ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:
Now we're going to meet a young entrepreneur.
JOHN POTTER: My name is John Potter and I've been using Airbnb to rent out my tent in the backyard.
SIEGEL: That's right. He is renting out a tent on Airbnb. This is in Mountain View, Calif. - Silicon Valley. But technically, it's not his backyard, it's his parents'.
POTTER: I put the listing up about a week and a half ago.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Potter, a 22-year-old Web developer, said it all started as a joke - until the booking requests started coming in.
POTTER: I'd say it's split pretty evenly between vacationers and tech-y people.
MARTIN: Tech-y people who get a new job, for instance, and need a cheap place to stay.
SIEGEL: Cheap is relative. To live in Potter's parents' backyard in a tent, it'll cost you $46 a night, or $960 a month.
MARTIN: But it is Silicon Valley - a single room can be in the $1,500 range, and hey, you may luck into a free meal.
POTTER: We will give you food if we happen to be cooking - no guarantee. You get Wi-Fi, electricity to charge your laptop with an extension cord.
SIEGEL: Also the tent features a sleeping bag and a crate for your clothes, and Potter and his parents will let you in the house for a shower once a day.
MARTIN: Good. Potter says booking inquiries are steady.
POTTER: I've already gotten a couple this morning, and the day isn't over.
SIEGEL: Since the listing's gone up, he's had two people rent the tent. User Dan from Massachusetts wrote on Airbnb that he loved his stay.
MARTIN: He said, quote, "the room is great and the location is better." He also enjoyed meeting the Potter family - bonus. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.