What made them seem like an expert?
Choose all that apply
They had a very deep understanding of their topic
They shared personal stories that conveyed their passion
They had a rare level of insight or perspective
They had world-class background or qualifications
How would you describe the experience?
It felt special and unique
I could’ve found the same thing somewhere else
I could’ve easily done this myself
What made it feel unique?
Choose all that apply
I wouldn’t have been able to do this on my own
I felt like I could actively participate
I felt immersed in a special culture or community
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience16
The Airbnb questionnaire emphasizes expertise, storytelling, and uniqueness, which, as we saw in Chapter 2, are key for art curating while concepts such as “immersion” and “participation” have been correlative with the contemporary art world at least since the 1990s. The employment of art-like concepts in review questionnaires disciplines the host to further artify their work to satisfy customer demand; the host has to take care of aesthetic considerations for proving their expertise. This expertise is certified by “personal stories that conveyed their passion”, a “very deep understanding of their topic”, and a “rare level of insight or perspective”—qualities that the figure of the “Italian grandma” abundantly embodies. In Airbnb, and generally in the platform economy, such promises of expertise, storytelling, and uniqueness are carried via a knowledgeable vessel—the host, the restaurant, the chef, the grandma, or any other service provider—who is expected to have a deeper insight of the subject matter and has a willingness to share it. Echoing the curating economy’s motto discussed in Chapter 2, the Airbnb guidelines, for instance, encourage the hosts to “Earn money leading people on activities you love”.17 In countless other expertise Experiences, storytelling and uniqueness are interwoven with authenticity, as the “Italian grandma” is just one of a myriad of other authentic tokens in platform economies that can be put to work. In the Experience section in Paris, we can “Learn to bake traditional croissants”, “Learn to make French lemon pie”, or “Learn to make macarons with a chef”—food practices that rely on a deeper insight into Frenchness. The international star Marie Kondo, the Japanese guru of decluttering, brands her minimalist KONMARI method for tidying up homes via the token of Japaneseness.18 Similar to Marie Kondo, the Italian grandma does not merely cook pasta but is a conduit of the past and a transporter of history.19 While in such instances the notion of “tradition” takes a more linear direction presumably moving unspoiled from the past to the present, in upscale food practices, as we shall see in the next section, tradition is recontextualized, reimagined, and reinterpreted.
The Babushka–Nonna Experience
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