How to Airbnb: The beginning…
A large roller bag, a handbag, and a lost look on her face as she gazed upon my entrance with an expression of worry and fatigue. “Hi! Are you Chelsea?” I asked walking up to the lost-looking woman
“Yes…” she slowly replied as she turned to see me walking down the sidewalk. “Are you Alex?”
“That I am,” I replied, maybe a bit too cheerfully hoping my nervousness didn’t show through. “Let me show you the place” I said as I whipped out my keys and slid them into the lock — hoping Chelsea wouldn’t notice my slight jiggle to unlock the old front door. I beckoned her in and somewhat gracefully took the large roller from her hefting it up the fight of stairs. I walked down the hallway with Chelsea in tow. Her eyes roaming from the hallway’s faded green carpet, to the paint chipped doors, to the too dim fluorescent tube lights above. “So what brings you to Ann Arbor?” I asked hoping to shift her attention from the disheveled appearances of the old building.
“A friend’s wedding” she replied looking forward again as we arrived at my apartment’s door.
“Best time of year for a wedding. Your friend a Michigan grad?” I asked slotting in the key and opening the door to a waft of thick air heavy with the scent of Lysol. I rolled the bag in ahead of me and held the door for Chelsea, carefully watching her face as she entered. Trying to gauge her reaction to my meager accommodations — but she was focused on me.
“Yup! We went to Michigan together!” She replied excitedly. Phew I think, as we start to build some rapport.
“Nice! I’m a sophomore now. What did you study?” I asked as I parked her bag near the bed in the back of the studio and walked back towards her.
“Biology” she replied now looking around the apartment for the first time. Her gaze panning from left to right as she seemed to scrutinize everything. The faux granite countertops of the kitchenette. The black glass side table with a printer on top. The hanging bookshelf overflowing with textbooks and paper above it. The living room area with its plush black couch and lounge chair flanked by a clear glass side table bearing the streaks of someone new to cleaning. The too-big black Ikea desk dominating the right wall of the studio and the round black glass dining table with 4 chairs around it and fresh flowers in the center. Her face expressionless as she assessed the surroundings, handbag still in the crook of her elbow as if trying to determine the safest place for it. Nothing seemed suitable. Her gaze returned to me while I tried to recover from my nervous silence during her visual sweep.
“Ah! I’m in neuroscience” I reply trying to seem unaffected by her judgmental sweep of the studio. “The place is smack dab in the center of Ann Arbor. A three minute walk to campus and seven minutes to Main street, so really no better location in town.” I start to say. She starts to slowly walk past me towards the back of the room leaning around the corner to see what’s there. She inspects the bed with a gentle pat, the black comforter poofing a wafting of dust and lint into the air. She slowly turns the next corner to look at the bathroom and gives herself a gentle nod. “There’s bottled water in the fridge and you’re welcome to all the food and beverages in the kitchen.” I say gesturing behind me as I recite the little welcome speech I had practiced.
“Here are the keys to the apartment,” I say as I pick up the keys from the desk. Chelsea returns from her inspection with a less wary look on her face. She drops her handbag on the couch and sits down while I hand her the keys and give the super quick tour of where everything is while that creeping feeling of having overstayed my welcome pushes the words out of my mouth even faster. I wish her best of luck and to let me know if she needs anything. I open the door and I’m out. The first Airbnb guest has landed.
Pick up the book to learn how to start your own Airbnb: https://amzn.to/3gUwjh5
