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Fall 2009. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A 20-something man named Chris walks down the hallway of his apartment building, balancing a bag of groceries as he digs in his pockets for his keys.

As he gets to his front door, he sees a piece of paper taped to it. He quickly scans it. But then his eyes stop on one word, eviction. Chris's stomach sinks.

The groceries slip, tumbling to the floor. He grabs his phone.

Hello. Hi, Tony. It's Chris in one C. I just came home and found an eviction notice on my door. And I'm wondering, has there been some kind of mistake?

No, Chris. There's no mistake. I'll be needing you to move out in 30 days.

But I don't understand. I've always paid my rent on time. It's not that. Has someone been complaining about me? I promise I'm not the ones playing the loud music.

I listen, Chris. It's nothing you've done. I just found someone else willing to pay more. I'll leave you out in 30 days. Bye.

Chris stands in the hallway, flabbergasted. Why didn't his landlord even bother to raise the rent instead of evicting him? Then he notices a trio leaving apartment 1B down the hall.

They're speaking German as they pull their suitcases behind them and walk out of the building. Chris shakes his head, confused.

Katie lives in 1B. He knows her by New York City standards, meaning they nod and say hi to each other.

She's lived here quietly for two years, but lately, people have been coming and going from her door at all hours. Sometimes they play loud music, keeping him up.

He's about to enter his apartment when he sees two women with cleaning supplies heading for Katie's door. Chris sees his chance and walks over to them.

Hey, are you Katie's cleaners? The women exchange a look. No, we're here for Hotel Toche.

Chris's brow furrows. Hotel Toche, but that's Katie's apartment. Sorry, we've got to get to work.

They drag their cleaning supplies into 1B and shut the door. Chris finally gets into his apartment. Well, his apartment for now.

He flops on the couch and grabs his laptop. He Googles Hotel Toche, a New York Daily News article pops up.

Website airbnb.com lets users sublet couches, roofs, and other odd spaces. Chris keeps reading.

It turns out that Hotel Toche is run by a guy called Toche Chan. He rents apartments from landlords and then uses airbnb to rent them out to tourists.

Chris has heard of airbnb, but didn't know people were actually using it.

Hotel Toche has at least 50 listings in New York and Chris's apartment is about to be Toche's next one.

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