Airbnb: Goodbye, My Sweet

Derelict motel, Vaughn, New Mexico. July 2013.

From South Louisiana to Arkansas, on the way to Missouri. October 2017.


I can love someone but still break up.


Airbnb, I loved you, but we're finished.

You had my email address. You had my phone number. At our multiple rendezous, you had my credit card number. You had my photo.

But all of a sudden these weren't enough. You wanted government photo ID. You wanted a new photo. And then another. It didn't matter that I had a sterling track record of good references from past hosts.

Think about it, Airbnb. Do you take my security any more "seriously" than Wells Fargo? Than the IRS? Yahoo? Equifax? The National Fucking Security Agency?

Yet you want me to put all this juicy data in one convenient spot for hackers: photo, government photo ID (!), credit card, phone number, email?!

You haven't been hacked yet? Sweetie, it's only a matter of time. Or it's already happened, only you don't know it yet. Or haven't told us yet.

And it's not as if the sick man who shot and killed so many people in Las Vegas would have been stopped by your new requirements. Remember him? The guy who booked lodging through Airbnb?

What you're doing is, in fact, irresponsible, because in the name of security theater (like TSA confiscating my new tube of toothpaste), you're exposing all of your Airbnb hosts and renters to inevitable hacking.


I grieve for the loss of our years-long relationship, but you're just too risky for me.

El Paso: House Hunting

 

Sunset view from new home, El Paso, Texas. August 2016.

August 2016.

El Paso marks my 5th year of annual moves.

In Caucasus Georgia, my first nomadic year, my homes were assigned to me, the first in New Rustavi and the second in Old Rustavi.

In Alamogordo, New Mexico, my second nomadic year, I learned that renters:

• Are second-class citizens; and
• With unusual financial lives cause some confusion for potential landlords. 

Nevertheless, I found a terrific apartment quickly, with story here and here. And here was my temporary home til I could move into the apartment.

In Lafayette, Louisiana, I based myself in a hotel when I arrived. Miraculously, I found a teeny place in a dream location about two days after I landed, and was able to move in about two days after that. Here and here are about my hunt. And here is my moving day, heheheh.

In my year for Opelousas, Louisiana, I based myself in an airbnb - well, two airbnbs - while searching for my new digs. The fact that I arrived back in Louisiana just before Mardi Gras was not the smartest decision, but it all worked out fine. My Opelousas apartment turned out to be the perfect place for me. Friendly neighbors, walking distance to a grocery store, super close to I-49 to zip down to Lafayette, and a different view of South Louisiana than I had in Lafayette, which is exactly what I'd sought.

I've learned that when I get stressed out over finding a place, it's of my own making, and is not only unnecessary, but unhelpful.

Well, I should say that I've learned it even better after my El Paso hunting experience.

The biggest challenge, I've discovered, is finding the right information source for apartment hunting. Yes, most cities have a rent.dot.com or some such, but these generally focus on the larger complexes. Craigslist is useful, and that's how I found my Opelousas apartment.

In El Paso, it was Hotpads that led me to my chosen place.

But before I found it, I located a Plan B apartment - a teeny studio on Mesa on the west side that would have worked just fine for a month or two, if necessary.

Where I ended up, oh my, exceeded my dreams! I am within walking distance of both the university and downtown El Paso. I am just a few blocks from I-10. The range of architecture here is like a bag of Halloween candy - so many delectables to look at and sigh over.

My apartment is furnished, which means sleeping on an actual bed this year - the first time in two years! Although I cherished my red couch-bed, it's a luxury to have a real bed. The utilities are included, as well, which saves on start-finish hassles and deposits and bill-paying.

My cherished red chairbed from Alamogordo, Lafayette, and Opelousas.

Ouch, though. Frankly, the rent is a real stretch for me. And it's a tiny place with barely enough room for me to set up my work space. But location, location, location.

I'm in the Sunset Heights neighborhood, one of the several historic districts in El Paso. My apartment is within a large, historic home. I can see the roofs of UTEP from my rooftop terrace. (Oh, I didn't mention that yet?)

Antigua, Guatemala: My Antiguan Home

My Antiguan lodgings, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

One morning, I sat on a cushioned bench on my airbnb hostess' covered veranda. I took in my garden surroundings. A walled courtyard. Entertaining cloud formations in the sky. Birds singing in the local language, melodic and cheering.

My Antiguan lodgings, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

Around me was artwork of various subjects, media, textures, colors, and sizes. Each piece invited my attention.


I admired the modest, but well-curated flower displays in the garden. I ate many lunches on the veranda. I pulled basil leaves from a garden plant for a savory pouf to sandwiches made with tomatoes and salty, soft farmer cheese on that luscious bread I loved.


My bedroom was at the end of a wing of rooms. The wing had three bedrooms. Two bedrooms shared a full bath. One could enter either of these bedrooms or the shared bath from the veranda, via an alcove.

My bedroom had a private bath. From my bed, I could look out to the garden through the room's french doors.

From my little enclave neighborhood, I could see:

View from my Antiguan neighborhood, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

View from my Antiguan neighborhood, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

My Antiguan neighborhood, Antigua, Guatemala. April 2016.

French doors and walled courtyards. In my perfect world, if and when I ever settle down, my little place will have these two features.

A pictorial visit to my apartment in Alamogordo in 2012-2013, with a soul-gladdening view through its french doors.

My Alamogordo apartment, 2012-2013.

Louisiana: My temporary home base

Joe, Daniel, and Kat in Freetown, Lafayette, Louisiana

My temporary home base is an airbnb place in Lafayette's Freetown neighborhood, which by the way, is less than a mile from my 2014 Lafayette apartment.

I first heard about Freetown when I drove down Johnston Street shortly after I moved to Lafayette in late 2013. I saw a colorful food truck that said "Freetown Fries."

Later I learned that Freetown was an early neighborhood of Lafayette (pre- and post-Civil War), home to gens de coleur libre and of men and women who were formerly enslaved and subsequently emancipated. 

Freetown is adjacent-ish to downtown Lafayette.

My airbnb hostess is Kat, Joe is the resident cultural attaché, and Daniel is a regular guest. I'm pretty sure I laughed when I met them all within my first hour of arrival, because the experience was so typical of South Louisiana - running into such interesting people.

Joe is a storyteller, anthropologist, cajun dance teacher, journalist, and ghost writer. We've discovered we know a number of folks in common.

Daniel is a sustainable fisherman and maritime professional. He grew up near the Salton Sea. In the photo above, Daniel is presenting the ceviche he'd just made. Delicioso.

Kat is a freelance copywriter and entrepreneur. Like a number of people I've met in South Louisiana, she only intended to stop a night or two in Lafayette - she was on her way to New Orleans from her home town of San Diego - and kept postponing her departure until she decided to rent a house in Freetown. To help pay the rent, she drew from her experience working at a hostel and became an airbnb host. I'm not sure Kat has made it yet to New Orleans.

Tonight, Joe doctored up two pots of gumbo that were birthed several days ago - one a gumbo vert with smoked ham and various greens pulled from the refrigerator and the other a chicken and sausage gumbo.

Two Chinese petroleum professionals are here for several weeks learning about the operation of some new equipment.   

South Louisiana is grand.

But damn it's cold this week! Where is my warm weather?  

Taking a Budget Road Trip: Part 2: Lodging

Yesterday, I introduced Part 1: The Basics


Road-trip lodging might include:

• Staying with friends
• Couchsurfing
• Sleeping in the car
• Camping
• Staying in a motel
• Hostels
• Informal B and Bs

All of the above have their advantages and disadvantages. Variables include:

• Money
• Time
• Safety
• Privacy
• General hassle (however you define "hassle" for yourself)
• Sleep needs
• Hygienic needs
• If traveling alone or with others

2007 Road trip - Taos

Staying with friends

On the surface, it may seem like a no-brainer to stay with a friend who lives along your road trip route.

Maybe, maybe not.

Money. Some people are inveterate "over-gifters." These are sweet folks who cannot feel comfortable staying at another's house unless they buy a meal for all household members plus bring a significant gift. If you fall into this category, weigh the actual cost of staying at the friend's house versus a viable lodging alternative. You can always meet the friend for a cup of coffee, which has the added advantage of managing the time variable.

Time.

Time includes planning time. Crashing at a friend's place requires a little or a lot of advance preparation to make sure your schedules mesh. If your itinerary is fluid, it may require numerous contacts with your friend to check back on availability.

Time also includes face time with the friend. Do you just want to get to the friend's house, chat a bit, crash, then get on the road early the next morning? If yes, will that be possible with the friend? Or will you need to invest time socializing late into the night or for a large portion of the following day?

Finally, time includes how long it will take to get to/from your main route and the friend's house. If you've got a friend who lives "in" St. Louis, does this mean s/he's within a few minutes of your route or is she actually 20 miles south of St. Louis, where you'll traverse various highways, then two bumper-to-bumper arterials, til you finally get to that side street where the friend lives? And then repeat it all the next day, hoping to miss the worst of the morning rush? 

2007 Road trip - Grand Canyon

Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing means that you're crashing at a stranger's house, who's agreed to put you up for the night, no charge. (Here are some couchsurfing etiquette tips.)

For those of us who are social creatures, what a terrific concept!  Meeting new people. Getting the insider's view of the city.

It's not for all of us, though. For example, I'm an introvert and I like to be able to escape to my cave. The idea of having to be "on" for an evening or longer with a stranger isn't relaxing for me.

The money and time variables for staying with a friend also apply to couchsurfing.


Safety. Although there are ways to mitigate the safety risk of couchsurfing, your personal risk threshold may just be too low to allow for couchsurfing. In that case, pass on it. A road trip is supposed to be fun, not create stress.

Privacy. Some couchsurfing hosts offer private rooms; some don't. Weigh your privacy needs with what prospective hosts have to offer and the cost of alternative lodging.


General hassle.

Everyone defines "hassle" for themselves. For me, "hassle" would include:

• Complicated, drawn-out negotiations or instructions related to the lodging, whatever the type. 
• Lots of rules.
• Having to deviate too far from my main route to get to the lodging.

So a couchsurfing situation that pushes the above buttons for me - I'd probably take a pass.

Sleep and hygienic needs.

When you're couchsurfing, you're at someone's house, not a hotel. The housekeeping might not meet your tolerance threshold. Maybe the hosts have cats and you're allergic. Or you're not allergic, but the litter box smells. Or the host's place is right next to the airport.

You don't go into a couchsurfing place completely blind, but there are limits to what you know up front.

If traveling with others.

If you're traveling with one or two others, it may be more difficult to couchsurf.

2007 Road trip - Kayenta

Sleeping in the car

Yes, I've done this. On a road trip to the Black Hills. A road trip to Alaska. A road trip in France.  And at least one other trip.

In none of those cases did I plan to sleep in the car. It just worked out that way because:

• We drove so late that we became too tired to drive any further to a hotel; 
• We couldn't find a hotel; 
• The hotel I did find was scarier than the prospect of sleeping in my car; or
• The hotels in the area were just too expensive. 

I will say that I've never just pulled off the road to sleep in my car. Or maybe I did.

In one case, my brother and I drove into an empty campground in France and slept in the car there. It was scary, though. The trees were leafless and had been topped. They looked like headless creatures. A fog permeated the grounds. It was a veritable vampire attractant.


In at least two other cases, I slept in well-lit interstate rest areas. The advantage of a rest area is flush toilets and potable water. Plus I've found there is sufficient incoming/outgoing traffic to ensure I'm not alone for long ... 'course, that's a potential disadvantage, as well. 

In this roadtripamerica thread are suggestions for other possibles: truck-stop parking lots, hospital parking lots, and hotel parking lots. Not saying they're good suggestions, just suggestions. An excellent resource I gleaned from this thread was Free Campsites, which points you to free campsites (including the parking lots of some stores, where you could car-sleep) all over the U.S.

(Awhile back, I wrote about Glenn Campbell (not that Glenn Campbell) at Homeless by Choice and his lodging strategy at "Walmart Motels," which is sort of a cross between sleeping in your car and camping.)  

Money. Like staying with friends and couchsurfing, car sleeping saves money. For many, perhaps most of us, however, other variables outweigh the $$$ savings.

Time. General hassle. Extremely economical in time and hassle. Pull in, sleep, pull out. No advance planning. No socializing.

Safety.  Concerns about safety may rule this option out for many travelers. If you're traveling with someone else, you may be more comfortable with it.

Privacy. Another disadvantage of sleeping in your car. There really is no privacy when you're sleeping in your vehicle, unless you have a vehicle in which you can cover the windows. To achieve privacy, you can pull your vehicle over to a secluded area that draws no traffic, but that may also make you more vulnerable to attack.
 
Sleep needs. If I'm sleeping in my car, I'm likely to have a lighter sleep than if I were in a more traditional place.

Hygienic needs. If I'm at a rest area, I can wash my face and brush my teeth, use a flush toilet, and wash my hands with soap.  If I sleep in a place with no facilities, then I will still do OK, because I will have packed a jug of water and at least waterless soap and have a washcloth and hand towel. And toilet paper. Good to go. I don't want to do that every day, but once in awhile, no problem.

Traveling with others. Sleeping in the car is definitely safer when traveling with someone else versus traveling solo.

2008 Road trip - Monument Valley

Camping

Money.

If I camp, it's likely I'll pay less than $20 for a campsite per night. That assumes non-electric sites, which is a vanishing category in many campgrounds. (On the other hand, camping in some Bureau of Land Management and other lands is free!) The longer my road trip is, the more attractive camping becomes in my lodging plan.

Free Campsites directs visitors to free campsites all over the U.S.

Time. Assuming tent camping, it takes time to set up and break camp. It may take considerable time to drive from your main route to the campground, up to an hour, depending not only on distance, but road conditions. (Driving a switchback up a mountain is slow work even on a well-paved road.) Checking in takes time. Selecting a campsite takes time.

Safety. Assuming you're in a campground, and you don't do something completely stupid, like rub yourself with ground beef before you turn in for the night in bear country, camping is very safe.

Privacy. With some exception, privacy not much of a concern, unless you've got the rare situation of loud neighbors.

General hassle. It takes time to set up and break down camp, which is why I generally don't camp unless I'll be in the same place for at least two nights. Unless you really go bare bones on the camping bit (sleeping in your car and not cooking), there's a hassle in that you have to pack more gear that takes up more space in your vehicle - a tent, sleeping bag(s), cook stove, gas, lantern, etc.

Sleep needs. If you awaken with each noise outside your tent thinking it might be a bear or a mountain lion or a Deliverance-style local or snake, then you might have a more relaxed time in a motel.  You want to have fun on your trip - not feel anxious. 

Hygienic needs. There may or may not be showers. Or flush toilets. You'll need to have a water container and your own soap.

Traveling alone or with others. Whether alone or with a companion, it's pretty hard to beat the good time of poking a fire with a stick. I've camped alone and I felt safe. Most of the time. (One time an idiot camp host scared me with his story of coyotes invading a camper's tent the night before I arrived.)

2007 Road trip - Las Vegas, NM

Staying in a motel

I have a different standard for a motel where I'll stay only one night versus one I'll stay in for multiple nights. For one night, I can overlook charmlessness in exchange for cost savings.

A good budget motel has:

• Clean bed;
• Floor that I feel is clean enough to walk on barefoot;  
• Clean bathroom; 
• Shower that works; 
• TV that works; 
• Free wireless; 
• Coffeemaker in the room; 
• Secure door and windows; 
• Air conditioner that works; and 
• An ice machine somewhere on the premises. 

I don't care about the decor or how dated it is. I also don't care if it has a free breakfast, although sometimes this is nice.

General motel tips:
 
I prefer locally-owned, non-chain motels, but those aren't always available or within my road trip budget.

Generally-reliable chain motels. Super 8 and Fairfield Inn (Marriott) are generally reliable cost- and quality-wise. I particularly favor Super 8s because they have free wireless, a microwave, and small fridge. Plus a free breakfast (but see note below).

Motel 6s seem to be OK if they are brand new; otherwise, my experience hasn't been good with them - they emit a sort of dodgy vibe. Motels like Days Inn and similar class - generally budget-friendly, but erratic in quality.

I do find it helpful to stop by a state's "welcome center" rest area to pick up the motel coupon books. Then I call the motel while I'm on the road to reserve a room for that night.

"Free" breakfast. Given a choice between a $50 hotel room without a "free" breakfast and a $60 or higher motel with, I'll select the $50 motel. The vast majority of time, the "free" breakfast is unsatisfying or unhealthy. I do better having breakfast out of my small cooler or by stopping at a restaurant and getting exactly what I want for the same or less than the "free" breakfast. Another thing to consider is that if you intend to get back on the road before 6:00 a.m., that "free" breakfast won't even be set up yet.

Discounts. In most cases, the AAA, AARP, and government discount rates are the same. Sometimes the government (or military) rates are lower.  If you don't belong to at least one of these sectors, join one.

Frequent sleeper plans. If you travel frequently for work, become a "frequent sleeper" member of one or two hotel chains with a large "family" of hotel brands. Both Marriott and Hilton have a nice continuum of budget through upscale brands. You do especially well if you usually stay at the higher-end brand for work and then use your free-stay points on the economical brands in the "family" during vacation road trips.

Be willing to do some footwork. When I swing into a town that has several motels, I'll gravitate to the one I think will meet all of my criteria first. But if the price is too high, I won't hesitate to hop back in the car and check out the other motels.  (If I had a smart phone with really fast and easy web access, I'd sit in the parking lot and do my checking around by phone.)

Security. If I'm by myself, I usually ask for a room on the second floor.

Money. On a road trip, budget motel means $70 or less to me. I strive for $50. Sometimes I can't get under $70, but usually I can.

Time. Other than sleeping in your vehicle, a motel stay is the most economical of your time. Other than check-in, there's no set up, and you leave as early as you want the next morning.

Safety. Lock your door. Lock your windows (if they open at all). Other than that, really, the vast majority of motels are entirely safe.

General hassle. Sleep needs. Hygienic needs. Not usually issues.


Traveling alone or with others. Pretty much, two travel cheaply as one when it comes to motel stays. If you share a household, this is a neutral factor. Otherwise, it's a cost savings for you as individuals, since you can split the cost.

Hostels

A hostel is a form of lodging that:

• Is less expensive than a motel;
• Has some form of shared space, such as the sleeping room (i.e. dorm), bathrooms, kitchen, or living areas.
• One generally finds in locations that draw high tourist traffic, whether that's an urban (NYC) or rural setting (i.e. the Abominable Snowmansion near Taos).

Other than the above features, I wouldn't want to pigeonhole all hostels as serving a particular age, socio-economic, educational, cultural or travel-style demographic.

Check them out! Here are websites that list hostels:

Hostels.com
Hostelworld
Hostelling International

Informal B and Bs

Airbnb is ... well, here's what Airbnb says about itself:  "Rent nightly from real people in 15,263 cities in 184 countries."  This video explains more:

Up next: Part 3: Food and Drink

 
Go to the Taking a Budget Road Trip page.