Recently, a special inn appeared in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, where guests can stay for one night for only 100 yen (about 6 yuan). But only if they agree to live stream their activities in their rooms online.
Hotelier Inoue Said: "Our hotel is cheap, so we need some special added value, something that raises the topic. ”
"Business Inn Asahi"
Located in Kiyokawa-2-chome, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, this magical inn looks like an ordinary residential building on the outside, typical of the private guest house style of the 70s and 80s of the last century, with several large characters written on the transparent glass: "Business Ryokan Asahi" written on it.
Last year, the 27-year-old Inoue took over the baton from his grandmother and became the owner of the new generation of the inn, which was already too old and had few customers on weekdays. After taking office, Inoue began to think about "how to use a new business model to improve the business of hotels."
He inadvertently saw a British tourist on YouTube streaming his hotel life live, and the webcast gave him great inspiration.
"If you agree to the live broadcast, you can stay in Room 8 of 'ビジネス旅館あさひ'" for 100 yen per night," Inoue wrote on the inn's official website.
Inoue also came up with a new way to "live-stream accommodation"
The original price of the inn was "3,000 yen (about 180 yuan) per person per night", but Inoue decided to open a "ONE DOLLAR HOTEL". Specifically, staying guests can choose to pay only ONE USD/100 yen (about RMB 6) per night for the night, but in exchange, guests must agree to broadcast their entire stay live on YouTube.
In an interview with CNN, Inoue said: "Today's young people don't care much about privacy. Some people have told me that there is nothing wrong with just watching one day. ”
The corridor of the hostel on the ground floor and the office where the management is located
As long as you agree to the live broadcast, you will be charged 100 yen per night (plus tax and handling fees, the actual price is 130 yen) in room 8
The room was small and was a normal Japanese tatami room
However, Inoue also explained that in order to protect the privacy of guests, there is only a picture and no sound during the live broadcast, and guests are allowed to turn off the lights, and the bathroom is not within the shooting range of the camera. The reason for this new idea was chosen in Room 8 because Room 8 was once the least popular room in the hotel.
At the same time, the hotel also reminds occupants not to "nudity" in front of the camera, not to perform "indecent behavior" in the room, and so on. Minors are also not currently accepted.
It should be noted that the 100 yuan room does not have an independent bathroom, and it is necessary to use a common bathroom and a washstand.
The bathroom is not within range of the camera
Although the every move in the live broadcast room sounds a bit "scary", since its launch last month, Room 8 has welcomed 17 guests, all of whom are men. On the live account "ONE DOLLAR HOTEL", netizens can clearly see guests sitting and lying in the room, and some will also hold a writing board to talk with netizens.
When no one is staying, Inoue occasionally opens a live broadcast in his office to chat and interact with netizens.
Screenshot of live YouTube on the "ONE DOLLAR HOTEL" channel
In the live broadcast room on the evening of the 9th, Inoue told the surging news that no matter how popular "ONE DOLLAR HOTEL" becomes in the future, "100 yen" will not increase in price.
"I once stayed in a hotel in India and it was really 100 yen a night." Inoue told The Paper.
"But for me, 100 yen is just a concept, and I can make it into a '10 yen' or a '0 yuan' hotel, because whether it's 0 yuan or 100 yen, the room itself is not profitable, and my purpose is to make a profit through a new business model."
Inoue said that now that the Number of Subscribers to a YouTube channel has exceeded 2,600, as long as the cumulative viewing time exceeds 4,000 hours, he can insert ads into the channel and monetize them.
"At present, in addition to the 100 yen room, other ordinary rooms are also occupied by guests. My grandmother didn't know what a YouTube live broadcast was, but she always supported me in doing it," Inoue said.