 "Where to stay for $39 a night in New York City? In a yellow cab")
It may have a great view of Manhattan, but this vacation rental sits in parking spaces in Long Island City, Queens, and has no bathroom. And it has a bit of that old car smell.
Still, Jonathan Powley's listing on Airbnb does have its perks. The views really are fantastic, and at $39 a night ($49 on Fridays and Saturdays), visitors to New York City would be hard pressed to find a cheaper accommodation. The rental, though, is actually a decommissioned yellow cab with a bed in the back.
"People spend anniversaries in there," Powley, who lives in Long Island City, said. "It's very romantic."
Powley said the taxi and the motor homes he had previously listed on the vacation rental website were in demand. The taxi was booked for most nights that he made it available, he said, and it had attracted visitors from as far as Singapore and as near as Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn.
The price is the primary appeal of the taxi, some guests said, because even low-end hotels in the city can cost hundreds of dollars a night. Powley's offering represents a cheap refuge, however unusual, for the cash-conscious traveller.
"It's fun to be able to say that you slept in a cab," Tabitha Akins, 29, a former guest, said. "On purpose anyway." Powley, a stand-up comedian from Pennsylvania, said he draws on his undergraduate degree in hotel and restaurant management to create a comfortable, immersive environment for guests.
The back seats of the former taxi, a 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan, were replaced with a full-size mattress covered with black and yellow sheets. For each reservation, a yellow tray is outfitted with yellow mugs, yellow roses and bananas - "because they're yellow," Powley said.
Guests may wear the yellow slippers, embossed with images of taxis, which Powley places atop the yellow floor mats and the yellow hats with checkered brims that read "New York Taxi."
"You can always make people's experiences better," Powley said of his taxi-themed embellishments. "It's not just like, 'Hey, here's a van, sleep in it.'" Akins, a fashion stylist who lives in Brooklyn, stayed in the taxi last summer with her husband and their dog. Despite the tight quarters, Akins said she slept well. She said she rarely finds herself in yellow cabs otherwise.
"We're more of the Uber and Lyft variety," she said.
Powley said he thought of the idea in December 2014, when he was selling Christmas trees. A mobile home he had bought to help his workers keep warm had needed repairs, and he thought he could rent it out to pay for the cost.
The first rental proved popular, Powley said, so he bought more vehicles - including the yellow cab - converted them into bedrooms, and listed them on Airbnb. Last summer, he rented eight vehicles simultaneously, all parked legally, he said, on the streets of Long Island City. That meant a lot of sheets for Powley to change, and so he is currently listing only the taxi.
The contrast between the upscale waterfront neighborhood and the humble appearance of Powley's rentals surprised at least one guest.
"I was flabbergasted how many dog-sitting places there were," Alex Amato, 34, said of Long Island City after staying in one of the rentals in May 2015.
"And there I was sleeping in a van!" Mr. Amato added.
Mr. Amato said he enjoyed the contrast but found the lack of a bathroom inconvenient.
"It wasn't a problem most of the time," he said. "But when it's a problem, it's a serious problem."
Not every guest offered a glowing review.
Briana Sullivan, 43, of Amesbury, Mass., had planned to spend a night in the cab with her 10-year-old daughter in June, but she said "the smell that came out just like burned my eyes."
She found other accommodations in Manhattan.
"I'd rather sleep in the back of my Prius honestly," Ms. Sullivan said.
Mr. Powley knows the taxi is not for everyone.
Still, he provides a list of nearby cafes, bars and public facilities where guests may use restrooms. Many end up at the 51st Bakery and Cafe, which is near where he parks the taxi.
"You can always tell when they walk in the door," Faye Hess, an owner of the cafe, said. "They have that sort of I-slept-in-a-car-last-night look."
Sleeping in a vehicle on city streets was not a crime as long as the vehicle was parked legally, police officials said.
Around 2,000 yellow cabs are decommissioned every year, according to Allan J. Fromberg, a spokesman for the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission.
"Quite often, New York taxis will have a second life in another city," Mr. Fromberg said, adding that he had never heard of one being used as a bedroom.
Mr. Powley said his rental complies with Airbnb policies. Peter Schottenfels, a spokesman for Airbnb, said of the taxi bedroom, "We know New Yorkers are creative and Airbnb guests appreciate the chance to choose from a number of unique options."
David Kawasaki, 40, of California, spent a night in the taxi with his wife this summer, and he said the experience was strange, rugged fun.
"It's definitely something to talk about," he said. "That's the best part of it."
Still, Jonathan Powley's listing on Airbnb does have its perks. The views really are fantastic, and at $39 a night ($49 on Fridays and Saturdays), visitors to New York City would be hard pressed to find a cheaper accommodation. The rental, though, is actually a decommissioned yellow cab with a bed in the back.
"People spend anniversaries in there," Powley, who lives in Long Island City, said. "It's very romantic."
Powley said the taxi and the motor homes he had previously listed on the vacation rental website were in demand. The taxi was booked for most nights that he made it available, he said, and it had attracted visitors from as far as Singapore and as near as Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn.
The price is the primary appeal of the taxi, some guests said, because even low-end hotels in the city can cost hundreds of dollars a night. Powley's offering represents a cheap refuge, however unusual, for the cash-conscious traveller.
"It's fun to be able to say that you slept in a cab," Tabitha Akins, 29, a former guest, said. "On purpose anyway." Powley, a stand-up comedian from Pennsylvania, said he draws on his undergraduate degree in hotel and restaurant management to create a comfortable, immersive environment for guests.
The back seats of the former taxi, a 2002 Honda Odyssey minivan, were replaced with a full-size mattress covered with black and yellow sheets. For each reservation, a yellow tray is outfitted with yellow mugs, yellow roses and bananas - "because they're yellow," Powley said.
Guests may wear the yellow slippers, embossed with images of taxis, which Powley places atop the yellow floor mats and the yellow hats with checkered brims that read "New York Taxi."
"You can always make people's experiences better," Powley said of his taxi-themed embellishments. "It's not just like, 'Hey, here's a van, sleep in it.'" Akins, a fashion stylist who lives in Brooklyn, stayed in the taxi last summer with her husband and their dog. Despite the tight quarters, Akins said she slept well. She said she rarely finds herself in yellow cabs otherwise.
"We're more of the Uber and Lyft variety," she said.
Powley said he thought of the idea in December 2014, when he was selling Christmas trees. A mobile home he had bought to help his workers keep warm had needed repairs, and he thought he could rent it out to pay for the cost.
The first rental proved popular, Powley said, so he bought more vehicles - including the yellow cab - converted them into bedrooms, and listed them on Airbnb. Last summer, he rented eight vehicles simultaneously, all parked legally, he said, on the streets of Long Island City. That meant a lot of sheets for Powley to change, and so he is currently listing only the taxi.
The contrast between the upscale waterfront neighborhood and the humble appearance of Powley's rentals surprised at least one guest.
"I was flabbergasted how many dog-sitting places there were," Alex Amato, 34, said of Long Island City after staying in one of the rentals in May 2015.
"And there I was sleeping in a van!" Mr. Amato added.
Mr. Amato said he enjoyed the contrast but found the lack of a bathroom inconvenient.
"It wasn't a problem most of the time," he said. "But when it's a problem, it's a serious problem."
Not every guest offered a glowing review.
Briana Sullivan, 43, of Amesbury, Mass., had planned to spend a night in the cab with her 10-year-old daughter in June, but she said "the smell that came out just like burned my eyes."
She found other accommodations in Manhattan.
"I'd rather sleep in the back of my Prius honestly," Ms. Sullivan said.
Mr. Powley knows the taxi is not for everyone.
Still, he provides a list of nearby cafes, bars and public facilities where guests may use restrooms. Many end up at the 51st Bakery and Cafe, which is near where he parks the taxi.
"You can always tell when they walk in the door," Faye Hess, an owner of the cafe, said. "They have that sort of I-slept-in-a-car-last-night look."
Sleeping in a vehicle on city streets was not a crime as long as the vehicle was parked legally, police officials said.
Around 2,000 yellow cabs are decommissioned every year, according to Allan J. Fromberg, a spokesman for the city's Taxi and Limousine Commission.
"Quite often, New York taxis will have a second life in another city," Mr. Fromberg said, adding that he had never heard of one being used as a bedroom.
Mr. Powley said his rental complies with Airbnb policies. Peter Schottenfels, a spokesman for Airbnb, said of the taxi bedroom, "We know New Yorkers are creative and Airbnb guests appreciate the chance to choose from a number of unique options."
David Kawasaki, 40, of California, spent a night in the taxi with his wife this summer, and he said the experience was strange, rugged fun.
"It's definitely something to talk about," he said. "That's the best part of it."
©2016 The New York Times News Service