3 ms·

I wonder if hotel chains could pivot into this space? A simple mechanism to stow (and lock) the bed upright, with a desk conversion. They could rent the room du

I wonder if hotel chains could pivot into this space? A simple mechanism to stow (and lock) the bed upright, with a desk conversion. They could rent the room during the day as an office, then flip it down at night as a hotel room. Since many hotel guests check out early AM, and in many locations hotels are dead during the week, it could be a nice complement.

solardev 3y ago
Interesting idea! They wouldn't even necessarily need to rent out the private rooms (which would have higher housekeeping costs, and later check-ins, if they were dual-purposed as work areas) but maybe just a lobby-like or breakfast space or two. That helps the community too, so everyone's not just tucked away in their own little rooms. However, probably a lot of small indie hotel locations are franchisees with some access to capital but probably limited participation in techie/hipster/young nomad circles (which is mostly what I see in coworking spaces). Usually those small local hotels, in my experience at least, are family-run and maybe not equipped to deal with either the infrastructure side (they almost all have shitty wifi, as a rule) or the customer service side (a constant stream of of people going in and out, not just during check-in and checkout... but then again, that is their bread and butter, so maybe?). In my recent travels I did come across a cool outdoorsy chain though with more modern attitudes (repurposing old motels into fun community stays with regular rooms, hostel beds, camper van spaces, shared cafes and kitchens, etc.): https://www.logecamps.com/home https://www.logecamps.com/home Something like that could probably easily pivot, but then again, that's often a different demographic than the typical coworking space user. I dunno. These days they're all kinda blending together though :) Still, all in all a cool idea. Wish I had the capital to start something like that!
- gosub100 3y ago
  I've thought about this type of multitasking before when I see, say, an icecream parlor or a coffee shop in a strip mall. The icecream parlor makes most of its money in the summer, the coffee shop makes most of its money 6am-1pm (I'm guessing). Why not have an AM coffee shop and PM fast-food joint? A summer ice-cream shop and a winter hot-chocolate/cookie/pastry store? All you would need cables and rigging to hoist the unused equipment up near the ceiling. Maybe a 15min turnover and your business is making money for another 8 hours instead of sitting there vacant. With counterweights, locks, and mechanical advantage, you wouldn't need any motors or control systems. I think even a gas line could safely be made to move up/down 6 feet each day. This would all be done by a specialty outfit, not ad-hoc by restaurant owners. All certified and up-to-code.
criddell 3y ago
A lot of people are not going to be comfortable when you tell them to meet you in room 112 at the Comfort Inn.
- solardev 3y ago
  Any respectable engineer would choose Best Western.
travem 3y ago
Many hotel chains already offer a "Day Rate" that can be used for this. See for example https://www.hilton.com/en/p/workspaces-by-hilton/ https://www.hilton.com/en/p/workspaces-by-hilton/ and https://workanywhere.marriott.com/ https://workanywhere.marriott.com/
- solardev 3y ago
  Whoa, I never knew this was a thing. Is it actually still functional? The Hilton one doesn't actually show any day rates when you search, just regular room nights. The Marriott one shows no day rate availability in any city I checked. Were these experiments they ran in the past but gave up on, or am I doing something wrong?
  - travem 3y ago
    Not sure why it isn't working for you. It shows me the Day Rates when I do the search (they're not particularly cheap), perhaps lack of avaialbility in the area you are searching for?

solardev 3y ago

Interesting idea! They wouldn't even necessarily need to rent out the private rooms (which would have higher housekeeping costs, and later check-ins, if they were dual-purposed as work areas) but maybe just a lobby-like or breakfast space or two. That helps the community too, so everyone's not just tucked away in their own little rooms. However, probably a lot of small indie hotel locations are franchisees with some access to capital but probably limited participation in techie/hipster/young nomad circles (which is mostly what I see in coworking spaces). Usually those small local hotels, in my experience at least, are family-run and maybe not equipped to deal with either the infrastructure side (they almost all have shitty wifi, as a rule) or the customer service side (a constant stream of of people going in and out, not just during check-in and checkout... but then again, that is their bread and butter, so maybe?). In my recent travels I did come across a cool outdoorsy chain though with more modern attitudes (repurposing old motels into fun community stays with regular rooms, hostel beds, camper van spaces, shared cafes and kitchens, etc.): https://www.logecamps.com/home https://www.logecamps.com/home Something like that could probably easily pivot, but then again, that's often a different demographic than the typical coworking space user. I dunno. These days they're all kinda blending together though :) Still, all in all a cool idea. Wish I had the capital to start something like that!

gosub100 3y ago
I've thought about this type of multitasking before when I see, say, an icecream parlor or a coffee shop in a strip mall. The icecream parlor makes most of its money in the summer, the coffee shop makes most of its money 6am-1pm (I'm guessing). Why not have an AM coffee shop and PM fast-food joint? A summer ice-cream shop and a winter hot-chocolate/cookie/pastry store? All you would need cables and rigging to hoist the unused equipment up near the ceiling. Maybe a 15min turnover and your business is making money for another 8 hours instead of sitting there vacant. With counterweights, locks, and mechanical advantage, you wouldn't need any motors or control systems. I think even a gas line could safely be made to move up/down 6 feet each day. This would all be done by a specialty outfit, not ad-hoc by restaurant owners. All certified and up-to-code.

criddell 3y ago

A lot of people are not going to be comfortable when you tell them to meet you in room 112 at the Comfort Inn.

solardev 3y ago
Any respectable engineer would choose Best Western.

travem 3y ago

Many hotel chains already offer a "Day Rate" that can be used for this. See for example https://www.hilton.com/en/p/workspaces-by-hilton/ https://www.hilton.com/en/p/workspaces-by-hilton/ and https://workanywhere.marriott.com/ https://workanywhere.marriott.com/

solardev 3y ago
Whoa, I never knew this was a thing. Is it actually still functional? The Hilton one doesn't actually show any day rates when you search, just regular room nights. The Marriott one shows no day rate availability in any city I checked. Were these experiments they ran in the past but gave up on, or am I doing something wrong?
- travem 3y ago
  Not sure why it isn't working for you. It shows me the Day Rates when I do the search (they're not particularly cheap), perhaps lack of avaialbility in the area you are searching for?