Luggage Shipping and Storage Solutions for Airbnb Guests

You’ve booked a once in a lifetime trip to New York City with a few of your closest friends. This is your first experience and trip to the city that never sleeps. You are all beyond excited, and oddly enough, none of you can sleep as your text-a-thon is now 72 hours long. You are sharing all the things you want to do upon arrival:

• Mary insists on going to Ellis island to do a tour and see where her ancestors came into America during the 1800’s. 
• Rick demands you go to the Statue of Liberty and see it up close, not because of what it stands for, but because he is a huge Ghostbusters movie fanatic. 
• Jonas is determined to find the best pizza in the world on his first day, at all costs. 
• Samatha wants to go immediately to Central park’s Great Lawn with a picnic blanket and people watch amidst the Upper West Side skyline. 
• You are hoping to secure an amazing Airbnb in Brooklyn with a backyard so you can live like a local during your first New York trip. 

The planning struggle is VERY real. Yet, it is beyond exciting to think about all the endless possibilities you can experience during your first New York City vacation. 

One major issue everyone can agree on though is what to do with your collective luggage when you get off the flight in NYC? As you get closer to the arrival date you realize that your awesome Brooklyn Airbnb apartment (with a backyard) that you’ve secured for the team does not allow you to check in until 3:30pm.

However, your flight arrives at 8:30am. That leaves 7 hours in the greatest city in the world, lugging your bags around with you as you try and fully soak up all that New York has to offer and meet the demands of everyone in the group.

Problem solved! Here are 2 smart and cheap options for you and your friends to take advantage of so you can fully enjoy your first day in the Big Apple. 

Store your luggage at a local shop near your Airbnb

Luggage storage is a relatively new travel service that has gained a lot of popularity over the past couple years for travelers in major cities. Instead of lugging bags around you can simply drop them off at a nearby local authorized shop to hold for as little as $1 an hour (or as low as $5.90 a day)! 

One of the fastest growing and reliable luggage storage companies that we like is: LuggageHero. For example, in NYC there are over 130 + locations around the city where you can conveniently drop off your luggage at a local participating shop via their App. It is a touchless experience and super efficient for international travelers that have multiple bags. They also have 35 + cities around the world as well should your travels not be destined for New York City. 

Also, there are a few other providers as well that are noteworthy and are tech forward luggage storage apps as well: Stasher, Vertoe, Bounce, NannyBag, and Knock Knock City.

Ship luggage to be stored at a pickup point

If you would rather not check your luggage and pay hefty airline baggage fees, then you can ship it ahead of time with LugLess to arrive either at your end destination or have it be held for pickup at a local FedEx or UPS location (pretty much around the corner from any hotel or Airbnb in most cities like New York).

If staying at an Airbnb, and check-in is not until the afternoon but your flight gets in early morning, then this is a perfect solution to enjoy your first day of your vacation prior to check-in at an Airbnb or vacation rental property.  

LugLess pricing starts at $15 to ship a bag in the US and the FedEx or UPS location will safely and securely hold your luggage for up to 5 days.  Visit LugLess’ Help center for Hold for pickup questions / options. 

 Your first day experience – now that the luggage problem is solved!

Regardless of if you store your luggage with a local shop or ship it ahead of time, and have it held for pickup at a FedEx or UPS location, here is what that first day in NYC looks like for you and your friends:

• Mary and Rick get to go to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty in the morning via the Statue of Liberty Ferry. 
• Jonas gets to eat the best pizza slice for lunch as you all subway or Uber / Lyft to the spot he’s diligently researched. 
• Samantha gets to take you all to Central Park’s Great Lawn on her large picnic blanket during the mid afternoon to people watch and enjoy a relaxing and unique NYC experience on your first day. 
• You get to bask in the joy that the next stop is your Brooklyn Airbnb to live like a local for the next week with your closest friends in the world. 

Who would have thought that by removing luggage from the travel experience could bring so much joy to everyone on your epic first trip to New York City. Enjoy!