menu
keyboard_arrow_up 3 keyboard_arrow_down

Business Idea: Subscription-based Hotel

Posted by ybouane —

WeWork but a hotel instead.

You subscribe to the service and have access to hotel rooms all over the world.

  • Hotels will be located in city centers
  • Consistent & High Speed Wifi
  • Clean and safe
  • The mood would be between an Airbnb, a Hotel and a Hostel (common kitchen...)
  • Access to services like Netflix...
  • Each location could have some unique perks

The goal is to:

  1. Offer a hotel experience that is consistent all over the world. You know what to expect whether you're travelling to Tokyo, Rome or Muscat.
  2. Let customers save money through a subscription system.

The pricing is critical for this to work, for now, here's what I have in mind:

  • 500$ / month
  • You can book up to 60 nights/year in any location you want.

Of course this business idea requires massive investments (owning hotels in city centers in all major cities)... But I still think this is feasible.

Survey Results

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 2.9

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Very unlikelyUnlikelyNeutralLikelyVery likely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

100$/month -> 14 nights/year 50% 200$/month -> 26 nights/year 30% 300$/month -> 38 nights/year 20% 500$/month -> 60 nights/year 0% 700$/month -> 90 nights/year 0%

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

10 answers How many days can you use per month?  — jeffy addReview this post

Reviews (10)

keyboard_arrow_up 0 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 4.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Likely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

200$/month -> 26 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

You should add a limit of nights one can book in a given location in a given year. You can also use a credit system. Prime locations cost more credits that other locations.

I feel like there's some potential in this idea.

But I wonder about something. Is the subscription monthly or yearly? What if someone unsubscribes after the first month, will they get the whole yearly nights right away?

How to go about booking rooms for two or three? I feel like the credits system I mentioned would really help in this matter.

Also, do the credits reset when the year ends?

What about high demand seasons?

There are many question marks to be answered but the more I think about this, the more I like the concept!

Review by mark — keyboard_arrow_up 1 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 4.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Very likely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

300$/month -> 38 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

I think we can have prior deposit and other terms and conditions stringent enough to avoid abuse and also not hinder potential customers

I love the idea. This will suit a growing population of business people working remotely and travelling constantly, but I'm not entirely certain of market size.
It eliminates the need to search and filter Booking.com, for instance every time you need to book.

Review by meeppupo — Thanks for the feedback! For the market size, it's definitely something worth investigating. It could be extended by including some options for business/enterprise.  — ybouane keyboard_arrow_up 1 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 3.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Very unlikely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

200$/month -> 26 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

Just don't allow it

Only people who travel a lot would do this, and they would probably make a lot of use of it. I think the current pricing is probably too low to sustain a profitable business.

Review by kingkhalid — Yeah, it's a tough balance. I think part of the profits is night credits that would expire after a year or so. People won't use the whole 26 nights they pay for... Except for heavy travellers.  — ybouane keyboard_arrow_up 1 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 4.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Likely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

200$/month -> 26 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

Setup a limit of x days for every subscription and ask users to pay more if they want to extend the stay.

What is the logic and idea behind the pricing and who exactly is the target consumer ?

Review by just_another_user_name — The logic behind the pricing is that over a year of subscription it should cost approximately 100$/night on average. (Less the higher tier you subscribe to). The target customer is people that travel a lot and want a consistent experience no matter where they are in the world.  — ybouane keyboard_arrow_up 1 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 2.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Very unlikely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

100$/month -> 14 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

I don't completely understand why this would be classified as abuse.

the idea seems really similar to salena. which already exists and is doing pretty well

Review by yepster — keyboard_arrow_up 1 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 1.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Very unlikely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

100$/month -> 14 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

If you have digital proven identity tracking, than you can have abuse protection.

The cleanliness and self responsibility as well as morality is very low.
The worst of japan based hostel could be the best in other country.
You should have gamification before your customer could book the highest profile hotel.

Review by leogzl — Thanks for being honest. The hotels will all be owned and run by us unlike airbnb... So in terms of cleanliness, we can establish high standards to begin with.  — ybouane keyboard_arrow_up 1 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 1.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Very unlikely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

100$/month -> 14 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

Detect mac address of devices used across all user journey

Experience anxiety / Uncertainty is very high unless the brand ia well built/invested - expensive way to start

Review by freeyudis — keyboard_arrow_up 1 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 4.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Likely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

300$/month -> 38 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

Implement max consecutive stays. Not sure.

Concept is interesting. I would do EXTENSIVE research on why WeWork is failing and if the model can be applied to the hotel industry, which is already a tough business.

Review by saaspack — That’s a good point!  — ybouane keyboard_arrow_up 0 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 5.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Likely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

100$/month -> 14 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

Gradually increase the price each time the same location is picked.

Would this be a franchise? As in, each hotel is the same? If so, this wouldn't be a bad idea. If hotels are different, then your service wouldn't develop a specific look and feel that customers would get used to and appreciate.

Review by igobysoandso — keyboard_arrow_up 0 keyboard_arrow_down

Overall rating for this idea?

star star star star star 1.0

Would you subscribe to such a service?

Very unlikely

What would you be ready to pay per month for such a service?

100$/month -> 14 nights/year

How can we protect against abuse? (Like someone booking 60 consecutive days in a prime location)?

only frequent traveller (they are most likely to be/related to business travel). So your audience is only the business people that do their own bookings or the person who does it form them.

too precise/small niche.

Review by hasbehas —