Bringing Airbnb to Washburn
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
Visitors to Washburn now have another option for short-term housing, as a local apartment complex opens up two units as Airbnb destinations.
Courtwood Apartments are not just for annual leases anymore. For the last month, property owners have been experimenting with a new way of opening their doors to visitors through daily rentals.
“We got a call from someone in Washburn saying they thought the apartments could try Airbnb, so we decided to test it out,” said Mike Marcil of Orange Property Management, which oversees the Courtwood Apartments.
Marcil said two apartment units have been modified to be used as Airbnb rentals, a task that he said was no small feat.
“We have it fully furnished, with a TV in each room, appliances, bedding,” Marcil said. “There’s a total of 111 items in each unit.”
The two units, one two-bedroom and one three-bedroom, can be rented out for as little as one night, all through the Airbnb site. The apartments are locked by a digital keypad and maintained by a local housekeeper that checks in to change bedding and clean regularly.
