Please: every restaurant install one of these. How many times have I finished a meal and just wanted to lie down for 15 minutes??
You can't wait to drive her home first?
Sleepbox
41–50 of 149 posts
Re: Sleepbox
#42I saw similar booths in the Munich airport a few years ago, where they were called "NapCab". I had had a rough overnight flight and a messy transfer in Heathrow, a six hour layover in Munich, and of course server problems came up while I was in the air - so a small private room with calm lighting, power, and an internet connection was a godsend.
It worked with a credit card and cost (IIRC) about 15 euros per hour (10 euros/hr in the evening). There was a touch-screen for setting lighting, audio environment, and a wake-up alarm. It also had a bottle opener and a bottle of water. When you're finished, I gather that janitorial staff are notified and the NapCab is cleaned up and restocked for the next person.
Their website doesn't seem to be active anymore, so maybe the company didn't succeed - but here's a not-very-good picture of what mine looked like:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26099052@N03/4733241817/in/set-...
Re: Sleepbox
#43I hope something like this takes off, mostly because I'd buy one for my apartment. A few years back I spent many weeks trying to figure out how to purchase and get shipped one of the Japanese capsule hotel units to my apartment. I found a manufacturer (whose website was entirely in Japanese) and eventually was able to figure out that it wasn't really feasible (getting one of the units shipped to the U.S. was a nightm…
Build one! It's not that hard, hardware stores will cut materials for you, and your local hackerspace will help with design and technical stuff. And it will have the extra sweetness of being your own hard work.
Re: Sleepbox
#44I've been sleeping in my office a lot lately. My home environment is far too noisy. Now I would love a sleepbox but yes I question two things: hygiene and noise. Hopefully it's well ventilated and there's no bugs but oh how I'd love a showerbox attachment. Also, how well does it isolate noise? Airports are noisy places. Does it isolate low frequency as well? If it does, I'd buy one for my terrible apartment.
Re: Sleepbox
#45In Japan we have long had 'coffin hotels' (or 'capsule hotels', pre-Neuromancer). We also have love hotels, which are expressly designed to be rented for two hours at a time to do whatever nasty, sticky business you can convince somebody to do with you. The changing the linens and whatnot are solved problems. (Some businessman-oriented places have a sealed plastic bag of bedclothes hung in the room... you have to do…
The problem is that you can't just implement the Japanese system in the US. The Japanese are much more respectful of other people's/business's property than Americans and are much less likely to be using drugs (and although prostitution is widespread, the prostitute/john won't trash the place). That's why completely automated vending machine-style systems, such as those used by capsule hotels and many love hotels, ar…
Heavy fines get difficult when the buyer can deny the charges. Chargebacks are very expensive for the merchant; not only are there penalty charges on top of the refund ($25 seems to be typical) but credit card processors will refuse to do business with you if you get enough of them.
Re: Sleepbox
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh c'mon, this is brilliant, and solves a huge pain problem for lots of people (myself included). You don't have to have perfect solutions to edge customer cases in order to be successful (e.g. Zipcar, AirBnB, eBay, etc), and you can always iterate on the solutions. The airport/station staff can do the daily cleaning and replenishing. Also, they can give you a grace period of 5 mins to reject the pod if there's a pro…
> You don't have to have perfect solutions to edge customer cases and you can always iterate on the solutions. This isn't a high tech startup. These units would be placed in very public places, so initial impressions would have an enormous impact on their subsequent success (or failure). Imagine the worst things someone could do within one of these units and then ask yourself how you would discretely clean that withi…
You start by having them only in First class lounges. Then you filter them down through to business class lounges.
The cattle will never see them.
Re: Sleepbox
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is that you can't just implement the Japanese system in the US. The Japanese are much more respectful of other people's/business's property than Americans and are much less likely to be using drugs (and although prostitution is widespread, the prostitute/john won't trash the place). That's why completely automated vending machine-style systems, such as those used by capsule hotels and many love hotels, ar…
Heavy fines get difficult when the buyer can deny the charges. Chargebacks are very expensive for the merchant; not only are there penalty charges on top of the refund ($25 seems to be typical) but credit card processors will refuse to do business with you if you get enough of them.
How about a video camera inside the "box"? Or would that be too invasive for most people? Maybe you could just take "before" and "after" pictures?
Re: Sleepbox
#48Even if the pod is somewhat automated (e.g. linens are somehow changed without human intervention), you're not going to be able to get around the fact that you'll need someone to collect the dirty linens once in a while and replenish. And really, the tired business executive is the ideal customer ... but you're probably more likely to get a bunch of less-than-ideal customers whose actions inside the pod are going to…
man, the lack of trust in modern (esp. american) society is just... awful.
Re: Sleepbox
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Make them a little smaller, and transparent. Like sleeping on a bench, but you're shielded from noise and people bumping into you or taking your stuff.
Yeah but usually people like to sleep in the dark. Good point though.
and they don't like people peering in on them
Re: Sleepbox
#50Wow. That's going to wind up to be the filthiest box in NYC. Word will spread among the homeless and drug addicts. Need a quick place to shoot up? There's the Sleepbox. Given the state of public restrooms in NYC, you're also just asking for bodily fluids everywhere. This is not a business in America. It's a money sink and an exercise in frustration. And if you think you can "limit" who uses it, good luck fending off…
Limiting it to only people with a credit card would be an easy thing to do. It's also a common way to discriminate.
Very true. Plus, the price appears to be a tad out of range for many who might be inclined to trash the place. A back alley would be more cost effective. The drug users who could afford to use the room would probably be discreet about the whole thing and wouldn't cause too much mess.