Welcome to the world’s only “book shop Airbnb,” where guests spend the night – and run the store during the day.
The Open Book is a charming bookshop with a flat above so people can sleep upstairs and sell books downstairs.
Based in Wigtown – Scotland’s National Book Town – it gives book lovers the chance to ”live their dream” of having their very own shop by the sea.
Airbnb describes it as ”the first ever bookshop holiday residency experience”—and it is so popular that it has a two-year waiting list from guests around the globe.
It was set up by The Wigtown Festival Company and aims ”to celebrate books, independent bookshops, and welcome people from around the world”
The shop welcomed its first holidaymakers in August 2014, and since then, the charity-run Open Book Airbnb has become a sensation.
More than 450 guests—from all over the world, including Hawaii and Beijing — have enjoyed the unusual experience of running their own bookshop.
There is now a two-year waiting list for people wanting to stay.
The Wigtown Festival site says: ”Live your dream of having your very own bookshop by the sea.
”Nestled in the pristine surroundings of Galloway, The Open Book is a charming bookshop and apartment situated on the main street of Wigtown.
”A holiday home with a difference, it presents a unique opportunity for visitors to run a real bookshop at the heart of the town’s vibrant community.
”The Open Book’s aim is to celebrate books, independent bookshops and welcome people from around the world to Scotland’s National Book Town.
”Booked through Airbnb, paying guests live in the self-catering apartment upstairs and run the bookshop below it for the duration of their stay.
”During their stay, guests are free to change displays, price books, re-categorize them, and make inventive use of the blackboard that entices visitors in to browse or chat.
”Some guests are happy to quietly run the bookshop, while others come with firmer plans and creative ideas!
”Bibliophiles, avid readers, kindred book lovers, and adventure seekers from around the world come to Wigtown to experience the life of a second-hand bookshop owner in a remote Scottish town.
”Sea, highlands, native forests, amazing people, and bookshops are just on our doorstep.”
The guests this week are Daisy Yeung, 41, who traveled from Hong Kong, and her friend from secondary school, Lydia Man, 42.
Daisy, a psychologist in a Hong Kong prison, first heard about the interesting Airbnb through an online blog.
Daisy said: “So far, we are enjoying it very, very much.
“My dream to be a book seller one day, but since it is very hard to be a book seller and make enough money – we thought it would be fun to have a taste of it
“The weather here is really excellent this week, and everybody here is just so nice.”
Despite buying a few books in the area, Daisy admits she has been too busy with the shop to tuck into them.
She explained: “The shop is quite busy, to be honest!”
Lydia, who moved from Hong Kong to live in Nottingham three years ago, said she is also ‘very happy here’.
She said: “We are having a lovely time! It’s a calming and nice place – and the bookstore looks really fantastic.”
The pair had to think of a theme for their bookshop this week. As today is the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, the friends have decided to celebrate their cultural celebration at the bookshop.
Daisy said, “Traditionally, we Chinese people gather with our family and friends on this day, light up lanterns, and eat something called moon cakes—which is what we have brought and are sharing with people today.”
Lydia, who works in the supply chain, added, “We didn’t bring a lot of things, but we did bring moon cakes!
“The festival is a time for loved ones to come together and so we are sharing that with people here – trying to have a good time with the visitors and book lovers alike.”
The shop is the brainchild of author and filmmaker Jessica Fox and contributes about $12,000 a year to the Wigtown Festival Company’s charitable work.
She said: ”“I thought I couldn’t be the only crazy American who dreams of working in a bookshop by the sea in Scotland, there has to be more of us.
”I wanted to create the same experience for those book-curious people who had the same dream of running a bookshop for a week and living upstairs.
‘It is a success because of Wigtown, the volunteers who make the guests so welcome, the owners of the building, who believed in my idea.”
Chief volunteer Joyce Cochrane is based in the nearby Old Bank Bookshop.
She said: ”The Open Book has been a way of opening our doors to the world, and because of that, the world has been coming to Wigtown, and they love it.”
One recent occupant was humanitarian aid worker Isabella Garcia from Austin, Texas – who ran the shop for four days.
She told the BBC: “I am a book lover so usually every town I go into one of the first things I look for is a bookshop or a bookshop-coffee shop joined together.
“Running the bookshop was definitely worth it. There’s no better feeling than somebody buying a book that you put on display.”
One recent guest said: ‘We loved the idea of it – the chance to have a holiday running your own bookshop was quite unique.
‘”And there’s no strings attached, no real responsibilities, you can enjoy the time however you like.’”
The festival runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 6.
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
