If you imagine booking a camping trip on Airbnb, you may have visions of glamping under the celebrities in a luxurious bell tent.
Perhaps there’s even a rustic hot tub waiting for you to take a dip, before you cozy up by a crackling fire, marshmallow stick in hand.
But then, as you scroll through the listings, desirous to make this dream a reality, you come upon an Airbnb offering that brings you crashing back all the way down to earth.
Titled “Large Tent Near The Beach,” this listing guarantees an experience far faraway from your luxurious glamping fantasies.
A camping getaway in someone’s backyard
Here, you’re invited to pitch an old tent in someone’s backyard, surrounded by half-dead grass and a rusty Hills Hoist.
In the way in which of bedding, you’ll be sleeping on a single mattress on the ground and in terms of al fresco dining, there’s a six-seater dining table situated next to a portable clothesline.
Yes, you read that right.
Your holiday abode under the celebrities is, in fact, a DIY situation in someone’s garden, with the beach as its only redeeming feature – that’s, in the event you squint hard enough through the fence.
That much for a tent?
The web was left scratching their heads when someone shared this listing, positioned in Seaton, South Australia, on Reddit.
“Surely this will’t be legal?” someone asked.
One other eloquently remarked, “They’re taking the p*ss.”
The poster also shared how much it will cost to book the tent, with prices ranging from $295 AUD (about $193 USD) for a one-week stay in February.
“It’s gross how expensive that’s,” one user wrote, while another person stated, “$295 for a tent?!”
“That’s so expensive for what it’s for,” one other agreed. “Truthfully, now we have a massive housing crisis and don’t even get me began on the price of living. That is disgusting.”
“On par with a caravan park”
But then again, others argued that the value was justified.
“Okay but that’s for a week not a night…” someone identified. “That’s on par with a caravan park minus having to establish a tent yourself.”
And another person emphasized, “Yeah, it’s cheaper than a camping ground.”
“I wouldn’t personally stay there but what’s the difference between this and truly camping? Some people would really like this,” one other asked.
But someone replied, “Oh I don’t know, perhaps the undeniable fact that that is in some random backyard and never out in the forest by a lake or in the bush with a lookout and mountaineering trails, which is the entire point of camping.”
“For that price, chances are you’ll as well rent a unit,” one other mentioned.
The Airbnb host, William, described himself as a “businessman” and “entrepreneur” who has “been in business his whole life” and “goals for perfection.”
The listing has since been removed nevertheless it’s uncertain whether this was done by William or Airbnb.
Camping is considered one of Airbnb’s 50 categories, so it looks as if the listing is technically permitted.
In line with the website, the camping category could provide help to find “a lotus tent in the south of France to a yurt on the northern California coast.”
It adds: “Browse a number of holiday camping rentals and choose your spot under the celebrities.”