Airbnb Welcomes You to Hell
Would you stay in this Halloween-inspired home for only $31 a night?
As if 2020 weren’t rough enough, Airbnb wants to bring travelers to hell. Well, the Michigan version at least.
The home rental site is hosting a Halloween-themed stay in the morbidly named township of Hell, an unincorporated community roughly 15 miles from Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The stay is hosted by John Colone, the self-proclaimed mayor of Hell, who’ll be handing over the keys to a tiny home in the town decked out for the spooky holiday for three nights starting Oct. 14. For only $31 a night, guests will even be dubbed the honorary “Mayor Hell” for the night of their stay.
Brands or destinations often employ these sorts of limited time-only Airbnb rentals as a marketing opportunity. Just a few weeks ago, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s mansion was available on the site to celebrate the show’s reunion special. But this time, Airbnb, not an outside party, is the force behind this effort.
The home includes an outdoor dining area and fire pit, perfect for roasting marshmallows (or creeping out your companion with scary stories). In his message to potential guests, Colone recommends getting a bite to eat at the local Hell Hole Diner or Hell Saloon—because if you lived in a town named Hell, what else are you going to call it?
The stay is open only to Michigan residents, and ghouls, guests and ghosts better sanitize as all will have to follow the state’s public health protocols.
This isn’t Airbnb’s first dance with the devil. Earlier this month, at a different home, the platform came under criticism from Frederick T. Joseph, CEO of creative agency We Have Stories, who accused a host of incorrectly portraying their property, which was allegedly filled with paraphernalia related to satanic rituals.
