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Sleepbox

sleepbox.com

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Re: Sleepbox

#81

Post by rogerbinns »

veidr wrote: post #28

In 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…

If you travel through a civilized airport such as Singapore (Changi) then they have a hotel airside (ie no going through immigration) and as a bonus the rooms include bathrooms. It is USD10/hr single and USD12/hr double. There are also budget rooms (shared bathrooms) for half that rate. Oh, and swimming pools, cinemas etc.

http://www.changiairport.com/in-transit/transit-hotel

Re: Sleepbox

#82

Post by ChuckMcM »

Great discussion, a lot of it centered around the difficulty of the clientele screwing up the place. But there are also a lot of assumptions going in which may not hold.

So if you look at AirBnB, one of its 'features' is that all of the renters and sellers are pre-vetted (and yes this doesn't always work but it keeps problem people in the system low). Look at the 'clear' system for pre-screening air travelers.

This sort of automated sleep spot is vulnerable to being trashed, so one solution is to create a signup process where the clients get some sort of identifying token, a key if you will, that allow them to use units.

The Sleepbox folks have a cool futuristic render but they don't seem to have an actual unit. That is a red flag for me but it only means that I won't invest in one until I see one actually 'in production.'

Resupply and restocking is a challenge too, but only if you want fast turn around and low employment costs. You can hire folks to turn over a unit when someone leaves and just be on site the whole time. Depending on occupancy rate and charges will determine if that is feasible.

So there are lots of variables but I don't see that there are any huge barriers to implementing this sort of scheme but I do wonder if there is a working business model in there somewhere.

Re: Sleepbox

#83

Post by ww520 »

It might just work if it's placed in a restricted "member" only area, like in an airport. After passing through security and check-in, the customer base has been vetted and pre-qualified. Travelers usually are relatively well off and well behaved, after passed through security. There're less chance of the place being trashed.

Re: Sleepbox

#84

Post by edw519 »

I prefer the MVP I've been using in airports for years:

  - hoodie
  - ipod with white noise
  - mindfold mask (mindfold.com)
  - inflatable neck pillow
  - backpack with strap wrapped around my arm
  - empty gate of any soon-to-be-bankrupt airline
It's already paid for, it works great (the mindfold is the secret, believe me), it weighs less that a pound, and I can use it on the plane too.

Re: Sleepbox

#85

Post by osxwm »

ranprieur wrote: post #62

"Sleeping in public causes security, privacy and hygiene issues." This sounds like a rationalization. For me, the reasons not to sleep in public are that public spaces are designed to discourage it, and cops will wake me up. Public sleeping should be a right, but if something like Sleepbox becomes common, it will become even harder to sleep without having money.

Hi. I recognized your name. Love this essay: http://ranprieur.com/essays/dropout.html

Are you a technology worker? I've noticed many people with critiques of civilization are into technology.

Re: Sleepbox

#86

Post by jarek »

w1ntermute wrote: post #74
dangrossman wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. The only flaw in the policy of low chargeback limits is that it doesn't discriminate between chargebacks due to stolen cards and chargebacks due to extreme customer dissatisfaction. If a large percentage of your paying customers are so angry with you that they'll complain to any 3rd party they can find, something is wrong with your business and no other brand should want to be associated with the experien…

I never said that the cleanup fee should be buried. In fact, this is all hypothetical. By requiring payment by credit card, you'll hopefully eliminate prostitutes, drug users, and homeless people anyway. At that point, if you make the cleanup fee really obvious to customers, it may be feasible. And I don't know how common chargebacks for unethical purposes are, but neither me nor anyone I know has ever mentioned usin…

> By requiring payment by credit card, you'll hopefully eliminate prostitutes, drug users, and homeless people anyway.

I'm not sure there's a way to distinguish a "regular" credit card from a prepaid store-bought "credit" card, which are easily obtained by the undesirables.

Maybe you could try putting a thousand-dollar hold on the card for verification. Car rental could also be a good business to study for inspiration.

Re: Sleepbox

#87

Post by UnoriginalGuy »

m0nastic wrote: post #35

I 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…

If you're a weirdo then I am one too. I kind of want the sleeping thing from the movie Daredevil (tiny capsule where he sleeps in water so he can hear nothing).

I could build one myself but I always live with people who might treat me like I was insane.

But essentially a completely sound-proof little capsule where you can go in, close the door, set the temperature whatever you wish (18 degrees!), and then sleep without light or sound waking you.

Re: Sleepbox

#88

Post by pavel_lishin »

Kliment wrote: post #43
m0nastic wrote: post #35

I 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.

I wonder what it would take to turn this into a business, and what the demand would be.

Re: Sleepbox

#90

Post by [deleted] »

m0nastic wrote: post #35

I 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…

[deleted]
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