Friends set up an airbed on a cliff to create ‘world’s worst Airbnb’
The listing had 10 requests within 24 hours
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With campsites selling out across the UK this summer, desperate travellers are on the hunt for anywhere with availability.
Which perhaps explains how three friends who intentionally set out to create the “world’s worst Airbnb” – an inflatable mattress, chest of drawers and piece of carpet placed on a clifftop – had 10 requests for their listing within 24 hours.
Jamie Kamaz, Rhys Simmons and Thomas Michaelides made a video of the stunt and shared it on their Youtube channel, Passion Squad.
The trio had pulled off a similar prank before by plonking a mattress, bedside table, lamp and two wines glasses filled with water in the middle of a field in North London and uploading the “property” to Airbnb.
Although they didn’t expect anyone to actually want to stay at their al fresco pad, the team were surprised to receive numerous enquiries from prospective guests.
This time, they wanted to up the ante by locating their pop-up “bedroom” somewhere more scenic – the popular beauty spot of Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset.
“We timed this thing perfectly. Everyone in the UK had just been coming out of a lockdown, so everyone was looking for that special place to stay,” said Mr Simmons.
The requests came thick and fast, although most of them seemed to be in on the joke.
“Some of the responses were absolutely hilarious,” Mr Kamaz told Metro. “Within the first 24 hours we got over 10 requests, which was very surprising.
“I think majority of messages were sarcastic and knew it was a joke but with a few we couldn’t figure out if they were serious or not which made it all the more funnier [sic].”
The trio pledged that if the video garnered 20,000 views, they would create a third “world’s worst Airbnb” in which they would actually host a guest.
It follows another Airbnb Youtube prank, in which UK-based Youtubers Josh Pieters and Archie Manners, better known as Josh and Archie, listed a grand “townhouse” on Airbnb – which turned out to be a doll’s house.
The pair devised the stunt in order to check how closely the home sharing platform vets its listings.
Enlisting the help of the UK’s only doll’s house interior designer, Emma Waddle, the pair took photos of one of her exquisite creations but deliberately included clues, such as leaving a giant bottle of water in the hallway, to give Airbnb a chance to catch them out.
The listing was verified within 24 hours.
Soon, bookings were rolling in, including from a woman looking to book the miniature house the night before her wedding.
The Independent contacted Airbnb for comment.
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