Short-term rental ideas we'd like to see in NYC

By Alana Mayman | March 6, 2014 - 2:59PM

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Airbnb has apartment rentals by the night, Breather lets you rent rooms by the hour, and now mobile app AirPnP offers New Yorkers the chance to rent a bathroom for a fee.

But these services surely haven't cornered the market on (very) short-term rental ideas. Below, a few more we're dying to see:

1. "Third child" bedroom: You'd have another kid if there were room. Just rent that bedroom at someone else's apartment overnight and get a really sensitive baby monitor.

2. Costco closet: It's cheaper to buy 36 rolls of toilet paper and a case of Tide at a time, but you can't keep them in the oven (where you store your purses). Rent someone else's dry goods space and relax.

3. "Creative financing" cupboard: You significant other doesn't know about your Bergdorf's charge card and doesn't need to know. Hide those tell-tale lavender bags in someone else's apartment until you decide if the new Jimmy Choos are keepers.

4. Escape-from-family sanity space: You know when your girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/wife/kids are getting on your last nerve but you realize there aren't enough rooms in the apartment to escape? Rent a small space to be alone--for an hour or two--without someone nagging you. Oh wait, that's Breather.

5. Terrace time: When exposure to sunlight starts feeling like a luxury, you know it's time for a terrace rental. Spend an hour or two on someone else's terrace, guaranteed free of dog poop, tourists and other features of public parks.

6. Dishwasher cycles: Those pesky dishes won't wash themselves. Rent out someone else's dishwasher for those times when day-old lasagne is sticking to your plates like Krazy Glue.

7. Child art storage: You can't bear to throw out Chloe's kindergarten self-portrait or Cameron's clay Great Wall of China, but where to keep it all? Problem solved. Portfolio with age/grade dividers available for an extra fee.

8. Destination dinner party: Love to cook but can't make a proper meal on your two-burner hot plate? Does your fridge resemble something out of a college dorm room? Rent a real kitchen and table for 12. Tableware and cleanup not included.

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