Igloo Listed On Airbnb For Rent By Brooklyn Man
An igloo listed on Airbnb over the weekend was taken down by the rental site only six hours after the ad was posted by a Brooklyn man. Patrick Horton from the Greenpoint neighborhood in New York City spent half that amount of time actually building the igloo. An email sent to Horton on Sunday explains why the igloo listed on Airbnb was so hastily removed from search results.
Horton, a 28-year-old advertising art director from Seattle, claims he’s had the idea to build an igloo for a couple of months. The Huffington Post reports that Horton, along with his two roommates, Justin Seeley and Griff Jones, were sitting around one day drinking beer and cooked up the idea to build an igloo. Reportedly, the trio spent a good amount of time researching how to build an igloo while they waited for the first big snowfall of the winter season.
“We were sitting and joking around that we should build an igloo, and then we decided we’d actually do it. We were just waiting for a snow day.”
Alcohol and a lot of YouTube videos were involved in the construction of the one-room urban igloo that sits just outside their Brooklyn apartment on India St. Once Snowpocalypse 2016 hit the eastern U.S. early last weekend, Horton, Seeley, and Griff braved several inches of snow on Saturday to build up an eight-foot pile. According to Horton, they let the beginnings of their igloo freeze overnight and dug it out on Sunday.
These dudes built an igloo during the blizzard and listed it on Airbnb https://t.co/xDazHRgD76 pic.twitter.com/vpYcBmwgPq
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) January 26, 2016
Snowzilla, otherwise known as Winter Storm Jonas, dumped over two feet of snow on New York City in a span of a few days, starting last Friday. Blizzard conditions prompted a travel ban that lasted through Sunday. While most people stayed inside and warm, Horton and his two cohorts spent a good span of about three hours outside on Sunday digging out the entrance and one room to an igloo they described as a boutique igloo for two.
Watch a time-lapse of Winter Storm Jonas blanketing New York’s Central Park: https://t.co/dsODhDJHia pic.twitter.com/FrF1T2NBV1
— Travel + Leisure (@TravelLeisure) January 26, 2016
Adding to the igloo’s romantic ambience, they completed construction with soft lighting, two candles, one air mattress, pillows, and blankets. Landscaping consisted of a small, potted tree just outside the igloo’s entrance. Hit with an entrepreneurial idea, the three came up with a way to possibly share the igloo and, in return, earn a good amount of cash for their hard work and time spent.
“We figured someone might want to take their Tinder date there and would be willing to pay for it. How many girls could say that they were taken on a date in an urban igloo? Not many.”
An ad for an igloo listed on Airbnb shortly followed. Horton took to the popular Airbnb lodging website on Sunday to list the igloo for rent, calling it a private boutique winter igloo for two where couples could go to experience a chic dome-style bungalow with Bae. The Airbnb ad also offered shampoo, along with modern toiletries via their apartment bathroom all for a whopping $200 per night.
“Dripping with ingenuity and alt-lifestyle aura lays this Snowpocalypse’s most desirable getaway,” wrote Horton, adding that it was built completely by hand all natural.
Due to safety concerns, the igloo listed on Airbnb was promptly removed, even though igloos are listed on the wishlists portion of Airbnb’s website as an Airbnb pick. An email letter sent to Horton Sunday evening said that the Trust and Safety Team took down the igloo listed on Airbnb citing occupancy hazards. According to Horton, the igloo is actually stronger than it looks with walls that are two feet thick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25uMWtVcYS4
Said Horton, “We had four or five people in there last night. Even if you bump up against the wall, nothing falls on you.”
Horton even offered to sleep in it overnight, saying even if it did fall, it wouldn’t kill him.
Five people apparently showed interest in the igloo listed on Airbnb before the ad was removed. Horton said he would have gladly rented it to someone, but the listing was really just a joke. Airbnb did offer up a $50 coupon that can be used to book a first reservation but advised Horton to choose something that doesn’t melt.
[Image via Shutterstock/Nataliia Makarova]
