For decades, Cathryn Blum has been a film location scout in San Francisco, helping productions from James Bond to Top Gear make use of the picturesque west coast city.
Now in her mid-sixties, she decided a decade ago to start taking less work. To make ends meet, in 2010 she became one of the very first hosts on Airbnb, renting out the spare room and bathroom in the home she affectionately calls the “nest”.
But now, as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged Airbnb’s business, hosts such as Ms Blum have borne the brunt of the uncertainty and disruption.