Making rent is tough, especially if you live in a popular city. Here’s one artist’s stunt to highlight the problem while also taking a swipe at the sharing economy: An Etsy listing offering a $900 tent to let you hang from your fire escape while you rent out your apartment through Airbnb to make money.
A $900 fire-escape tent from Etsy so you can Airbnb your apartment and sleep there, too
Disruptive!
From the listing:
Here in New York, everyone uses Airbnb to be able to afford sky high rent prices.
Many people take to staying at each other’s apartments while their own space is being rented to an Airbnb guest, creating a circular system where people end up consistently having to borrow and barter with one another for each other’s owed space.
What if we could end this system of dependence and become self-sufficient?
With these hanging tents we offer buyers the chance to do just that, hanging from their Lower East Side fire escapes overnight as guests stay in their apartments.
This way apartment renters never have to leave their home and Airbnb guests can pay off the month’s rent in just a week’s time.
Brad Troemel, the artist behind this listing, lives in New York City, where a major political fight with Airbnb is unfolding. Critics of the company contend that the home rental service further constrains the city’s already burdened housing supply.
Kyle Chayka, who I first saw post this listing, says that Troemel will actually make these tents for you, should you want them.
We can’t vouch for their safety. Also, they are pretty obviously illegal, not to mention crazy.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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