SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

The Pope is coming to town, and the people need a place to stay [marketwatch.com]:

The pope will be making a whirlwind trip to the U.S. in September [marketwatch.com] and thousands of followers are expected to follow him during his six-day trip. He arrives in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 22. Pope Francis will meet President Obama at the White House on Sept. 23 and offer midday prayer at St. Matthew's Cathedral. In New York, he will address the Joint Session of the U.S. Congress on Sept. 24 and offer evening prayer at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. The next day, he will visit the United Nations General Assembly and hold a multi-religious service at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum and hold mass at Madison Square Garden. He has more scheduled events in Philadelphia on Sept. 26 and 27. (See his full schedule here [usccb.org].)

This has peer-to-peer home rental sites — the two biggest are Airbnb and HomeAway.com — and others, braced for a boost in post-summer interest. "We're going to see an impressive number," says Wrede Petersmeyer, New York City manager at Airbnb. "Having spoken with hosts, they're aware of this and very excited. This is the chance to show visitors an incredible once-in-a-lifetime experience." On HomeAway.com, which only carries listings for entire homes, traveler enquiries in Philadelphia alone are up over 695% compared with last year for Sept. 26 and 27, the period during the pope's visit, although D.C. and New York, already popular destinations among tourists this time of year, are not showing a surge in demand.

[...] Expect most people in town to see the pope to be practicing Catholics, says Andrew Mellen [andrewmellen.com], personal home organizer and author of "Unstuff Your Life!", and hosts should be sensitive to that. "He's a rock star to some people," he says. "The first thing you should do is put away all your sex toys or pornography. Mellen even advises going as far as to create an impartial religious space. "You should neutralize any religious iconography in your home," he says. "Put away the Menorah on your shelf or statue of Buddha. If there's a copy of the Quran lying around, you should probably put that way, too." Whatever you do, put comfort first and commerce second. Ask yourself, "Do I not care as long as their check clears the bank or do I want them to have as nice an experience as possible?" Mellen says. "You will make different decisions if it's based on being a gracious host rather than money alone."

Those in Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia must keep their drones grounded [marketwatch.com].

Original Submission