My little sojourn in the UK wasn't ALL bad...

Seven steps to surviving couch surfing with Air bnb

STAYING in the quaint south UK county of Kent was, for me, enjoyable in the short-term with mid-week work trips to bustling London satisfying my thirst for city life.

Random bike ride in Kent

But when Irish friends came to visit, I had to think fast to find a somewhat more lively location – not too far from Canterbury – that would impress my peers more than the sleepy life of England’s ‘Garden’.

Luckily for me, the dates chosen for their visit fell on the August Bank Holiday weekend – and the Mod Festival was being widely advertised in the nearby seaside resort of Brighton. With the intention of getting to know the ‘real’ Brighton and really embedding ourselves in the Quadrophenia scene (read: we were on a budget) the decision was chosen to opt for Air bnb.  More funds would then be available for records, vintage clothes and memorabilia from the Mod generation, we thought, even if it meant scrimping on accommodation.

Little did we realise, however, how genuinely enjoyable, comfortable and friendly the Air bnb experience would be. Although it was a room in a stranger’s house, we immediately were made to feel at home, happy to grab the necessaries from the kitchen, jump into the shower and even share a drink in the garden before hitting Brighton town.

Widely acknowledged as the couch-surfing travel website, it’s far from sofas and armchairs where you head will lay at night.  The process was simple, the idea innovative and, of course, extremely cost-effective.  And for those who might feel a bit odd about letting a stranger into their own house, there is no obligation to return the gesture. 

The budget travel firm has agreements with homeowners in cities all across the globe, offering their spare room or holiday home to price-conscious jet setters interested in living where the ‘real’ city people live. I’ve also stayed at apartments in Stockholm and Berlin through Air bnb and I personally feel it minimises the overtly tourist vibe that’s attached to a stay with even the most obscure hotel.    

Brighton pier

Seven steps to surfing: 

1) The website is essentially fool-proof. Pop in the city you wish to head to and the dates you want to stay for. A list of prices (generally starting from the cheapest), accommodation image and host pictures will then appear in thumbnails down the page. Don’t ignore the first few entries on price alone – the cheapest ad simply means that it may be further away from the centre, or offers a single or shared bathroom. It may actually suit your needs better.

The Lady Garden...

2) Clicking on each ad will give you some more information of location, amenities and extras the placement will offer – like any other hotel or bnb booking. Air bnb hosts also generally a list of ‘house rules’ that will be applicable during the stay. Generally these will be quite tame, such as the standard no smoking outside, no extra visitors, clean up after yourself etc.

3) When you make your decision, your payment actually goes on hold as such. Your hosts will effectively get to review your ‘application’ before they are sure that you will be compatible house guests. You will get a mail saying that the site has “authorised your payment method for the full amount of the reservation” but “if your request is denied or expires, you will not be charged”.  On average, hosts respond pretty quickly, within hours,  and you are encouraged to send a personal note, commenting on their pictures or asking them questions about their home/location/local amenities.

4) When your ‘application’ for stay is accepted by your host, you will get an email receipt. This is usually accompanied by a note from your host in response, such as (actual message ) “Dear Louise I think you'll love Brighton and thanks for complimenting our house...looking forward to meeting you both, enjoy the Mods!”

Mod bikes

5) Just in case you’ve managed to delete all your previous mails and correspondence, you will get an email reminder with address/date details along with contact details for your host (s) about a week before you are due to stay at your location.  At this stage, feel free to post another note to your host to nail down specific arrival times or get some more information on what events are going on in the region over the course of your stay. (Or even if you don’t know whether you need to bring a towel!)

6) If you need to cancel: All ads will generally list their cancellation policy re refunds.  An example of a moderate policy is a full refund 5 days prior to arrival except for a nominal booking fee – better than many cancellation requirements.  The important thing is that you can find out what these fees and policies are prior to booking.

7) After the stay, similar to an eBay account, you can review your host to build up (or draw from) the strength of their profile on Air bnb. They can also review you too so that you look more attractive – or indeed, less appealing, to future air bnb hosts.

Renting may be a mug’s game - but someone’s got to do it.

Let me begin by confessing that I am a renter. 

Part of a growing clique of late twenties/early thirties Irish that have not succumbed to the draw of living abroad and have yet to sign their name on the biggest contract of their lives.

For the last decade, I have lived in umpteen houses across Dublin, with the exception of a not so brief stint in the UK.  Over the years, I have become somewhat of an expert in the art of location reassignment. A first class graduate from the school of ‘Large Bulky Items are my Foe’, if you will.

Fair enough, I don’t have a mortgage so I am not among the 100,000 that are falling deeper into arrears – nor indeed part of the rest of the homeowner population that struggle to meet their largest direct debit every month.

And even if I was looking to send myself to mortgage slaughter, the glimmer of hope that the overly optimistic few see as a recession-exiting sign – the gradual but distinct rise of house prices – is not exactly good news for me. 

But what this latest house move has highlighted is just how difficult renting in Dublin has become. Naturally, the costs have begun to climb as the property bubble is starting to expand again.  But there are more – many more – gripes that taint the moving renter’s life, of which I have time to name just a few before I get back to lugging boxes.

1) Price

My lovely - yet expensive - place I'm leaving

When the rent on your apartment rises by 25pc, you know it may be time to jump ship. Extortion I hear you say. Quite right; but when the law quite unhelpfully states that your new financial agreement is simply "the rent which a willing tenant not already in occupation would give and a willing landlord would take for the dwelling", you may be in a bit of a bind.

2) Parking/transport

Bit of a catch 22 here. Having a car to move all your belongings to their new home is almost essential – but finding a new abode, especially near the city, which actually lets you park this vehicle at no extra cost can prove rather difficult. Think annual parking permits and space rentals, if even available.

3) Estate Agents

I am sure there are some very lovely and capable agents out there but it has been my misfortune not to encounter any of them in these last few weeks. Between unanswered calls and emails, half-hearted viewings and blatantly rude conversations, I would be quite happy never to deal with an agency again. Chance would be…

4) False advertisements

Maybe different people have varying ideas of what ‘newly refurbished’, ‘large bedroom’, and ‘mod cons’ mean but I don’t think these concepts should be so far apart. Apart from the fact one house looked absolutely nothing like it was represented in the online pictures, the smell of urine was so overpowering that we couldn’t spend longer than 30 seconds in the place. And in that time, a cat (who may or may not have been responsible for the whiff) jumped out at us.

5) Packing

It went downhill from here

I like things to have their place. I might not go so far as alphabetising my CD collection (oldschool, I know) but I have definitely considered it. Nonetheless, after a few hours of folding and wrapping and stacking, I’ve had quite enough. Happily, I descend into the depths of ‘black sack land’ and chuck in whatever I can fit.

6) Cleaning

Last out turns off the lights and locks the door. In this case, cleans every inch of the apartment for fear our deposit won’t be returned. Now I will add to my confessions here by admitting that I do like a good cleanup – (refer also to anal weirdo in 5) – but when I won’t be staying to reap the benefits, the incentive wanes somewhat.  (And no I didn’t think of professionals until the very last minute)

7) Flatmates

Obviously, these can be quite the disparate bunch and you can really go in blind sometimes crossing your fingers that you haven’t shacked up with a psychopath or, god forbid, a morning person.  Luckily for me this time round, I’ve got an equally grouchy old pal to share the monthly rent with.

8) Neighbours

Again it’s really the luck of the draw on this one. With added security and gated properties comes curtain twitchers and disapproving glares the morning after the night before.  On the other hand, having to keep your bike inside for fear it will be nicked out of the back garden doesn’t give you a warm fuzzy feeling either.

All that being said I am quite looking forward to moving into our new home and making the house our own.  As we sit around our coal effect gas fire eating marshmallows from Tescos, we will breathe a sigh of relief and content that we have found the very best place there is.

My new castle!

At least until our lease is up in twelve months.