In a city where space is a major commodity, renting shoebox sized spaces at a premium is a brilliant way to make a huge return on investment while offering budget-conscious travelers affordable, but clean and safe lodging alternatives.  While pod hotels are something I've been talking about for a while in Hong Kong (I'm sure I'm not the only one either), someone is finally taking steps towards building one. Now it's just a matter of time before he finds investors to get his "galaxy" going.

Benefits of a pod hotel for guests

• Why pay USD 30 or for a deep, dark and shady hotel, when you can pay USD 15 for a nice clean capsule hotel?

• You probably don't spend much time in your hotel anyhow.

• They almost always offer free WiFi!  What more do you need?

• Chung King Mansion's great for the adventure traveler (I stayed there my first time to Hong Kong 12 years ago), but it certainly isn't for the faint hearted.

Benefits of a pod hotel for the developer

Really, it's about dollars per square foot & heads in beds

• Maximize room count - instead of one 30 square meter room, squeeze in 14 1.6 square meter pods (2 rows and 2 layers of 1.8m x 0.9m) capsules with a 1m aisle.

• Maximize revenue - get double or triple the revenue per square meter as you would for a regular room.

• $$$ - With low development costs associated with building conversions, few amenities, low staffing requirements, and limited utility cost, your ROI is worth the double take.

It's a no brainer.  But looking at this guy's site, I guess there are still a million opportunities to do it better!  www.galaxystarshk.com

How to do it better?

A brilliant example of a pod hotel that took minimalism and design to a perfection is 9H Hotel in Tokyo designed by Studio S.  Love it!