AirBnb is known for its wacky accommodations that can sometimes surprise even an experienced traveler.
Staying in a storefront for $1,300 a night might be a bit too much for some people, but one American tourist was keen to grab the deal.
The listing, which has since been removed from AirBnb, was meant to be a joke as part of the Art Basel international art fair in Switzerland.
But the stunt escalated when the woman decided to accept the offer from the Kleinbasel Leihlager store on Feldbergstrasse.
Gawin Steiner, a member of the Leihlager team, told Swiss media: “It was all a marketing gimmick, at no time did we assume anyone would book or actually come.”
The window was originally listed at 3,300 Swiss francs ($3,393 / £2,768), but the woman’s kind-hearted hosts renegotiated the bill privately, with it checking in on June 14.
Steiner explained, “She booked for three nights and we renegotiated the price a bit.
“Now Night in the Showcase costs just 1,300 Swiss Francs ($1,337/£1,090).”
The team did not expect his arrival and had to rush to make all the preparations.
Steiner said: “We built scaffolding out of slats and put it up like a wall. It would be a bit strange otherwise.
Included with the window is a small office space and has a chic, modern look.
It also has sweeping views of the parking lot on either side of the street with mid-century modern furnishings and even a TV.
The store was keen to prevent people from confusing the space with the kind of windowed rooms found in the red-light districts of Amsterdam or Hamburg.
The place has a warmer vibe than that, and other than the bed taken from the back room, the furniture and plants were donated by everyone.
Steiner added: “The effort was worth it and somehow this project made us feel like we were part of Art Basel.”
It is not known for the moment if the American managed to get a good night’s rest and sleep in to catch up on the jet lag, because the street becomes very busy from 9 am.
It is also currently unclear whether the Leihlager store plans to list the rental for the Basel art fair next year.
Steiner said: “I don’t think it would work next year. I can’t imagine the feeling of sleep being that good.
This is not the first time that an AirBnb has published such an odd listing.
A ridiculous AirBnb room in a window of a convenience store opened in New York in 2015.
And a weird AirBnb which directly overlooks a restaurant has also appeared in New York.
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