Do you prefer staying in hotels or short-term rentals (Airbnb, Vrbo, etc.)?
For hotels, there’s the ideal of getting a similar experience each time. Check-ins, guest policies, even cancellations are standardized across the brand/s.
Then there are amenities like the famous DoubleTree cookies, the Dream Hotel’s signature scents, unique restaurants, and perks like room service, dry cleaning, and spas.
Sometimes folks want more of a neighborhood feel. Knowing this, hoteliers will aim for restaurants and bars that locals flock to in order to appeal to in-the-know-tourists. (With varying degrees of success.)
For short-term rentals, there’s the benefit of booking ease for large parties, being able to be situated in a neighborhood, and homey touches, like city guides created by residents, rather than a corporation, and having access to a stove and washer/dryer. It used to be that they could be a good booking option to host parties, but policies prevent that, in addition to noise detection devices. (I presume home owners welcome the changes). Additionally, I know anecdotally that Airbnb owners sometimes prohibit locals from renting, to cut down on party risk.
Critics cite STR proliferation as contributing to housing unaffordability, with many cities cracking down on them via regulations.
Then there’s the possibility of a neighbor shining a flashlight on you and your companion returning from dinner and asking what exactly you are doing on the property. (True story.).
I’ve had good and less than good experiences with both options:
I’ve stayed in an Airbnb in the mountains and enjoyed the rustic views from the comfort of an enclosed porch. And I’ve joyfully pretended I lived in a super cute house, in a super cute neighborhood, frequently visiting the nearby grocery store, ice cream shop, restaurants, bars, and liquor store.
I’ve developed a preference for a small boutique hotel brand, Ash, with swanky, dreamy bars and fun, funky rooms in Baltimore; Detroit; New Orleans; and Providence, Rhode Island. (I’ve visited the Detroit and Baltimore properties, Siren Hotel and Hotel Ulysses, respectively, and can’t wait to visit the hotels in the other two cities.)
(Until then I need them to restock their signature body wash, so I can get my fix.)
Here’s a Michelin Guide primer on the brand.
Many stories I’ve read over the past week are about hotels and similar accommodations.
Here is a guide to Airbnb’s new ban on surveillance cameras for hosts.
Louisville’s new Myriad Hotel is in a former disco ball factory.
Starting with the shimmering disco ball installation hanging in the lobby, a groovy 1970s aesthetic pervades, including retro wooden paneling and a “party button” in the elevator that triggers funky music and glowing lights. Even the hotel’s name draws its inspiration from the allure of glittering disco balls, which were originally patented as “myriad reflectors.”
The pool area, dubbed the Myriad Swim Club, has a lively lounge and bar in the shade of a tower from the original factory. And Switchboard, the hotel’s speakeasy-themed bar by night and cafe by day, pays homage to the telephone company that once occupied part of the building.
Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward is getting a new hotel and social club.
Come summer, the historic area is getting a $150 million, 16-floor development featuring a boutique hotel, members-only social club, and four restaurants and bars. Created by New City Properties, Forth is located between the Historic Fourth Ward Park and the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail.
Here’s what a luxury postpartum hotel in Taipei, Taiwan is like.
New mothers can stay in one of approximately two hundred and eighty specialized hotels, where they will receive food, round-the-clock child care, doctor visits, and miscellaneous perks such as yoga classes and milk pumping. According to Gary Lee, the founder of MamiGuide, a Web site that books postpartum-hotel stays, they cost an average of two hundred and twenty U.S. dollars per night. For Americans, this can seem like an unbelievable deal. But here, where the average salary is slightly more than twenty-two thousand U.S. dollars, a monthlong stay can consume between twenty to thirty per cent of one’s annual income. Still, according to Lee, sixty-five per cent of postpartum parents check into one of these hotels, even if that means saving up for years. “It’s like buying a diamond ring,” Lee told me over the phone. Similar accommodations are available in China and South Korea.
And this is the story of a guest who paid $200 for a five-year-stay in a New York hotel.
Songs I Listened to This Week
Podcasts I Listened to This Week
From Corporate Job to Broadway Playwright | Working (Slate)
This week, host Ronald Young Jr. talks to Bekah Brunstetter, a TV writer and playwright whose most recent project is the new Broadway musical version of The Notebook. In the interview, Bekah discusses her early career journey, which involved juggling a corporate job with her playwriting passion. She also talks about breaking into TV writing and working on the hit drama This is Us. And finally, she digs into her work on The Notebook and explains what it was like to adapt the classic rom-com.
Working Overtime: Finding Your Why | Working (Slate)
For this week’s episode of Working Overtime, hosts Ronald Young Jr. and June Thomas take out their microscopes and examine what gives them purpose and where it comes from. For Ronald, finding creative independence led him to self-publish his own podcast, despite the financial risks, while June moved across the pond to write her book. With any creative pursuits it’s important to know why we’re doing the thing we’re doing so we can understand our goals and what sacrifices we might have to make to achieve them.
Nice post to get me ready for summer vacation season. Thanks Elle! 🌴🏝️🏖️⛵️🚢🛫😎