Aunty goes to City Council meetings to testify against Airbnb proliferation in Hawaii because of alienating neighbors who want stable places to live with those who want to profit from renting out their rooms to short term visitors.  Aunty rarely takes a taxicab, much less Uber, which young people use a lot.  This post is about new tricks for an old dog.

On Airbnb

On a recent 2 day trip to California to attend #1 son’s swift and unpredictable courthouse wedding, Aunty decided to find a hotel near his house, but son found a room a few minutes away on Airbnb for $89/night with private bathroom.  The pictures looked nice and had high positive reviews, so Aunty opened an account with son’s referral link (guest must have their own account) with a very thorough application process, and booked for 3 nights.  Aunty was ready to for her trip!

After taking forever to get off the skinny and long Hawaiian Airlines plane arriving in Oakland late at night, son and fiance met Aunty at curbside and we were off to a house owned by Doris, whom Aunty never met/knew/spoke to.  Since Doris was on a trip and returning the next day, the house was empty and cold.  Son figured out how to turn on the heater and then Aunty was on her own.

Such a surprise!  The bathroom was drop dead wonderful with tiled walls and floor, fantastic soaps, and artistic touches and windows that brought joy to the space.  Bathing in cold weather is BRRRR! but do-able with a lot of hot water.

The next morning, Aunty explored the garden, parlor and kitchen, discovering great art with more artsy decor pieces and arrangements.  The house was so charming and wonderful, as was Doris when we met her later that evening.  We didn’t see each other more than a couple of times after that because she was off to her business and Aunty was mostly with son and new wife and family at dinners, shopping, and such.

Staying at Doris’ place was a great new experience that opened up Aunty’s eyes to the positive aspects of Airbnb from a guest’s standpoint of price, convenience, and location.  It fit Aunty’s bill perfectly because there were NO suitable hotels near my son, and the house was comfortable, quiet, and safe.

After this very positive experience, Aunty has a slightly different opinion about Airbnbs.  Because of its vetting process for both sides – guests and owners, quality and safety are ensured.  However, Aunty still feels that having strangers (even if they are good strangers) in our local residential neighborhoods can be disruptive.  Allowing a few to lend out their rooms or houses might open up the doors to more rooms and houses on the short term rental market – and then there goes the neighborhood for the sake of profit in the homeowner’s pocket.  Not in Kaimuki, please.

On Uber

Aunty’s return flight to Honolulu was leaving at 9:00 in the morning.  Aunty does not like early morning flights because the whole day is shot and getting to the airport 2 hours ahead of time is unpleasantly too early and inconveniences family or friends for rides.  Even though #1 (and only) son insisted he didn’t mind driving the 20 miles and back that early in the morning, Aunty was adamant and insisted on trying out Uber.

This took a bit of time to set up and download on Aunty’s iPhone, with more vetting, a selfie picture, and input of credit card info.  We tested it out the night before from son’s house to Doris’ house.  What a BAM! awakening!  It was like a movie picture segment of inputting a destination on a map (it already knows where you are), choosing your type of ride (regular, luxury, shared, etc.) and then confirming.  The smart phone screen will show the progress of your ride along with name of driver (Jamell), type of car (Nissan Rogue), and arrival time – which in Aunty’s case was 1 minute.  One minute!  Sure enough, a grey Nissan Rogue pulled a U turn in front of son’s house, and there was Jamell – who looked like a younger heavier version of Will Smith.  Eight blocks later, we rolled to Doris’ house.  Aunty thanked Jamell, and he drove off into the evening.  NO cash/credit card/or tip was exchanged.  SO easy!

The next morning, Aunty opened the Uber app and requested a ride to Oakland Airport ($28.41) in a Subaru Legacy driven by Hakan, a bakery shop owner from Turkey.  He helped Aunty with her 2 heavy suitcases (Trader Joes, IKEA, 4th Street in Berkeley) and we were off and arrived safely and in good time for Aunty’s flight home.

Once home, Aunty got to rate each driver (high marks) and give them a tip.  SO easy!  This is going to definitely put taxi companies out of business because there is hardly any wait time, no phone call, and total transparency on who the driver is and how much it will cost.  Uber may be going public soon and that will be a stock that Aunty would want in her portfolio.

Eyes opened

It was a very very good trip with happy events and learnings.  Aunty never thought she would stay at an Airbnb and/or use Uber but this proves the adage, “Never say never!”  Who knows what is next?  Sky diving, bungee jumping?  Er, ah, eh.  Absolutely NEVER.