Hotel room costs $1 per night but guests have to agree to be livestreamed 24/7
Topics: Japan, News, World News, Travel, Business, Technology
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/Asahi Ryokan
Topics: Japan, News, World News, Travel, Business, Technology
You can stay at a traditional hotel in Japan, but there is quite a big catch that explains why it's so cheap.
This might be an impressive and innovative idea, or another step towards a chronically online dystopian future, depending on how you look at it.
But Tetsuya Inoue had quite the unique idea on how to improve business at his grandmother’s hotel when he began running it in the Japanese city of Fukuoka: what if the internet could be used to bringing in even more money?
And I don’t mean setting up a brilliant new online ad, but rather streaming a person’s stay on YouTube.
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Thankfully, everything is consensual - in fact, those hoping to stay at the traditional Japanese inn, can enjoy a stay for ¥100 (about $1) per night.
As well as this, there are some rules on how this works.
The livestream is video-only, so a person can chat to their heart's delight knowing that other people can’t hear them.
Guests are also permitted to turn the lights off, and the bathroom is out of range of the camera.
As well as this, there are also signs warning about the potential issues and the big no-nos while staying in the room.
As you can imagine, no ‘lewd acts’ are permitted, and guests are advised not to show any private information while staying in the room.
Speaking to CNN travel, Inoue explained how he hopes this will positively impact the hotel’s business.
He said: “This is a very old ryokan and I was looking into a new business model.
“Our hotel is on the cheaper side, so we need some added value, something special that everyone will talk about.
“Young people nowadays don’t care much about privacy. Some of them say it’s OK to be [watched] for just one day.”
And it seems this may actually be the case, as four guests have taken him up on the offer since he started offering the deal last month.
The videos have also proved to be somewhat popular on the social media platform as the One Dollar Hotel YouTube page already has over 1,000 subscribers.
Once it accumulates more than 4,000 view hours, he will be able to put ads on the channel and monetize it.
Viewers can also enjoy simply watching Inoue working at the office if the room is vacant or no one is streaming. Even puts signs up in English and Japanese in front of the camera to let viewers know when he is out of the room.