Take my bedroom please!
Would you let a complete stranger sleep in your apartment? These New Yorkers would. And not only are they earning extra cash — they’re having the time of their lives!
- Last Updated: 5:54 PM, July 17, 2012
- Posted: 10:39 PM, July 16, 2012
East Villager Carol Williams was not having a good August. Last summer, the 54-year-old substance-abuse counselor and mother of two found herself out of a job, while her husband, Paul Caruso, formerly Jimi Hendrix’s harmonica player, had only part-time work as a cook. But a friend visiting from Holland had an idea — why not list the spare room in their three-bedroom apartment (the elder of their sons had just moved out) on Airbnb.com?
“We’ve been in a relationship ever since!” laughs
Williams, referring to the apartment-rental site, whose active New York listings have doubled in the past year and where, on a typical night, guests from 90 countries have booked rooms in the homes of New Yorkers from all five boroughs.
Ten months and nearly $18,000 later, Williams and Caruso have opened their home to strangers from Australia, Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Switzerland and everywhere in between, using both Airbnb and Craigslist.
“It’s just like during the Great Depression — people do whatever they can to survive,” reflects Williams. “I know most people don’t like sharing their personal space with strangers. But sometimes it gets to a point where you have to put your personal ideas aside and do what you have to do.”
Yet far from a burden, microsubletting has given her international friendships, career connections and a renewed zest for life, she says. Williams is currently shopping for a baby gift for a couple making a return visit, and has invitations to several continents; Caruso jams with musician guests, who jump at the chance to play with him.
“We get so excited knowing someone’s coming, we immediately start cooking for them and fixing up their room,” says Williams.
It’s a story being told and retold across the city during this extended economic downturn. More New Yorkers are renting the very roofs over their heads (and sometimes even their own beds) to temporary guests in order to make ends meet. In the process, they’re bringing in tens of thousands of dollars, building lifelong friendships, discovering business collaborators — and having the time of their lives.
Mikey Rox, the 31-year-old founder of communications firm Paper Rox Scissors, has raked in more than $75,000 over the past three years by listing the spare bedroom ($89 per night) and living room couch ($50 to $75 per night) of his Harlem condo on Craigslist, Airbnb and Roomorama.
“I really enjoy it,” says Rox, who’s earned stellar reviews from guests from around the world, many of whom became friends and business contacts. His place is booked nearly 90 percent of the time — no small feat given its distance from tourist-haven Midtown — a success he attributes to being a warm host with a sparkling apartment and well-appointed guest room (it’s stocked with its own mini-fridge, coffeemaker, flat-screen TV and DVD player).
