Cape Town - Of the almost two million houses, apartments, castles, lodges and bedrooms listed on the Airbnb accommodation website, the most unique is found in Cape Town.
It’s a glorious three-bedroom apartment in Camps Bay with a pool on the deck, the beach close by, a lovely garden, and sliding doors and huge windows delivering stunning views of the ocean, Lion’s Head and Table Mountain. Guests arrive to find freshly baked bread scenting the kitchen, a bottle of wine on ice and the host Michelle von Heynitz going out of her way to make them welcome.
Her efforts have earned the Airbnb Unique Listing award for 2015, winning her a trip to Paris to collect her trophy.
The Everview Suite in Hove Road has an entrance hall with stairs leading up to a spacious open-plan living area and a stylish kitchen with all the mod cons. All three bedrooms are en suite, with the king-size bed in the master bedroom looking over the ocean, while the second and third bedrooms have mountain views. Not surprisingly it’s almost fully booked for months in advance at £261 (R5 700) a night.
Michelle, her husband Bernhard and their two children live on the property and are happy to answer any questions and suggest things to do in Cape Town. They bought the house many years ago “when we were young and couldn’t afford it”, Von Heynitz says.
After they had two children they renovated the property with a plan to rent it out to tenants.
“A friend asked if we had heard about Airbnb, so I put out a little flyer and got a bite and it’s such an exciting thing when you get an enquiry. That’s how it started.”
Two sets of guests have been less than ideal, but mostly she has been delighted by her visitors. “I have been completely overwhelmed by what a community it is. I get little handwritten notes from guests saying they had such a great time and thanking me for telling them about great restaurants to try,” she says. “I love telling them my favourite things to do, because I know what it’s like when I have travelled and it’s the absolute highlight to get that local flavour that you don’t get if you stay in a hotel.”
The price means that most of the visitors are foreigners, and there have been some fascinating people. Some Americans came to work on a rhino anti-poaching project, and another was a film director who held auditions in the apartment.
“The people you meet come from far and wide and within three or four days they can feel like close friends,” she says.
While Von Heynitz gets all the credit for the hosting, the house itself was renovated by an architect and furnished by an interior designer. The flooring, wood cladding and decking was built by her husband, who is in the flooring business.
Winning the award has brought her into contact with many of the Airbnb staff, and she admires the sense of community they have created through the website. “It gives you that human contact that trips can sometimes lack. I won’t book outside of Airbnb again because I’m impressed and I enjoy the people element it brings to holidays.”
Another thing she loves about Airbnb is how it has unlocked a different lifestyle for people around the world. She’s an accountant and works part time for Old Mutual, but, because the renting is so successful, she might cut her working hours to focus on hosting, which would also allow her to spend more time with their children.
l To see Everview, visit www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/2655966
Lesley Stones, Weekend Argus