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Showing posts from June, 2014

20 MORE things I learned being an AirBnB host

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The first 20 things list is here . UPDATE: part 3, the financial results! is here .  HAVE A CLEANING CHECKLIST . Whether I'm cleaning it, or our cleaning person is, it's helpful to have a checklist for the apartment. It should contain all of the things that need cleaning, all the things that need washing, amenities (e.g., toilet paper, coffee) whose levels need checking, a list of valuables (art, coffeemaker, electronics) that might have been stolen, and cleaning supplies.  The flipside of my OCD: this made me realize just how little cleaning most hosts are likely doing before new guests arrive. *shudder* LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY – it's probably the most time-consuming duty of a host. A normal guest will end up leaving a minimum of 2 loads of laundry (set of sheets + bath towels). Kitchen towels, bath mats, duvet covers, and cleaning rags can also add to the pile. Even if you have in-unit laundry, it might just be faster to go to a laundromat and do all of it at onc

Yet another attempt at an all-business class transatlantic airline

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I mentioned a while back that Skymark was going to start a all premium seat flight between Tokyo and NYC and apparently now " La Compagnie " is going to venture back into the space where so many others have failed (or retreated in BA/OpenSkies case). Since these ventures seem to sprout like mushrooms after rain when mainstream carrier profit margins get too big, I think it's a safe bet this will probably work out ok until the next economic downturn or massive oil price hike. From the sounds of things, it's going to be €1000-ish round trip from Newark to Charles De Gaulle for angled lie-flat seats and a fairly crummy staff-to-customer ratio. But their once-daily flight is overnight, so hopefully you'll be busy sleeping, right? http://www.lacompagnie.com (site only works in Europe right now)