I wonder if this could work....

[MoonShadow]

A bitcoin/cash 'capsule' hotel on one floor in this building....

http://www.cityfeet.com/Commercial/ForLease/427-S-4th-Street-Louisville-KY-40202-16800612L16800612L1.aspx

...directly connected to this skyway network...

http://www.gotolouisville.com/emailer/gif/standard/LouieLink_Map.pdf

...with a price point around $12/person/night.  (If a capsule hotel goes for ~$30 per night in Japan, it damn well ought to be less in a US city with one of the lowest costs of living in America)  A relatively small 'capsule' hotel compared to those that do well in Japan, but would be ideal for backpacking travelers, locals who get hammered while downtown and convention attendees; in addition to 'couch surfers' in between couches.  Minimalistic accomodations; a comfortable place to take a sh*t, safe place to get a warm shower, and a relatively secure place to sleep without getting your gear stolen or the cops kicking you in the dark.

Seems to fit well into this article's viewpoint about future investment strategies....

http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2010/02/products-and-services-for-permanently.html

This kind of thing should work even better in larger cities such as Chicago.  I wonder why it's never been tried in the US.

Anyone know how much commericially manufactured 'capsule' bunks cost?

[1713583041]

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[1713583041]

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[1713583041]

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[payb.tc]

how do you trust such a capsule's cleanliness? does it include sheets/pillows?

[MoonShadow]

how do you trust such a capsule's cleanliness? does it include sheets/pillows?

Generally, yes. 

[Tuxavant]

It wouldn't need to. I'd feel comfortable using a "container" with no amenities as long as I had a safe/secure to sleep and not have to worry about somone jacking me. Perhaps I was out drinking and wanted to sleep it off... I wouldn't care (too much) about sheets and pillows. I would just want to wake up without shank in my neck and still have all my shit cash still in my wallet. (obligatory bitcoin plug).

I think I saw something like this in one of those Japanese versions... where an automated steam cleaning washed the thing out after every use. However, getting stuck inside during a wash cycle might prove sucky.

TL;DR As a USA'er in a big city, I'd do that.

[silverbox]

It wouldn't need to. I'd feel comfortable using a "container" with no amenities as long as I had a safe/secure to sleep and not have to worry about somone jacking me. Perhaps I was out drinking and wanted to sleep it off... I wouldn't care (too much) about sheets and pillows. I would just want to wake up without shank in my neck and still have all my shit cash still in my wallet. (obligatory bitcoin plug).

I think I saw something like this in one of those Japanese versions... where an automated steam cleaning washed the thing out after every use. However, getting stuck inside during a wash cycle might prove sucky.

TL;DR As a USA'er in a big city, I'd do that.

Free shower included!!

[Rassah]

I'd like to see someone make the capsule a long dryer/washer combo tube. After you check out, have the thing lock, partially fill with water and soap, and launder, dry, and fluff everything inside  

As for Louisville, that city is generally dead except for the Kentucky Derby season. I would suggest Pittsburgh. It's growing into a MAJOR convention destination, especially since it already has a huge convention center, and is not strangled by unions like many other cities.

Also, some conventions there have stereotypicaly broke attendees, like furries (Anthrocon) and gun-toting rednecks (NRA).

[MoonShadow]

I'd like to see someone make the capsule a long dryer/washer combo tube. After you check out, have the thing lock, partially fill with water and soap, and launder, dry, and fluff everything inside  

As for Louisville, that city is generally dead except for the Kentucky Derby season.

You do realize you just insulted my home city, right?  I've lived in Oceanside, California (north of San Diego) Chicago, Ill. and Cincinnati, Ohio.  Louisville is, by far, the most cost effective, cleanest and safest city that I've ever known.  Granted, my experiences are limited, but I returned home deliberately.  And there is much more to do around here all year round, although I'll admit Louisville doesn't seem to attract the big conventions.

I would suggest Pittsburgh. It's growing into a MAJOR convention destination, especially since it already has a huge convention center, and is not strangled by unions like many other cities.

Someone else can do it in Pittsburgh.

Also, some conventions there have stereotypicaly broke attendees, like furries (Anthrocon) and gun-toting rednecks (NRA).

Speaking of gun toting rednecks, Louisville also happens to lay claim to the greatest number of Class III weapons in America, per capita.  A gun range just outside the city limits hosts one of the largest Class III weapons events in the world twice a year, the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot.

Don't call anyone rednecks, though.  Such utterances could prove unhealthy.

[Rassah]

My first bf, and current friend is from Louisville, so I've been there a few times. There IS stuff to do. When I went there, I ended up taking him and his wife on a tour of places they didn't even know existed. But it's so... empty feeling. It's too bad, really. The city does look like it's trying to provide culture and entertainment. It just doesn't look like there are enough people interested Maybe it was just a dead season every time I visited.

[stochastic]

I'd like to see someone make the capsule a long dryer/washer combo tube. After you check out, have the thing lock, partially fill with water and soap, and launder, dry, and fluff everything inside  

As for Louisville, that city is generally dead except for the Kentucky Derby season. I would suggest Pittsburgh. It's growing into a MAJOR convention destination, especially since it already has a huge convention center, and is not strangled by unions like many other cities.

Also, some conventions there have stereotypicaly broke attendees, like furries (Anthrocon) and gun-toting rednecks (NRA).

Louisville is a piece of history.

The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved

[Raoul Duke]

My first bf, and current friend is from Louisville, so I've been there a few times. There IS stuff to do. When I went there, I ended up taking him and his wife on a tour of places they didn't even know existed. But it's so... empty feeling. It's too bad, really. The city does look like it's trying to provide culture and entertainment. It just doesn't look like there are enough people interested Maybe it was just a dead season every time I visited.

Fuck the hotel concept. Let’s get into something much more fascinating. Explain how your first bf’s wife doesn’t mind your past relationship with her husband. That has the potential for at least 10 pages and possibly a mini-series.

You serious? That's material for a whole soap opera, dude Especially if they still... oh... nevermind...

[MoonShadow]

I'd like to see someone make the capsule a long dryer/washer combo tube. After you check out, have the thing lock, partially fill with water and soap, and launder, dry, and fluff everything inside  

As for Louisville, that city is generally dead except for the Kentucky Derby season. I would suggest Pittsburgh. It's growing into a MAJOR convention destination, especially since it already has a huge convention center, and is not strangled by unions like many other cities.

Also, some conventions there have stereotypicaly broke attendees, like furries (Anthrocon) and gun-toting rednecks (NRA).

Louisville is a piece of history.

The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved

Yeah, it used to be.  I miss those days sometimes.

[Rassah]

My first bf, and current friend is from Louisville, so I've been there a few times. There IS stuff to do. When I went there, I ended up taking him and his wife on a tour of places they didn't even know existed. But it's so... empty feeling. It's too bad, really. The city does look like it's trying to provide culture and entertainment. It just doesn't look like there are enough people interested Maybe it was just a dead season every time I visited.

Fuck the hotel concept. Let’s get into something much more fascinating. Explain how your first bf’s wife doesn’t mind your past relationship with her husband. That has the potential for at least 10 pages and possibly a mini-series.

Easy. I am married to someone else, and have absolutely no interest in my KY friend for anything other than friendship. I do try to stay friends with everyone I've had a long term relationship with, and have helped them out when they needed it. And, since I'm not a threat of any kind, she doesn't care. Some people ARE capable of carrying on mature relationships, AND not all girls are crazy.
That aside, please stick to OP topic.

[film2240]

I'd be interested in seeing how this idea pans out OP.A capsule bunk? Back in UK there is no such thing. I usually thought that only Japan has them.Question is how would you make sure that the bed bugs wouldn't be a bother (new change of sheets/pillows)? I can see this being more successful in some parts of Europe (like that futuristic hotel in Germany I saw once on the click TV show once shown in UK I think or was that another TV show I forget the name of.)

I can also see that the location might make for an interesting setting in a film if I chose to use the idea in one of my future films (or maybe not as other people have asked me to work on other projects) provided there was a character,story and place that worked together.

[film2240]

My first bf, and current friend is from Louisville, so I've been there a few times. There IS stuff to do. When I went there, I ended up taking him and his wife on a tour of places they didn't even know existed. But it's so... empty feeling. It's too bad, really. The city does look like it's trying to provide culture and entertainment. It just doesn't look like there are enough people interested Maybe it was just a dead season every time I visited.

Fuck the hotel concept. Let’s get into something much more fascinating. Explain how your first bf’s wife doesn’t mind your past relationship with her husband. That has the potential for at least 10 pages and possibly a mini-series.

Easy. I am married to someone else, and have absolutely no interest in my KY friend for anything other than friendship. I do try to stay friends with everyone I've had a long term relationship with, and have helped them out when they needed it. And, since I'm not a threat of any kind, she doesn't care. Some people ARE capable of carrying on mature relationships, AND not all girls are crazy.
That aside, please stick to OP topic.

That’s a great group of intellectuals you are a member of because I’ve never seen a situation like that where natural human traits don’t apply. Congratulations to you for finding the few people on the planet who are that emotionally sophisticated.  

BTW: I did stay on topic. I said fuck the hotel concept. It’s useless here. Unless one of your sophisticated friends happens to be Paris Hilton with money to throw away no one here would ever fund an enterprise that large because they would do a research survey first and discover its shortcomings. Even if they did build it I don’t think many people here would use it. People in Japan respect each other and human life is valuable there. That is a stark difference from the valueless perception this country places on human life even in a city that is as safe (comparatively speaking) as Louisville is today. There is too much crime here to be that exposed and we are too shallow to put up with that much inconvenience.

Japanese people don’t murder each other like we do and are more over crowded than we are. The homogeneity of their people allows them to see each other as connected. We do not have that luxury. U. S. citizens act more like a massive collection of warring tribes that hate each other but choose to live under a continuous armistice. That’s the reason crime in this country can’t be stopped, it’s the reason that we believe controlling other countries views with force is acceptable, and it’s the reason not all foreign business concepts will work here.  

It's not because the Japanese are better people it’s because they are all the same people and are well trained to respect each other by a governmental culture that doesn’t have a blanket policy of savaging the rest of the world for its own gain.  

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/stimulus/2011/mar/14/where-are-japanese-looters/

http://inventorspot.com/articles/six_startling_scenes_overcrowded_6802

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_p9bTjaEtKuc/S-ljbcSpFyI/AAAAAAAADjA/1w_AUZXf5IM/s1600/tokyo1.jpg

http://babibubebo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/img_1400.jpg

http://howstuffworks.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/blog-capsule-hotel.jpg

Very true cornedhashbeef.Japan seems to place a higher value on life than US. I do wonder how crime in Japan is so much lower than US and UK? I'm curious about UK to Japan comparison because reports say we have far less gun crime than US.I always wondered why (apart from the obvious about gun restrictions.I wouldn't call that a total ban though because sporting clubs can get one with a licence).I also hear Norway fares pretty well in terms of very low crime compared with UK/US. I do think people should do their research for which business ideas work and which don't as it'll save a lot of frustration later on.

[MoonShadow]

That’s a great group of intellectuals you are a member of because I’ve never seen a situation like that where natural human traits don’t apply. Congratulations to you for finding the few people on the planet who are that emotionally sophisticated. 

BTW: I did stay on topic. I said fuck the hotel concept. It’s useless here. Unless one of your sophisticated friends happens to be Paris Hilton with money to throw away no one here would ever fund an enterprise that large because they would do a research survey first and discover its shortcomings. Even if they did build it I don’t think many people here would use it. People in Japan respect each other and human life is valuable there. That is a stark difference from the valueless perception this country places on human life even in a city that is as safe (comparatively speaking) as Louisville is today. There is too much crime here to be that exposed and we are too shallow to put up with that much inconvenience.

Japanese people don’t murder each other like we do and are more over crowded than we are. The homogeneity of their people allows them to see each other as connected. We do not have that luxury. U. S. citizens act more like a massive collection of warring tribes that hate each other but choose to live under a continuous armistice. That’s the reason crime in this country can’t be stopped, it’s the reason that we believe controlling other countries views with force is acceptable, and it’s the reason not all foreign business concepts will work here.   

It's not because the Japanese are better people it’s because they are all the same people and are well trained to respect each other by a governmental culture that doesn’t have a blanket policy of savaging the rest of the world for its own gain.   

Crime is far from unheard of in Japan.  And like everywhere else, petty theft crimes increase as the economy sours.  Sure they don't murder each other at any rate near what Americans do, but that's a bit like comparing apples to oranges.  They still don't like sleeping anyplace that feels insecure.  The big thing about capsule hotels is that land space is at such a premium there, and that has zero to do with their culture and everything to do with the fact that they never had a plague of the black death nor a cycle of culture conflicts that nearly wiped out their youngest generations several times, like Europe.  That's pretty much what the colonists were trying to get away from.

BTW, to some degree the crime rates (other than murder) are skewed in Japan.  Petty theft is rarely reported, because of the perception of futility.  So theft rates are underreported as compared to the US, where we tend to report even the futile events due to insurance requirements.

[MoonShadow]

That’s a great group of intellectuals you are a member of because I’ve never seen a situation like that where natural human traits don’t apply. Congratulations to you for finding the few people on the planet who are that emotionally sophisticated.  

BTW: I did stay on topic. I said fuck the hotel concept. It’s useless here. Unless one of your sophisticated friends happens to be Paris Hilton with money to throw away no one here would ever fund an enterprise that large because they would do a research survey first and discover its shortcomings. Even if they did build it I don’t think many people here would use it. People in Japan respect each other and human life is valuable there. That is a stark difference from the valueless perception this country places on human life even in a city that is as safe (comparatively speaking) as Louisville is today. There is too much crime here to be that exposed and we are too shallow to put up with that much inconvenience.

Japanese people don’t murder each other like we do and are more over crowded than we are. The homogeneity of their people allows them to see each other as connected. We do not have that luxury. U. S. citizens act more like a massive collection of warring tribes that hate each other but choose to live under a continuous armistice. That’s the reason crime in this country can’t be stopped, it’s the reason that we believe controlling other countries views with force is acceptable, and it’s the reason not all foreign business concepts will work here.  

It's not because the Japanese are better people it’s because they are all the same people and are well trained to respect each other by a governmental culture that doesn’t have a blanket policy of savaging the rest of the world for its own gain.  

Crime is far from unheard of in Japan.  And like everywhere else, petty theft crimes increase as the economy sours.  Sure they don't murder each other at any rate near what Americans do, but that's a bit like comparing apples to oranges.  They still don't like sleeping anyplace that feels insecure.  The big thing about capsule hotels is that land space is at such a premium there, and that has zero to do with their culture and everything to do with the fact that they never had a plague of the black death nor a cycle of culture conflicts that nearly wiped out their youngest generations several times, like Europe.  That's pretty much what the colonists were trying to get away from.

BTW, to some degree the crime rates (other than murder) are skewed in Japan.  Petty theft is rarely reported, because of the perception of futility.  So theft rates are underreported as compared to the US, where we tend to report even the futile events due to insurance requirements.

ROTFL - You're right, that's no big deal.

Dude, you're much more likely to get crippled by a cop in the US than be murdered by anyone, at least outside of the national capitol.  Sleeping in a public park is, at a minimum, a sure way to get messed with; by cops or otherwise.  And the common halls of any hotel are camera monitored, whether the room is a standard double bed or a 36" x 80" x 36" box.  The only kinds of murders that occur in hotels in the US are crazy people who lose it all, crimes of passion, or professional hits.  None of which are any less likely to occur in Japan in a hotel than a hotel in the US.  Most murders in the US, and the primary reason that the US has the high mark of murder rates in the first world, occur due to either anticillary crime (i.e. involved in the drug trade, gets wacked by a competitor) or due to familiarity (i.e. domestic violence/ disfunctional family members killing each other).  In both cases, such kinds of murders are vastly less likely to occur in Japan than anywhere else in the world.  That's the cultural difference, which again has almost zero effect on the odds of getting killed or maimed while sleeping in a hotel.

The fact that one is much less likely to be killed by a family member in Japan is more than wiped out by the odds of a Japanese teen or young adult committing suicide.  Japan is one of the few cultures on Earth to have ever considered suicide to be an act of honor, and none of the others are cultures that anyone is likely to hold up as a model.  So it's a bit of a stretch to consider the Japanese to be the 'emotionally sophisticated' culture nor the one to 'place a higher value on life' than other cultures.  That's just bullshit.  We are talking about a modern society that as recently as 70 years ago considered their emperor to be a god incarnate for whom death in battle was considered a life goal.

[MoonShadow]

Is theft a problem in U.S. hotels Moonshadow? There isn't even any looting after disasters in Japan. I suggest you go back and review the links I posted.

Capsule hotels in Japan have lockers for the same reasons that US capsule hotels would.  From a practical perspective, theft from a US hotel room is rare & most likely by the cleaning crew.  I've seen a great many hotels, particularly in vacation hotspots such as Myrtle Beach, with small wall safes inside the hotel rooms.  I suppose it would depend upon what you consider a 'problem'.  Again, petty theft is underreported in Japan.  Japanese people don't loot in mass due to social pressures that don't generally exist in the US.  The US has many cultures, Japan has exactly one.

[MoonShadow]

What, no more hyping up of a culture that you don't really understand, Corned?

EDIT:  Hey corned, if you know any Japanese friends, ask them about the Ainu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainu_people) just one time and I can promise you that you will never be bothered by their presence again.  To this day the Japanese are more opposed to inter-racial marriages with the Ainu than a KKK member in 1930's Mississippi, and even they have trouble detecting the racial differences.  The Japanese don't really have a cultural problem with a Japanese woman marrying an American, whatever their race, but they do have a problem with the Ainu.

[MoonShadow]

What, no more hyping up of a culture that you don't really understand, Corned?

EDIT:  Hey corned, if you know any Japanese friends, ask them about the Ainu (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainu_people) just one time and I can promise you that you will never be bothered by their presence again.  To this day the Japanese are more opposed to inter-racial marriages with the Ainu than a KKK member in 1930's Mississippi, and even they have trouble detecting the racial differences.  The Japanese don't really have a cultural problem with a Japanese woman marrying an American, whatever their race, but they do have a problem with the Ainu.

LOL - No, this is just really boring and I could care less. You haven’t really addressed or debated anything I’ve said.
You can be the ultimate victor by simply starting this hotel and having it succeed. I wish you good luck and lots of money. You’ll need both.

BTW: My wife of 24 years is Japanese and I was stationed in Japan for 8 years. Look at my old posts back about four months and you will see me talking about both of those facts. I like you Moonshadow, you're silly. LOL

You could have been stationed in Japan for an entire career, and never really understand the culture your wife came from.  Just the fact that she was willing to marry you implies that she is one of the exceptions, but I'd wager that if you asked her about the Ainu she would tell you that it's a subject best not discussed in polite company.  Ask her why a six plate dinner set is a bad wedding gift.  Ask her if your black suit is okay for her grandfather's funeral.  The Japanese are a walking contradiction in many subtle ways.  None of this has anything at all to do with whether or not my idea has merit in America, but the implication that Japan is the emotionally mature culture to emulate is both rediculous and insulting because it implies that has been the case for some time.  Both their national education system & national constitution were designed by a US general in occupation, if the Japanese culture is 'emotionally mature' today it's largely due to the fact that the Japanese people regarded defeat as a sign of infierority and proceeded to assimulate the best qualities of the culture of the US while trying to keep the best qualities of the original culture.  Whether or not they were successful is a matter of opinion, and you are welcome to your own, but when you present your opinion as self evident fact using circular support you can trust that I will call you on the bullshit every time I see it.

[Rassah]

Twist on the idea to consider: capsule hotel bus. You could probably fit about two dozen capsules on a standard sized bus. The "hotel" can travel to where it is needed (follow conventions and service those who either couldn't afford a room, missed reserving before the hotel filled up, or just need a place to stay for one night), all the buses can be cleaned and serviced in one location instead of having cleaning staff for every hotel you own, and you don't have to pay land related expenses like taxes. Just pay for parking at the location. Electricity and water may be a problem though, but patrons can use the convention center bathrooms, and electricity may be able to be provided by onboard batteries, or bought off the hotel using extension cords.
Figure if we're thinking way out there, might as well think WAY out there