A Japanese hotel is offering a room for just 70p a night – but there’s a catch.
Guests that stay in room 8 have to agree to livestream their stay on YouTube, in return for a room rate of 100 yen, or $1.
The Asahi Ryokan in Fukuoka, on the southern Japan island of Kyushu, came up with the livestream idea to use an unpopular room on weekdays that had low occupancy rates.
Stays are streamed on the ryokan’s YouTube channel, One Dollar Hotel, which has 2,300 subscribers.
The in-room stream is video-only, so conversations aren’t recorded. Guests can switch the lights off and the camera can’t see inside the bathrooms. Guests can change their clothes in an area next to the bathroom.
There are a few other caveats: “lewd acts” are banned, and guests are warned that they shouldn’t show any private document information like passports and bank cards.
“This is a very old ryokan and I was looking into a new business model,” hotel owner Tetsuya Inoue told CNN.
“Our hotel is on the cheaper side, so we need some added value, something special that everyone will talk about.”
When the room isn’t occupied, the camera will stream him working in the office instead.
It’s not the first time a quirky hotel concept has opened in Japan.
In July, the Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu launched the Superior Cockpit Room, which includes a 90-minute cockpit simulator experience.
