Post number 4,
I flew into Sydney from Melbourne yesterday for a couple of days. As I finish this post, I am in a little coffee shop in Sydney, dressed casually in a pair of shorts and a shirt, sipping coffee and enjoying every moment of this morning.
Last night, I caught up with a fellow entrepreneur and business owner for dinner. It is always inspirational to share a meal and talk business strategy and execution with people who back themselves and go after what they want in life.
Later today I get to celebrate my exit from my previous company with my old team with drinks near the Sydney Opera House.
Later I am attending a white party in Sydney with an awesome husband and wife team who are also joint business owners and amazing entrepreneurs. So far, I have a white pair of sneakers and a white hat. I need to find some white pants and a shirt this morning.
The main subject of this post is Air BnB.
For the next couple of days I will be a high rise apartment in Sydney CBD hosted by a bright young lady I met via the Airbnb App. I had a couple of timing arrangements I needed to be clear on and we were able to chat via the app. When she responded almost instantly I knew we would get along fine.
She is a natural entrepreneur. Originally from Shanghai, she regularly rents out her spare room and has got it down to a fine art. She also owns and operates a small business as part of her mission to gain citizenship in Australia.
The room is perfect. Everything set up for a guest and I wrote a draft of this post at my new temp desk on her wifi on my #chromebook. I cannot help be moved by people who will fight everyday for what they really want in life
The room is costing about $US90 per night including cleaning fees. Incredible value in Sydney.
I have also used this service in Austin Texas, Perth Western Australia and Phnom Penh in Cambodia.
I am a fan. I can only talk about my experiences so far and they have all been good. The first time I used this service was in Austin Texas. I was at a conference and I had a week off beforehand to have a look around.
Two friends also attending the conference agreed to share the cost. We secured this amazing apartment with a balcony overlooking sixth street.
It had everything you could ever want. By the time you put in cleaning fees it was about US$350 per night.
My next AirBnB adventure was in Perth, a beautiful apartment in the city, opposite Fast Eddies for those who know Perth. It was such a fantastic place and I got to host some great friends for some good fun. It cost me about $US 90 per night. Incredible value.
Recently I attended a conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia, again I took a couple of days leave before hand to check out Phnom Penh. My friend and I secured a two bedroom apartment for about US $100 per night. Walking distance from all the attractions!
I am a big fan of the shared economy. It is absolutely the future of things. Owning lazy assets is a recipe for failure anyway. Reality is evolving into a faster and more ruthless environment everyday. Only the fittest and leanest will survive.
As I set out on my global adventure, I intend to use Airbnb as one of my resources. I have a couple more and will discuss them on another day.
About this picture
This photo is was taken in San Antonio Texas. It features my two companions from my Austin Airbnb adventure.
My friend on the left had a bucket list item to to go see an NBA game live. We got to see one of the finals and afterwards we walked into an amazing festival of live music and lots of fun.
For me there is nothing sweeter in life than traveling the world with great friends to amazing places and soaking up every moment you can.