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Airbnb has added a replica of the floating house from the popular 2009 Pixar film Up and other unique pop culture-inspired stays to its inventory. The experience is part of Airbnb's new Icons line of vacation rentals, which CEO Brian Chesky recently unveiled to the public in Los Angeles. ... View full entry
Iconic Japanese design retailer MUJI is back on the residential market with details of its new MUJI Base Kamogawa home renovation project for Airbnb. Located an hour and thirty minutes outside Tokyo in Chiba Prefecture, the new temporary stay inside the 100-year-old former Noda Printmaking... View full entry
Airbnb has named the 100 winners of its recently-launched OMG! Fund design contest celebrating the “craziest and most unique” buildings submitted to the short-term rental giant from more than 20 countries across the world. The contest awards $100,000 to each design as judged by a four-person... View full entry
Airbnb is making a new $10 million investment in design with a new project called the OMG! Fund that will commission “100 of the craziest and most unique property ideas” in a design contest open to architects, designers, and the public across the globe. The contest’s brief’s sole... View full entry
Tensions over visitors, some of whom will, inevitably, want to claim a piece of the desert themselves, has been a part of the area’s story for years. But as the pandemic has boosted Joshua Tree’s allure for travelers, transplants and investors, it has magnified old conflicts and created new conundrums. — The New York Times
Numbers of short-term rentals have doubled in Joshua Tree and the neighboring community of Yucca Valley, presenting an existential crisis to some of its inhabitants dismayed at the new boom in development to meet the demands of the market. Even the tree species that the town is named for is under... View full entry
The global tourism boom that’s inundated legacy destinations like Venice, Amsterdam, and Barcelona has birthed a term—overtourism—to describe the harried state of a city besieged by too many visitors. A recent report by the World Travel and Tourism Council, Destination 2030, looked at cities’ readiness for tourism growth and concluded that Vancouver, [...] had “visitor volumes and activities with potential to cause strain on the city.” — CityLab
Tourism is one proven way cities can boost their economy in addition to promoting cultural awareness. However, how much strain is tourism putting on these cities? According to recent CityLab coverage by Molly McCluskey, "overtourism" is a term city development and tourism councils are using... View full entry
Tucked within the natural landscape of Vysočina, Czech Republic is a 538 square foot structure inspired by traditional fisherman cottages. Although its size is limited due to building legislation, this holiday cottage provides scenic views and a space perfect for recreation. Consisting of four... View full entry
Behold the first prototype of the Brooklyn-based Klein, a new company that wants to make the process of building small houses more affordable all over the world. A45 is a 13-foot-long wood and glass cabin for one, two, or three people (if one of them is tiny) designed by the Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group [...] meant to be the first of many designs [that will fulfill the fantasy] of having a home outside the city... — fastcompany.com
Founder Soren Rose started Klein after leading the firm Søren Rose Studio based in New York and Copenhagen. By providing small, cheap, prefab houses the company aims to make vacation home ownership more affordable to a wider audience. Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.While... View full entry
Panorama Glass Lodge is a luxury vacation cabin in Hvalfjörðu, Iceland. Situated directly by the sea, visitors will experience stunning views of the Aurora Borealis from above and reflected off the water below. The structure features an all glass bedroom allowing travelers to experience... View full entry
The savvy emphasis on escape and disconnectedness and repose has resonated among the millennials Getaway aims to reach. In each of its markets, outside New York, Boston and Washington, Getaway’s houses are booked solid on weekends, and in early 2017, the company, founded by two Harvard graduates, raised $15 million in venture capital funding, which suggests that a tiny house campground may soon be coming to a forest near you. — The Washington Post
Getaway positions its retreats just outside major cities where individuals are encouraged to recharge and reconnect in nature. Tapping into the tiny house phenomena that rapidly gained popularity among millennials after the 2008 housing crisis, Getaway houses can be rented at just over $160 a... View full entry
PlansMatter is a new travel website that offers vacation rentals for design-minded individuals. The accommodations are hand-picked by two architects, Scott Muellner and Connie Lindor, the founders of the website. The site is not just another Airbnb—listings for each property point to various... View full entry
