n my way to the airport after a
wedding this past summer, I had an
extra night to spare before fly-
ing out. Instead of whiling the time away
in a nondescript roadside hotel, I turned to
Airbnb. On the site — where people list rooms
or entire homes to be rented out — I found a
cute little renovated school bus in
West Virginia owned by a mil-
lennial named Will. For less
than half of what I would've
paid for a conventional ho-
tel, I experienced an incred-
ibly restful sleep in Will's yard
as the rain bounced off the bus
roof, the pebbles-inside-a-tin-can
sound lulling me off to dreamland.
I also had a chance to chat with Will, who
explained how he'd upgraded the bus (includ-
ing adding wood floors, a stove, shelves and
a table) told me about the interesting people
he'd met since starting the experiment and
gave me personalized recommendations for
going into town.
It was the kind of travel experience that
stands out as being memorable. In a world
where technology allows us to connect
in more ways than ever before, we may
sometimes feel completely disconnected.
The sharing economy that Airbnb is part of,
though, creates social networks — just one of
its many benefits.
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