FPP about a "hotel" in NYC or brooklyn?

February 16, 2015 2:35 AM

I've spent several long sessions of google hunting(with site:metafilter.com, etc) for an fpp from the past few years about a guy who worked for a shady "hotel" in new york or brooklyn that erroneously rented apartments, then put them up on airbnb...

It was a mr toads wild ride of hilarity. Tvs with 100s of used condoms jammed behind them, running around on a bike lying to landlords, and the general shadyness of the company itself and what they went through to try and fly under the radar. The story ended with them buying a couple buildings and trying to go legit, and him quitting. It was quite a long blog post. The FPP itself had some great comments too.

I remember the article/blog post so clearly, but i can't seem to dig it, or the FPP up. Anyone else remember what i'm talking about? Know what keyword to look for?

posted by emptythought to MetaFilter-Related at 2:35 AM (8 comments total)

I think I remembered this too! Specifically, I very vividly remember reading it (at least, the bits with riding on the bike lying to landlords) when I was in Boston to get married, which would have been somewhere from March 8 and March 16, 2014. A glance at the MetaFilter posts from that month doesn't seem to yield anything, but I'll keep looking...
posted by sciatrix at 6:32 AM on February 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

It sounds like you're thinking of Toshi, between this Observer profile (2012) and this old NYT profile (2002) he fits your description down to the bike riding. But the only thing I'm finding that mentions him posted near sciatrix' time range is The Collaborative Consumption Trap (MeFi Post), which doesn't really seem as epic as you make the article you're looking for sound.

But maybe looking for other things Toshi will help you find the thing you are seeking.
posted by carsonb at 8:17 AM on February 16, 2015

I just realized that the comment that led me to the Collaborative Consumption Trap post (keyword 'Toshi') was written by you, emptythought.
posted by carsonb at 9:58 AM on February 16, 2015

That isn't the thread, but that DOES sound like the hotel itself. This article was an account of someone who worked for him. It being in flatiron at the end, all of it.

The events described in what i read were right before he opened that new hotel, which is when the guy left.

no google search even including those new revelations is leading me to anything though :(

It's funny that i mentioned it in that thread though, because i must have remembered the names better at the time.

i'm now 100% positive this was about toshi though. it just wasn't about the owner guy(although he was featured in it repeatedly, being weird or acting like a moron)
posted by emptythought at 2:49 PM on February 16, 2015

Could this be it? "By week three, I was a full-time desk jockey. I only visited apartments for the worst-case scenarios like suspicious building superintendents (who were clueless about our operation), and major Hotel Toshi oversights like double bookings or condom catastrophes." (Googling 'toshi bike landlord' popped it up.)
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:14 PM on February 16, 2015 [3 favorites]

The first bald man walked over to the TV and pulled it away from the wall. A small mountain of filth—roughly twenty used condoms—sat tightly packed into the corner.

That's it! If only I could find the fpp, it had some great comments.

I guess I didn't find it because I kept searching airbnb and hotel, including toshi hotel. Not landlord.
posted by emptythought at 4:05 PM on February 16, 2015

Sharing is caring ... and cashing in? includes a link which mentions Toshi.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:35 PM on February 16, 2015

I didn't know I wanted to know about this but I guess I do. Marking OP as best answer to "what should I casually read *now*"
posted by aydeejones at 7:45 PM on February 16, 2015