Last but not least: Off to the pokey
To deter potential sex tourists, an NPO in Costa Rica «took over» Airbnb and came up with «Jailbnb.» The guerrilla campaign didn’t last long, but it caused quite a stir.
50,000 sex tourists visit Costa Rica every year. Prostitution would actually be legal in the Central American country. However, many of the uninvited visitors deliberately seek out underage prostitutes. In Costa Rica, this can easily land you behind bars for life. This is a fact that potential sex tourists should be aware of - and should ideally be deterred from the planned unspeakable act. Leo Burnett Costa Rica has therefore come up with an effective guerrilla campaign for Fundacion Rahab. The agency registered and described La Reforma prison as accommodation on the Airbnb.com platform. There is talk of a simple and isolated place with 24-hour surveillance - for tourists who are prepared to share their bathroom with dozens of people. "If you are thinking about visiting Costa Rica with the purpose of paying for sex with underage people you could stay in this place for years or forever since this is a felony under Costa Rica's law", the text goes on to warn. If the case movie is to be believed, tourists who know the inglorious accommodation from the inside have written reviews.
The "fun" only lasted a short time: the uninitiated Airbnb platform deleted the prison from its catalog just a few days after it went live. However, the time was enough to attract a lot of attention in the mass and social media - goal achieved. (hae)
