Hospitality and tourism re-engaging over Airbnb

Maybe you see some tourists walking around your neighborhood carrying bags of groceries from the nearest 7-Eleven and you wonder, “What’s this Airbnb thing all about?”

Someone recently told me a story about their grandmother being so open and welcoming that she would invite total strangers to dinner and then let them stay the night, giving them the beds and telling the grandkids they had to sleep on the floor in the parlor.

My Tutu was like that, too. After she died, we found letters she had kept from all over the country and all over the world — thank-yous from tourists she had met at Poipu Beach and invited to her house to entertain and feed, strangers she had made feel welcome.

Lots of people have stories like that from generations past when hospitality was easier, more natural, less fraught.

That’s the kind of world Airbnb seems to promise — a connection to Hawaii that is more authentic and individualized than a hotel, and a host who is personally committed to providing a memorable experience.

Except, like most nods to nostalgia in our modern era, Airbnb is about commerce. It is a way for tourists to tailor a Hawaii vacation to their taste and budget, and it is a way for homeowners to make money off a spare bedroom in a more advantageous way than finding a traditional renter.

According to Airbnb, the average price for a night on Oahu is $145. If the average Airbnb unit is occupied 30 nights a month, that’s potentially $4,350. Compare that with the average rent on Oahu, which is about $1,810.

Perhaps an even greater advantage is control. If an owner has a problematic guest, it’s less of a hassle to get rid of them than it is to deal with a nightmare tenant occupying the space with their list of renters’ rights gripped tightly in their hands.

There are some pretty sweet beachside houses on Oahu listed on Airbnb. For example, for about $650 a night, you can rent an entire oceanfront home that will sleep 10 people. Some places go for more and have amazing amenities.

But on the other end of the offerings are the budget listings:

For 50 bucks a night, you can stay in a guy’s downtown apartment while he’s traveling. Amenities listed include a smoke detector and the building’s elevator.

For $33 you can sleep on a bed some dude has put into the living room of his Vineyard-area apartment.

For $28 you can stay on a boat in Keehi Lagoon harbor. The owner says he’ll even baby-sit your kids and that one of the neighbors is a naked lady who has been living on her boat — naked — for years. Quite an amenity.

Depending on your nature, all of that either sounds like a wonderful adventure or the kind of nightmare night you promised yourself “Never again!” in college.

There are sides to pick here regarding issues like the legality of these businesses in neighborhoods and the moral obligation to provide affordable rentals to Hawaii residents. But at its base, what is Airbnb about? It’s about wanting to be invited in.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.