Economic Quarantine, a Diary: Day 2

Day 2

On Saturday we went to the Airbnb.  It's supposed to be occupied for another week.  Our guests, snowbirds, rented it for 28 days.  In a panic over the virus, our New York guests left for home last week.  They didn't ask for a refund, didn't cancel the remaining days, so we're getting paid for another week.  I was supposed to fly to Dallas today for a meeting I work every year, but it was cancelled.  Good news though:  the meeting planner promised to pay me, as the cancellation happened within the 100% pay window.  It's the last meeting for which I'll receive pay.

At the Airbnb, we spent three hours deep cleaning.  The guests had two dogs, and they shed a lot.  We also cut back some tropical plants that were taking over the backyard.  I have a new mattress to replace the one in the master bedroom.  Decided we'll bring it over tomorrow.  I have a Sonata and can take the new mattress, which is compressed and can squeeze into the trunk.  However, the old mattress, which I bought in 2006 (!), won't fit.  I looked at renting a pickup.  $65 for one day, plus gas.  Plus dumping fee.  Instead, I placed an ad on Facebook and quickly got four takers.  If all goes as planned, a complete stranger will meet us at the house to take away the old mattress for $35.

I also worked two Amazon Fresh routes.  Hoping for generous tips.  Amazon shut down new orders for a while.  We normally have 5-10 routes for Fresh.  Today there were 23.  People think the world is ending.

I read an article on 10x Travel.  A new series, Social Distancing Saturday.  The first article was about the most bingeworthy series on Netflix.  The top voted show was Schitts Creek, so when I got home from my route we watched the first three episodes.  Kind of enjoyed it.

Everything is closed, so binging Netflix looks like an appealing option.  By everything, I mean all the theme parks, international travel, schools, lots of employers.  It's funny though:  traffic in Tampa was heavy for a Saturday.  Everybody was out and about.  Weather was beautiful and I saw lots of boats being towed.  People are going to the beaches.  

Yesterday I had four Airbnb cancellations, two were International, two were panickers.  This morning I had three new reservations.  After the cancellations I lowered rates, and that seemed to do the trick.  We basically replaced the cancelled stays, though rates are lower.  Still, it's not such a bad thing.