It’s an icon of New York: the yellow taxi. Tourists and residents use it every day to roar through the streets of the megacity. Thanks to films such as “Taxi Driver” with Robert De Niro, it has become an urban cultural asset. But would you voluntarily spend a night in it?
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It was precisely this idea that Jonathan Powley turned into a business model. In May 2015 he bought a “Yellow Cab” for $ 2,600 and converted it into an extremely cramped hotel room. You have to climb through the sliding door to get to bed. “It’s certainly not the Four Seasons,” says the 36-year-old. “But maybe that’s why it’s so popular: It’s unique and an overnight stay that you won’t soon forget.”
By New York standards, a night in the Spartan accommodation is a bargain. For the equivalent of around 35 euros, adventurous visitors can book the yellow taxi on the Internet. On weekends the price rises to around 46 euros. According to the travel consultancy Advito, the average price for a New York hotel room is around 370 euros per night.
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The disadvantage: There is no toilet, sink or shower in the taxi hotel. Instead, Powley gives guests a list of public restrooms and gyms, as well as tips on where to charge phones and laptops. “My wife was nervous that there was no toilet, but Jonathan showed us a café with WiFi, sockets and a bathroom. We look forward to our next visit,” writes Dave, who stayed in the car with his wife. “It was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far.”
More than half of the guests are German
The nostalgic factor of a night in the “Yellow Cab” should not be underestimated either: transport service providers like Uber are pushing back traditional taxis. Uber, which has only been active in New York since May 2011, already has 25,000 drivers, almost twice as many cars as yellow taxis. According to the TLC, the authority responsible for taxi licenses, the number of taxi trips fell by more than 15 percent between 2012 and 2015. And apple-green taxis have also been involved since 2013: The hybrid cars are supposed to better connect the outskirts with Manhattan.
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300 guests have stayed in Powley’s taxi so far, and according to him it is almost constantly booked out. The majority of his customers, 60 percent, come from Germany. “Germans love to travel,” he says. “Many say staying in a taxi for the night is a fun and adventurous idea.” He has already bought German sausages from the butcher and a CD from singer David Hasselhoff as a welcome gift for guests from Germany. The view of the glittering Manhattan skyline from the car parked in the borough of Queens is included for free.
But not everyone is enthusiastic about the sparse furnishings: “Unfortunately the taxi doesn’t look like the one in the pictures. It’s old and worn, and it is noisy at night because it is near a parking lot for trucks,” reports a visitor from Baden-Württemberg on the Airbnb rental portal, where Powley advertised the taxi. “It was an exciting and fun experience, but we wouldn’t stay here again.”
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Powley, who has a university degree in hotel management, says, “It’s not about the money. With all the effort and work I put into it, there isn’t much profit left in the end.” But he is happy to meet people from all over the world and to count Germans among his friends today. In order to fill his house budget, the Pennsylvania native is also active as an actor and comedian. “I love the adventure of doing something unusual. New York is heaven for creative spirits.”
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