12
WIZZ MAGAZINE
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2012
B
rowsing for somewhere to stay in
Wizz Air’s newest destination of
Lublin, choices are limited for the
budget traveller. The guide produced by the
tourist office lists nine hotels, of which only
one is under three-star. Though brimming
with culture, Lublin isn’t geared up for the
tourist trade in the way that somewhere
like Krakow is. The Ukrainian businessmen
can patronise the Lublinianka Grand; what
can the more wallet-conscious visitor do?
Live on air, that’s what. Founded in a San
Francisco loft in 2008, airbnb.com matches
local hosts with adventurous newcomers.
Originally ‘airbnb’ meant literally that – an
air bed and breakfast for a few dollars.
The concept worked – now you can “Rent
from people in 29,715 cities and 192
countries”. It’s not just mattresses or
sofas, but entire flats, houses, farms or
even estates. Prices vary as much as the
properties but the principle remains: hosts
make a modest profit from their private
space, visitors receive an authentic local
experience, plus lodging, for relatively
little. In a city like London, with its
outrageous rates, it’s a near miracle.
London was where Lublin local Dorota
Korólczyk first used airbnb. “I went there
for six months,” says the 26-year-old
interior designer. “The only way I could
have done it was through airbnb. The hosts
I found there will be friends for life. It was
such a wonderful experience.”
Tapping into airbnb for the night of
my Lublin visit – it operates just like a
hotel-booking site – I could have chosen
a farmhouse in Studzieniec, with a pool,
fishing pier and paragliding nearby;
something called ‘Peter’s Hut in the Wild’
in Podborcze; and a room in a dog-filled
house on the city outskirts. Location
being important, I chose Dorota’s place in
the city centre.
After returning home to work for a
design company, Dorota was the first
Lublinite to open her doors to all-comers.
A real airbnb convert, she sticks to the
concept faithfully – her offer is €8 for an
air bed in a spotless apartment tastefully
decorated in white and brown, with art
on the walls, literature in English and
Polish on the bookshelves and the odd
houseplant. A breakfast of delicious Polish-
integral sunflower-seed bread, sausage
and cheese, and tea in bewildering fruit
flavours, arrives with a string of local tips
that later prove invaluable.
I had been to Lublin just as Dorota had
been to London – no mini bar, no added
extras, no frosty receptionist – and felt
much the better for it. Isn’t that what
travel is all about?
TRAVEL 2.0
BEYOND BED & BREAKFAST
Words by Adi Ruszil
