An American chap was once telling me a joke. It was about cars, two men were arguing; an American and a something-else that I don’t remember. The punchline was that the American said “Well, I should know because we Americans invented the car”. I...
You might not think that there would be a need for short term rental accommodation that’s specifically for people who choose to eat vegetarian or vegan diets but believe me, there is. Do people who don’t eat animal products really truly need their own...
As I write this, in June 2020, museums and places where people gather are closed in the UK. There’s nothing good about this – apart from the obvious one of preventing the spread of the coronavirus – but although it’s not possible for us to...
It might be a temporary thing, or even permanent, but a lot of short term rental hosts who have been advertising on Airbnb or a similar service are rethinking their business models. Recently, several states, counties and cities have banned short term rentals so that...
It’s still a very imposing place. But had I been there towards the end of the Second World War, I think I would have found Colditz completely terrifying. Seeing it today, in the sunshine, it’s hard to believe that this was the most secure Nazi...
Yes, it’s sort of a trick question. The Penguin News is a proper newspaper and is published once a week giving local news to the residents. Its office and its readership are located in a place where penguins outnumber the human residents by a hundred to one....
At the time I’m writing this, no-one really knows what’s going to happen to the travel industry. Even before this virus confined us all largely to our homes, many people were avoiding flying, for instance, because of concerns for the planet. Will flying...
If you’ve been to London, you might have noticed them. If you’re planning to go there, then watch out for them. These curious little structures, looking rather like a Victorian garden shed, are scattered throughout the city.There are only thirteen of them...
Hosts, I know that you want to make your rentals as cosy as possible. And I realise that you want to make your guests feel right at home. But that doesn’t always mean that you’re making life easy for yourself.An important maxim to remember when...
There are many reasons given as to why Americans don’t like to travel abroad. We know that the excuses such as ‘why go anywhere when we have everything here’ is nonsense. And today, fares to the rest of the world are comparitively cheap so it...
A study recently revealed the top fifty rudest cities in the USA. By this, they mean the least polite. The place where no one is likely to give you their seat on a bus or hold the door open for you or spend time indulging in small talk. It will come as no surprise to...
You’re probably like me and don’t really approve of the way that we are ‘nannied’ about germs these days. But when the world is in a situation like the one we have at the moment with the coronavirus, then hygiene has become incredibly important...
I could spend weeks in Berlin just looking at the architecture. And one building to see before it gets destroyed, or simply crumbles away, is the Stadtbad Lichtenberg. The building was opened in 1928 as a public baths. But more than that. It had swimming pools, a spa,...
At the time I’m writing this, the end of April 2020, there are plenty of stories going around that we might be told by our governments that social distancing – currently because of COVID19 – needs to continue for many months to come.It may be that...
At the time I’m writing this, there are many property owners who think that maybe the days of short term rentals are over. It might be history by the time you read this but right now the coronavirus is at its height and the general opinion seems to be that there...
It will only take you a couple of hours to drive to the Dolmen of Guadalperal from Madrid. And the best time to visit this monument – thought to be around 7,000 years old – is during a spell of dry weather. Zoom right in on the map below and you’ll...
The image above tells us something very clearly, doesn’t it? It’s easy to think that if we dressed in blue bodysuits, black braided wigs, black apron-thingies and painted our faces with blue triangles that we’d stand out from the crowd, right? But as...
Yes, that photograph. You know which one I mean, don’t you? You may have had it on your wall at some time, or you might even have it now, as IKEA alone has sold at least half a million copies over the years. But who took it? Where is the photographer now? And...
At the time I’m writing this, it is so quiet around here. Most of us are under house arrest thanks to this virus and even though we live close to a flight path, even the number of planes going overhead is greatly reduced. And internet ‘commentators’...
Of course, it’s still too early to tell. But the signals are all there that people who provide short term rental accommodation are going to have a pretty hard time in the next few months … or more. Hosts are already bleating about how their...
