An Airbnb user seems to be taking a leaf out of a Hong Kong living space business model, where larger spaces meant for a family are divided into coffin-like “capsules” and rented out.
In an ad placed on Airbnb by user Adams, “Capsule Sleeping Spaces” are rented out for S$15 a night, where one can literally slide into the space (like a morgue cabinet) and get some shut-eye.
Take a look at the ad:
Airbnb’s sponsored advertisement also showed the property:
Here are some photos of the space.
Is the owner going for the “scrapyard” aesthetic?
Or maybe patchwork-chic? Is that vinyl or painted-over packaging tape?
Here’s the shelving available in the common space.
Weight and height limitations
The ad says that the place is very close to an MRT station in Woodlands area and that it has great outdoor space. The listing markets itself to business travellers and solo adventurers.
The accommodations come with a shared bathroom and kitchen.
According to the ad, guests (and assumably, any of the belongings they bring into the capsule) should not exceed more than 100kg. There is also a height limit of 1.7 meters. Anyone and all their things that exceed this shouldn’t book this listing.
But we think no one should book this listing nor should it be listed at all!
Why? Well it’s alleged to be operating out of an HDB flat!
Guest experience
According to the user’s now-defunct page, he’s had numerous good reviews, but one user would like to clarify that the “room” assumptions is not true, but what you see is that you get.
But one user has mentioned that the “Room” designation has to be dropped on this ad, since there really aren’t rooms to be rented.
Another user on online forums sacrificed $15 to book the property, but what was curious about his experience is that there were no booking dates available and that he had to wait a week for confirmation.
You just can’t do this
A lot of Singaporeans choose to live in HDB flats because they’re affordable and let them modulate their lifestyle. With one of the highest prices for real estate in the entire world, it’s no wonder that this option provided by the government is popular.
But with the perks of an HDB setup come a lot of caveats. Some of these are the fact that you can’t sublet your flat or list it on Airbnb.
What’s more, the look of these flat is simply shoddily-made. These could literally be coffins in the making thanks to the height and weight limit, along with how the materials look like they were lifted from scraps and put together to form a squatters area.
The ad on Airbnb has since been taken down, but of course, the receipts are provided above.
What do you think of this “business idea”? Let us know in the comments!
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