Collaborative Consumption and Short Lets - a growing phenomenon…
Even if you are now merrily bound to a mortgage, lettings agents are things you’re probably familiar with. Letting out an empty property for year is the standard arrangement, though six month letting contracts are also common within the market. However, until now lettings of anything less than six months have been unheard of – let alone for spare space in people’s houses.
With the rise of the internet and phenomenon of collaborative consumption, all this and more has become possible – but what does it all mean and how is it going to change the way you shop, travel and even supplement your income?
What is collaborative consumption?
This alliterative phrase refers to the way the internet allows people to get back to the good, old-fashioned practices of sharing, bartering, lending and swapping. If you buy into what ‘Rachel & Roo’ from collaborativeconsumption.com have to say then you’ll see this phenomenon as a key force that is driving the next evolution in our consumer economy.
Many different types of website fit into this growing trend, from online market-places like eBay and Gumtree, to social lending and sharing sites like goCarShare and Freecycle. Essentially the internet, has allowed us to advertise things and contact each other in a way that cuts out the middle-man.
How does Crashpadder fit in?
Marketplaces are where Crashpadder fits in. Unlike eBay, which offers physical items and Gumtree that offers services (amongst other things), Crashpadder offers short lets with locals. When you think about it, before the internet there was no convenient way to arrange for someone to stay in your guest bedroom for short periods of time, let alone ensure it was arranged in a secure way that allows the guest and host to vet each-other.
Unlike eBay Crashpadder doesn’t cut out any middle men, though we are of course in direct competition with budget hotels. The thing is that previously the logistics of arranging multiple short-lets - with what are essentially vetted strangers - was a logistical impossibility.
The rise of the short let
Thanks to the likes of Crashpadder, short lets are slowly but surely becoming the new way to travel. Staying in a friendly local’s spare bedroom or on their sofa has all sorts of benefits:
Short lets via Crashpadder are on average 83% cheaper than budget hotel equivalents (according to hotels.com 2010 hotel pricing index).
Our short term accommodation produces a carbon footprint that is 80%-90% smaller than our budget hotel counterpart (according to Dave Hampton Carbon Coach).
Each short stay allows both guests and hosts to meet someone new and share their experiences of living and travelling in any given area.
Since our short-let hosts are all local to their area the money goes straight into the place a guest is visiting. Conversely hotel chains syphon all profits to the head office - and to people who have played no part in the guest’s stay at all.
Get involved…
By posting your spare room on Crashpadder, or perhaps by booking a stay in one of the short let Pads we already have onsite, you can become part of the collaborative consumption phenomenon. It may sound fancy but really it’s just people power in action - which we think is pretty cool…
Post your Pad »
Book a Crashpad »
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