Airbnb has run a variety of competitions for guests to spend a night at the Louvre or help revitalise an Italian village, but now hosts themselves are starting to incorporate new twists into their listings. An Airbnb listing in Scotland’s small town of Wigtown offers book-lovers the opportunity to stay in an apartment right above a small bookstore they get to run. Titled “The Open Book – a bookshop holiday!”, guests staying and operating the bookstore will have some support from friendly local volunteers.
How the Open Book Came About
Jessica Fox, an American writer, yearned to run her own small used bookstore in Scotland. One day, she decided to make her dream a reality and went to Wigtown for a live-work exchange at a bookshop. Fox fell in love with her new life, and wanted to share this dream with others. Fox purchased a nearby bookstore, added a flat and listed it on Airbnb.
Organised by the Wigtown Festival Company, this Airbnb listing was created with the goal of celebrating books and independent bookshops. With a population of about 1,000, Wigtown is known as “Scotland’s National Book Town”. Guests will be able to find plenty of second-hand bookshops to visit. Wigtown also hosts a yearly book festival that takes place in late September and early October, which has grown to be the second largest book festival in Scotland.
About the Listing
The Airbnb listing itself requires a reservation of at least six nights, and is a one-bedroom (with two beds, a double and a single bed), one-bathroom apartment with wifi, a washer, and a dryer. Aside from operating the register and ensuring the shelves are stocked with books, guests are given a fair amount of freedom with how they would like to decorate and manage the bookstore, to the point that some guests have even showed up with decorations in their suitcases.
Guests will be happy to know that the low nightly fee of $78 goes entirely towards the running costs of the bookstore, since the Wigtown Festival company is a non-profit organization. The Airbnb listing specifies that it is not a volunteer opportunity or a paid work position, and is a holiday classified under cultural tourism. While it might be a few years before you actually manage to get your booking approved, The Open Book is the perfect holiday for those dreaming about running a quiet bookshop in Scotland.
