Ever checked into an Airbnb and heard footsteps when you’re the only one there? 👻

Welcome to the booming world of haunted short-term rentals where creaky floors, flickering lights, and ghost stories aren’t complaints… they’re selling points.

In this spooky-season episode of Pocket Change, David W Byrne dives into the real-life business of haunted Airbnbs, ghost-themed stays, and the people making a killing from fear.

From Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania to haunted inns in Savannah and York, discover how Halloween tourism, viral storytelling, and a little supernatural branding are turning normal houses into profitable ScareBnBs.

🎃 In this episode:

• The real haunted listings that triple bookings every October

• Airbnb’s “Icons” campaign guests in Dracula’s Castle

• Why fear is one of the most profitable emotions in marketing

• The funniest real guest reviews from “possessed” properties

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, one thing’s certain spooky season is serious business.

Would you ever pay a thousand dollars for a single cup of coffee? ☕💸

Well, believe it or not, some people do.

In this Pocket Change episode, David W Byrne takes a sip of one of the strangest luxury trends in the world the $1,000 coffee, made from beans that have literally been eaten and digested by an animal before being brewed.

From Kopi Luwak to Black Ivory Coffee, this episode explores how marketing, rarity, and a touch of madness turned a humble cup of joe into a status symbol for the ultra-rich.

You’ll learn:

💎 Why people pay small fortunes for coffee beans that took the scenic route through nature.

☕ How exclusivity fuels the “luxury food” industry.

😂 And why the real secret ingredient might just be good storytelling.

So grab your (hopefully cheaper) cup and tune in for a tale that proves in business, perception really is everything.

When life gives you taxes… grab a wheelbarrow.

In this episode of Money2Byrne: Pocket Change, David Byrne tells the unbelievable true story of Nick Stafford, the man who settled a $3,000 tax bill using 300,000 pennies and made government employees count every single one.

From viral headlines to a seven-hour coin-counting marathon, discover how one taxpayer turned frustration into performance art and proved that sometimes, the system only listens when the penny finally drops.

🪙 A $3,000 tax bill paid in copper

🚗 A grudge, five wheelbarrows, and one very long day at the DMV

💰 The legal loophole that made it possible

😂 And a reminder that protest doesn’t always have to make cents it just has to make noise

A short, sharp Money2Byrne story about money, madness, and the ultimate petty payback.

What happens when a fast-food giant decides Earth just isn’t enough?

In this Money2Byrne Pocket Change episode, we blast off into the story of Burger King’s bizarre cosmic marketing stunt when the brand claimed to have opened the first restaurant on Mars… kind of. 🚀

You’ll hear how a cheeky ad campaign, a bit of PR magic, and a lot of flame-grilled confidence helped Burger King get everyone talking without ever leaving Earth’s atmosphere.

It’s a funny reminder that sometimes, you don’t need to actually go to space to make your brand feel out of this world. 🌍🔥

⸻

💡 What You’ll Learn / Takeaway

• How brands use outrageous claims to grab headlines.

• Why humour in marketing always travels further than the truth.

• And how to pull off a PR stunt so wild, it’s almost believable.

In 2017, a freelance writer in London pulled off one of the funniest marketing stunts in history.

Armed with a burner phone, a website, and a backyard shed, Oobah Butler created a fake restaurant called The Shed at Dulwich.

He never served a single meal.

But with a handful of glowing fake reviews, he managed to climb the TripAdvisor charts all the way to #1 restaurant in London.

Soon, real people were begging for reservations, food critics wanted interviews, and even TripAdvisor themselves congratulated him.

When he finally opened for one night only, guests were served instant noodles, frozen meals… and a big helping of confusion.

In this episode of Money2Byrne: Pocket Change, David Byrne dives into how one man’s prank became a global phenomenon and what it says about the power of hype, storytelling, and human gullibility.

🥇 Fake reviews. Real success.

🎙️ The lighter side of business only on Money2Byrne.

In a world where everyone’s hustling for side gigs, one man in Japan found the ultimate job, doing absolutely nothing. 🪑

Meet Shoji Morimoto, Tokyo’s “Do Nothing Guy.”

He gets paid just to exist. No small talk. No advice. No effort.

People hire him to sit beside them at lunch, walk quietly next to them, or just stand in silence so they don’t feel alone.

From awkward dinners to emotional divorces, Shoji’s clients come for company, not conversation.

He’s turned doing nothing into a full-time business, written a best-selling book, and even starred in a documentary.

In this episode of Money2Byrne: Pocket Change, David Byrne explores how one man made “nothing” into something, and why maybe just maybe we’re all trying too hard.

🪑 Doing nothing.

💸 Getting paid.

🎙️ The lighter side of business only on Money2Byrne.

You can buy almost anything on eBay or at least, you could.

In this episode of Money2Byrne: Pocket Change, David Byrne tells the hilarious true story of how people started selling haunted dolls, cursed jars, and even ghosts online… until eBay had to officially ban the sale of “souls and spirits.” 👻

From haunted auctions that went viral to the ridiculous complaints that followed (“My ghost isn’t working!”), this is a story about marketing gone mad, proof that on the internet, someone really will buy anything.

👻 Haunted jars, possessed dolls, and the policy that ended it all

💸 Why eBay had to write “no ghosts allowed” into its rules

😂 The lighter side of business — one haunting at a time

🎙️ Money2Byrne: The podcast that looks at the lighter side of business.

🍀 Stay safe, stay happy… but most of all, stay lucky.

In the 1990s, Pepsi launched a TV advert offering everything from T-shirts to sunglasses for Pepsi Points and, as the punchline, a Harrier Fighter Jet.

One college student decided it wasn’t a joke. He raised the money, sent Pepsi a cheque, and demanded his jet.

What followed became one of the wildest marketing blunders and lawsuits in advertising history.

In this five-minute episode of Money2Byrne: Pocket Change, David Byrne tells the hilarious true story behind “Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?”, how a soft-drink promo spiralled into a courtroom showdown, and why every marketer should read the fine print before promising the impossible.

🥤 Marketing gone mad.

✈️ A guy who really wanted his jet.

🎬 And the Netflix documentary that proves truth is stranger than advertising.