TheBurg

14 | theburg | 08.17 "Newly remodeled studio near Capitol." "Luxury Condo facing Capitol, River and State St." "Charming 1920s Bungalow near River & Italian Lake." Judging from the listings, the secret to Airbnb success is location, location, location. A search of Harrisburg, PA, on Airbnb.com brings up 177 rentals. Many are in the city itself, perhaps "steps from the Capitol" (or "Capital," say the spelling-challenged), while others are in surrounding areas—"Hershey Park 15 minutes," or in New Cumberland, "'Weston,' the 1982 Vanagon." As Airbnb takes hold, its relationship with the city of Harrisburg is in flux. One Airbnb owner is questioning a letter seeking payment of the city's Business Privilege and Mercantile Tax. e city, in the meantime, says it's looking into its powers over Airbnbs. "e city is obviously authorized to regulate business activity within its borders," said a statement from Joyce Davis, spokesperson for Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse. "We are currently reviewing how best to regulate Airbnb operations popping up around the city, if at all." Do the math, and Harrisburg-area listings comprise .000059 percent of Airbnb's 3 million listings worldwide. Indeed, tiny Harrisburg will never be a tourist mecca like New York, Paris or San Francisco. However, at least anecdotally, the city does seem to be attracting more visitors these days, and Airbnb hosts are responding, with rooms and apartments popping up to serve them. reAdY FOr buSiNeSS Former city Councilman Brad Koplinski is among the city's hosts. His "Commonwealth 67," on North Street "Steps from the Capital" (yes, Brad, you're the spelling-challenged one), was once saved from destruction by Historic Harrisburg Association's pleas to preserve this example of working-family housing. Today, the walls are a sort of museum for Koplinski's extensive political memorabilia collection—a Ronald Reagan "Bedtime for Brezhnev" poster, a photo autographed by Jimmy Carter when Koplinski caught him coming out of the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Originally, Koplinski envisioned the space as a fundraiser venue, so a bar spanning the long wall in the open first floor is topped with bumper stickers—"BABBITT, Democrat for President"—lacquered in place by Koplinski's girlfriend, Melissa Vayda, who works with him on the venture. In the bright, open kitchen, the breakfast bar showcases buttons ranging from the FDR years and earlier to one of Koplinski's own buttons when he took a shot at the lieutenant governor nomination. Once he decided on an Airbnb, Koplinski found the process "surprisingly easy." "Make sure the place is squared away, take some pictures, load them up to the website, and you're ready for business," he said. Since Koplinski opened the doors in January 2017, guests have included numerous people doing state business in Harrisburg, such as the regular guest who attends Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency training. "e location is just fantastic," Koplinski said. "You've got three of the best restaurants in the city on this block. We offer a parking space. You can walk to the Capitol, the State Museum, the river. All of those things combined have allowed us to be pretty much booked." Airbnb guests are "the type of people who want to stay in other people's houses," said Teena Brinkley, who "Airbnbs" two of the eight bedrooms in the 1920s-era 2nd Street bungalow she shares with her 19-year-old son ("Historic House in Up Town Harrisburg"). "ey're good people," she said. "ey're friendly people. ey're more open to conversation. ey're not coming to trash your house." Brinkley works from home as a software engineer and has traveled cross-country, Airbnb-hopping, with her son. When she moved out of Camp Hill in 2016 and scouted a city home, the idea of running an Airbnb breezed across the back of her mind. She "just fell in love" with her pristine bungalow and its many original touches—a stone fireplace, leaded-glass sidelights surrounding the front door, bathrooms tiled in black and white—but decorated in a cheery, contemporary fashion, including a purple consignment-store couch that might have come from a bridal salon. Guests have included a couple traveling from Virginia to bike the Capital Area Greenbelt and a military family with a 3-year-old daughter who stayed three months while waiting to close on their new home. Another visitor is set to stay for 90 days. All guests are sure to meet Foster, Brinkley's 13-year-old Westie love bug. Her guests treat the home with respect and "kind of become extended family." ey can step out to the terracotta tile front porch or the back deck for coffee, chatting with her or the neighbors on the friendly block. Air rights Harrisburg may be late to the Airbnb game, but now it's here, with opportunities, challenges. bY M. diANe MCCOrMiCK Brad Koplinski

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