Barbie has some fresh competition for Airbnb’s most iconic host.
In honor of Polly Pocket’s 35th anniversary, Airbnb on Wednesday unveiled a new adventure experience: a life-size version of the Mattel doll’s iconic plastic house in Polly’s hometown of Littleton, Mass.
Its host, Polly herself, is inviting nostalgia seekers to her “Slumber Party Fun” home while she’s away on vacation, writing in a listing that she turned it into a ’90s time machine “where your imagination can run wild.”
There are some small caveats, however. The house, which is shaped like a makeup compact, doesn’t have a roof and doesn’t close because, like its host, “it’s always open to adventure,” according to the listing. The property also does not have showers on site, and warns of potential noise from “nature sounds at night.”
Still, Airbnb says the home is “straight out of a ’90s dream” and open for an adventure of “life-sized proportions.”
Guests can try on clothes in Polly’s closet, accessorize with press-on nails and butterfly hair clips, make charm bracelets, and enjoy a movie marathon with popcorn and video cassettes. The house is also stocked with quintessential ’90s treats, including Ring Pops, Push Pops, and Baby Bottle Pops.
“Try on my most iconic outfits—yes, the ones you used to chew on when you were younger—in my closet,” the listing reads.
While the two-story, 42-foot-tall structure is complete with a retro fridge, meals are not provided, and it’s missing a key amenity for “slumber party fun”: a bed.
Options for sleeping arrangements instead include a pullout couch or a tent parked 10 feet away from the house. The listing also warns you’ll also need to “BYOB (Bring Your Own Blanket)” or use one of four available sleeping bags.
“I wanted this sleepover to feel like you’re still actually in the ’90s!” Polly writes in her listing.
Icons only
Polly’s compact is the latest addition to Airbnb’s Icons Category, a program dedicated to one-of-a-kind stays and experiences.
Last year the company launched a real, very pink Malibu DreamHouse experience in California in honor of the Barbie movie’s release. Based on the famous Mattel dollhouse design, the listing offered two one-night stays for up to two guests along the Malibu coastline.
Other recent viral listings include a replica of the house from Disney and Pixar’s Up, a re-creation of Marvel’s X-Men mansion, and a private living room concert by rapper Doja Cat.
“What if these worlds, that only exist in your imagination, could somehow become real?” CEO Brian Chesky said in a May interview with CBS Mornings.
Like her Mattel colleague, Polly is also getting a big-screen feature. Announced in June 2021, the live-action movie is set to star Emily in Paris actress Lily Collins in the title role. But last month, Girls creator Lena Dunham told The New Yorker she dropped out of directing and producing the movie after working on a script for three years.
“I feel like the next movie I make needs to feel like a movie that I absolutely have to make, no one but me could make it,” she told the outlet. “And I did think other people could make Polly Pocket.”
While they wait for the big-screen film, ’90s kids can still relive their childhoods in Polly’s home later this summer.
Starting Aug. 21, guests can request to book one-night stays in the compact between Sept. 12 and 14. With a price tag of $89 per person in honor of Polly Pocket’s launch in 1989, the home can accommodate a maximum of four people and offers a private half-bath.
While one X user chalked the listing up to a “silly marketing gimmick,” Chesky says, “That’s the point.”
As for cleaning fees, Chesky told another X user there are none, unlike most Airbnb listings.
