact your friend to ask about the property owner. Additionally, concerning the theft issue, Airbnb offers $1M in insurance in case there is an incidence of theft or vandalism. If you’re not convinced then take a look at their Safety Page or just do your first few rentals with a friend. Travelling alone is lame anyway.

Thiago and Niles have had 86 five-star reviews and they're actually friends with one of my friends on Facebook. After doing some due diligence I feel pretty safe about staying with these guys.

Why am I interested in Airbnb?

I am a yuppie 20-something who has high rent, likes to travel, and has student debt. If I could rent out my room a few nights each month and offset the cost of my rent or reduce my student debt than that’s a win in my book. Conversely, when I’m traveling I live by the mantra “Do it for the Story” or DIFTS so I would have a much better story to tell if I rented a treehouse in Thailand than if I stayed in a resort. Also, I’m just really interested in the whole concept of peer to peer marketplaces so I’m excited to start experimenting with Airbnb. It’s a bandwagon I should have jumped on a long time ago.

Meditation Week #2 – A Yuppie’s Reflection on a Pilgrimage to Israel

Posted on June 13, 2012 by The Young Urban Unprofessional

This week’s reflection meditation experience was 180 degrees different from last week’s guided meditations on YouTube. Almost exactly one year ago, I went on a religious pilgrimage to Israel with a group of people from my church. It was a truly incredible experience packed with new knowledge and a renewed sense why I believe in my faith. It still seems that I have more questions than answers but this trip was certainly a step (or a leap) in the right direction. While I was there I took copious notes during the day on the places we went and people we talked to. Each night before bed I would write in my journal, synthesizing the notes from that day. I knew that this would be an experience I’d look back on for a long time so it was worth spending the extra hour each night to put it in my journal.

Hammock session watching the sunrise over the Sea of Galilee while we stayed in Tiberias.

Now, fast-forward one year. I had meant to type up my notes and distribute them to my pilgrimage group but I only got about halfway through my notebook before it got lost in the shuffle of life. Also, I hadn’t spent a whole lot of time reflecting on the trip since our plane touched down back in Boston last year; I had some thoughts here and there but no serious time was spent reflecting on what happened and what I thought about all of it. So I figured that my meditation month would be a great way to revisit and relive that experience. Luckily, two of my meditation days were up in New Hampshire.

A sunny summer day at the Tufts Mountain Club's Loj, a pretty ideal place to meditate and reflect on my trip to Israel.

Another sunny day in New Hampshire. The bank of the Pemigewassett River was a pretty ideal place to meditate.

I decided that I would spend 1/2 hour meditating each day by reading one day’s journal entry from Israel and then meditating on the time/place/smells/people/knowledge/etc in that entry. Last week I did some hour-long meditations but that seemed a bit aggressive and it was a real struggle, both to stay focused and I started to get pains in my knees and ankles from sitting cross-legged for that long. The half-hour sessions were perfect, just enough time to get into some deep thought without having to stay focused for a full hour. Also it was easier to fit it into my daily routine. Here’s a glimpse at where my mind was over the past week:

Meditation 1 – Traveling to Israel and Visiting Calvary. It took us about a full day to fly to Israel and even in my meditation I could remember the sights, smells, and initial reactions I had when I stepped foot in the old part of Jerusalem. We stayed in the old city near the Church of the Holy Seplechre where it is believed Calvary was (i.e. where Jesus was crucified)
The Church of the Holy Seplechre down the street from our hotel, it was built around Calvary where Jesus was Crucified.

Meditation 2 - Bethlehem. Again we went back to the site of Calvary early in the morning, this turned into a daily occurrence because it was so close to where we were staying. Then we spent the whole day in Bethlehem which was my first time that I caught a real glimpse at what is meant by Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Bethlehem is an Israeli city but it is located in Palestine. As an Israeli male in Bethlehem you cannot go in or out without a Palestinian passport (except tour groups apparently), thus the unemployment rate is 70% and there’s a large drug/alcohol/crime problem within the city
Me hanging out on a roof in Bethlehem.

Meditation 3 – The Temple Mount, Mount Zion, and the Pools of Bethesda.We got a lot of history on this day from our tour guide (thanks George!). One image that stuck in my mind was that during those days at passover, 250,000 sheep would be slaughtered (one for each family) as a sacrifice for their sins. The blood was channeled into the Kidron Valley. This image stuck in my mind as I remember being in the Kidron Valley and wondering what it would look like (and smell like) to have the blood of a quarter million sheep running through it. Also, it looked like there could be some rock climbing there as well (return trip?)
The Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, where the Muslims believe that Mohammed ascended into Heaven.

Meditation 4 – Bethany, Mount of Temptation, Jericho, and Tiberias. On this day I renewed my baptism in the Jordan River, rode a camel, and saw some nomads. More importantly, I started to better understand some of the New Testament stories like the Good Samaritan and Lazarus coming back from the dead on the 4th day. They are stories you hear constantly if you’ve grown up in the church, but actually being in some of these places with someone who is very knowledgeable about religion and history it helps the stories become very real, amazing really.
The tomb of Lazarus in Bethany.

Meditation 5 - Today I honestly forgot to meditate. I woke up late-ish for work, worked, went on a lunch-time bike ride with some guys at work, worked again, went home with enough time to shovel a PB&J into my mouth and then headed to the climbing gym. I didn’t get home until about 10:30pm at which point I ate some food, showered, talked to Sarah on the phone for a few minutes, and then passed out. It was a great day with good friends and good exercise but I failed on the meditation piece which was the whole point of this month: slow down and spend some time in my own mind.
Meditation 6 – Magdala, Cana, and Nazareth. This was the day I realized that in order to really experience Israel I had to live here for at least 6 months. The amount of information and stimuli was too much to really soak in within the timeframe we had. Again it was another day full of history and visiting key areas from the New Testament. One aspect I spent a lot of time meditating on was when we visited a church built by Pope John Paul II (the first pope in the past 200 years to visit the holy land, wow) which featured mosaics of Mary and Jesus from each country of the world. The idea was to portray that everyone was welcome here to this church in Israel no matter where you came from. It was interesting to see a Chinese or African Jesus, when in fact he was an Aramaic Jew. The United States had a particularly awful piece of art, not only was it not a mosaic like everyone else, it made Mary look like the white witch from Narnia
A mosaic done by the Chinese of their depiction of Mary and Jesus.

This is the U.S. rendition of Mary and Jesus, not only is there no Jesus, Mary looks like the witch from Narnia, ugh, really guys?

Meditation 7 – Capernaum and the Mount of Beatitudes. This day was cool because we got to ride a “Jesus Boat” across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum where Jesus did most of his adult teachings and healings. We then spent some time meditating (of all things) on the Mount of Beatitudes. It was an amazing day and the trip was only half-over at this point.

The Temple in Capernaum where Jesus spent most of his time teaching, basically the 3 years before he was condemned to death. It was rebuilt to the exact same specifications by the Byzantines in 300AD, so the real church is about 4 feet below this one

It was amazing how easily reading my journal brought me right back to these places I visited a year ago. If you keep a journal I definitely recommend trying it. Read one of your entries and then spend 20-30 minutes sitting with your eyes closed just going through your memories. What did those events mean to you then, what do they mean to you now, and what might they mean to you in the future? I definitely found value in revisiting these experiences via meditation. I feel like reflecting and meditating on this trip/life experience in Israel was almost as important as going there itself. I don’t know if it’s something I’d do every day but certainly it’s something I think I’ll mix in on a semi-regular basis, especially when I’m outside in nature, I’ve enjoyed those meditation sessions the most.

Next week for me is chakra meditation. I’m not sure how much I buy into the concept of aligning your 7 chakras via white light cleansing energy but I’m always interested in trying new things and having new experiences. We’ll see how it goes, wish me luck.

Resistance Bands on the Charles River Fitness Park

Posted on May 31, 2012 by The Young Urban Unprofessional

Having just come back from Hawaii, the last thing I wanted to do today was to workout inside. So I went for a short 10 mile bike ride. However, having already done a bike ride this month I decided to stop at the Fitness Park located along the Charles River to get in some alternative exercise. I brought my roommate’s resistance bands and did a shoulders/biceps/triceps workout. For those of you who think resistance bands are for sissies, guess again. You can make them as easy or as tough as you want depending on the strength of your band and/or the tension you create for yourself. I got a good burn going on my muscles and my muscles were shaking by the end of each set. We used to use them all the time when I played high school and during my brief stint in college as well. They are great for strengthening things like rotator-cuffs for example. You can also get a good burn doing just about anything as long as you’re doing it right (i.e. consistent tension in the band throughout the range of the exercise, if the bands go slack you’re doing it wrong).

Using a heart rate monitor for the first time during a resistance band workout I found that I should probably mix in some type of cardiovascular component next time. My min/max/average heart rates were 67/96/125, so pretty low intensity as far as heart rate goes. I was feeling a serious burn in my muscles but I wasn’t exactly working my lungs at all. It would have been great to do one set of shoulders/biceps/triceps and then jump rope or do abs as a way to get my heart rate average up overall. I felt ok with not doing this today because I had already biked 10 miles so I figured that was good enough cardio for the day.

I meant to bring the bands with me on my trip to Hawaii so I could get a workout done in the airport but I totally forgot and left them at home. I would definitely bring these on travel with me as a way to get a quick and effective workout in my hotel room instead of using the bogus equipment usually found in hotel workout facilities. I’d also use them for rehab as well if I were injured. For example, my roommate had shoulder surgery a while back and he’s been using them pretty consistently to regain strength. I used them last summer when I aggravated my shoulder 2 months into the P90X+ workout program. A mixture of rest (i.e. no shoulder exercises) and resistance band workouts helped me to move past the shoulder issue. I’m even thinking of getting a set of bands to keep at my desk at work for those times when I’m sleepy at the end of the day, getting the blood flowing is a great way to wake back up.

I like resistance bands because they are light-weight, low-maintenance, and can be used inside or outside to give you a serious workout so I definitely approve of using them as a way to stay fit and augment your normal workout routine.

2-1-12: Muslims in Nepal

Posted on February 3, 2012 by The Young Urban Unprofessional

I was traveling around the world on an extended sojourn to learn about myself and experience other cultures. I found myself in the mountains in Nepal. I wasn’t high up on a snowy peak but rather at some type of base camp with dirt still under our feet. We were surrounded by behemoth yet majestic mountains. I had been travelling for a while on my trip so far and I had this sentiment of really learning about myself and the rest of the world outside of the North East United States: various cultures, foods, terrain, environments, etc. I had been staying with a group of locals and a couple of other travelers and it was morning, we were preparing to do our chores for the day. All of the sudden the loud speakers turned on, it was the call to prayer, it was then that I realized I was in an entirely Islamic community. Immediately everyone laid down their mats and began to pray toward Mecca. I was the only one who wasn’t praying. I remember internally debating whether or not to join in while I was living here and really learn about this culture that I’m living in. On one hand, the reason I was traveling was to learn about the world and to learn about myself. In my dream this meant different religions as well. On the other hand, I was confused as to whether temporarily submersing myself in Islamic faith for learning and growth against my own religion? My dream ended as I was debating this in my head. I was standing beside 20-25 people praying on their knees and looking out at the mountains and a sunrise. I just remember thinking about how amazingly huge, diverse, and beautiful the world was.

This was the first 8-hour sleep I’ve had in weeks. It feels fantastic.