Have you used a travel-oriented P2P (person to person) website?

I have not but a friend of mine put his car on RelayRides. It rented only about once a month, but he’s in the suburbs. Probably in the city it would get more use. It worked out fine but it was to infrequent to be worthwhile.

He also used AirBnB to rent a place for a month on a business trip, instead of a hotel. He was in a townhome with a yard, so he could take his dog along. The owner was away on business, He says he definitely would do it again.

Very cool, @jaytkay. I think borrowing the car would make me too nervous, but the lodging and some of the other stuff intrigues me.

We’ve used VRBO.com to rent an apartment in Manhattan for a long weekend. We used a local bed and breakfast site for a long weekend in Philly.

I know someone who used CouchSurfing.com for a very long excursion down under.

I wonder about the legalities and insurance concerns with personal car rental. A lot of people are supposedly making a killing renting out there homes near the Meadowlands for the SuperBowl this weekend, since there aren’t many hotels in the area.

’I wonder about the legalities and insurance concerns with’ all of it, @hearkat. It just seems so risky for the owner. I would consider being a renter, but I’d never renting out anything I own to strangers.

RelayRides insures your car when you loan it out. $1M liability for damage caused to third parties and full coverage of damage to your car.

I think few owners would sign up otherwise.

Link

Great info, @jaytkay! Just the thing I was wanting to know.

What kind of papers did you have to sign to rent an apartment, @hearkat?

I honestly don’t remember signing papers – there may have been things on the website that we checked a box to agree to. We interacted with the ‘owner’ via email and pre-paid a percentage. I’m vaguely remembering that she talked to my fiancé on the phone when we were making arrangements. She met us at the Starbucks on the corner then walked us to the place. I think these multiple interactions give the owner the opportunity to get a sense of the people they’ll be having in their place. As I recall, she’d met her partner and moved into a larger space together, but kept the studio for friends and family and to rent out.

Ah, the meeting at Starbucks is a nice touch, @hearkat. Face to face, last chance to back out.

Exactly, @ibstubro; and I wouldn’t be surprised if she hadn’t been watching from the other coffee shop across the street to get a feel for us, and whether she would show up at all. It makes sense to me.