Just how bad is the housing market in New York City? During last weekend’s snowstorm, an entrepreneurial Brooklyn man listed an igloo with a private bathroom for $200 a night, and five actual human beings attempted to rent it on Airbnb.
The listing in Greenpoint, addressed to prospective renters who would like to bask in its “alt-lifestyle aura,” was up for six hours and went viral before the homesharing service took it down. Airbnb quashed the listing over concerns that the snowy hideaway lacked piped water, electricity or a door.
Dreamt up as a joke by Patrick Horton, 28, and his roommates, the listing read,“Dripping with ingenuity and alt-lifestyle aura lays this Snowpocalypse’s most desirable getaway. Built completely by hand all natural. Come experience this chic dome-style bungalow with Bae.” It also claimed there was a washer and dryer, according to Brokelyn, which first spotted the snow home.
It’s not the first time an American has attempted to rent an igloo on Airbnb. A Massachusetts man listed an igloo in his yard for $10 per night in 2015.
There’s no word yet if Horton’s igloo listing upped rental prices in the snow abode market, but when The Real Deal performed a back-of-the-envelope calculation last October to determine Airbnb’s effect on rents, it surmised the service pushes rents up by as much as $69 per month in Williamsburg/Greenpoint. [Brokelyn] — Dusica Sue Malesevic