I know, I know. Cable management has been done to death… who needs one more? Well, as it turns out... I think Airbnb hosts do. I had been poking around the Airbnb hosts subreddit (don't ask me why, I don't have a good answer) and noticed a lot of complaints from hosts saying that they wanted to provide charging cables for their guests but were getting tired of having them stolen.
A problem in need of a solution... and one I can use to justify buying more stuff for my maker space. My favorite kind of problem. I'll link some of the stuff from this project below if you're interested.
Thesis Statement
95% or more of folks who "steal"a cable from an Airbnb are either mistakenly taking a cable OR are committing a crime of convenience.
Hypothesis
Adding a small amount of friction will almost completely eliminate cable theft.
Personal Goals for this Project
- Solve a real world problem for someone other than myself
- Learn how to work with heat pressed threaded inserts
- See if I can generate some incremental revenue from a 3D print (stay tuned)
Parameters
Design something that is:
- Easy to assemble, quick to install
- Cheap to print
- Utilizes some material beyond filament, to give it a more premium feel
- Add friction to theft but enable the host to swap out broken cables on their own
- Account for multiple cables to give the host flexibility
After a few different designs and test prints, I landed on a pretty simple but effective design that I plan to pilot with some hosts from reddit.
It will ship with 3M tape for quick mounting, the proper Allen wrench, and a few cable management options because I revel in hiding wires.
My thinking is that few, if any, guests are likely to rip the whole mount off the bedside table just to steal a charger and even fewer will be traveling with the right tool to dismantle it, even if they're the type to steal something like this.
Problem solved? Stay tuned. I intend to pilot this with a few hosts to get feedback.
I'll leave you with a shot of the prototype graveyard and a peek at the CAD file which at this point is fully constrained and built with custom parameters allowing me to quickly and easily adjust spacing, tolerance, and size. I'm getting there 😉
If you happen to be an Airbnb host reading this and would like more information, please reach out to sean [at] baconandgames.com.
Products Used in this Build
These are Amazon affiliate links. There is no extra cost to you but I will receive a small commission if you purchase through one of these.
- Printer: Bambu Lab A1 Mini - this one is too expensive on Amazon. Just buy direct from Bambu, no Amazon affiliate link. I'd prefer you get the better price. If you're just starting out, I don't recommend bothering with the AMS Combo but bear in mind if you buy it separately later it's almost as much as the printer.
- Heat Press w/ Threaded Inserts
- Bolts and Washers M2-M5
- Multi Charger Cable
- Overture PLA: I've had no issues with this filament and it's quite a bit cheaper than buying from Bambu. I use this for prototyping and Bambu's for final prints.