It's essentially a hotel room, but only bookable for one person, for a few hours only. There is no internet provided, and cellular signal is blocked. Alternatively (if blocking cellular signal is infeasible), users are asked to turn over their devices at the counter or have the devices "locked" in a "faraday box" for the stay duration. In the room, distraction and stimulation is kept to the minimum. No screens or ads allowed in the room; and the view from the window would be calming and non-stimulating.
The idea is borne out of my exhaustion of living in a hyperdense Asia city, where I am always surrounded by sensory pollutions such as advertisements, city noises, as well as constant phone notifications. I am also the victim of my own internet addictions.
To stay focus, I've tried to work in coffee shops. Although I'm generally productive in coffees shops, I often find I couldn't really fully relax or "be myself" in a public space. I tried "staycation" in a real hotel, but the check-in is complicated, the cost is high, and the room is designed more toward leisure and entertainment. It usually lacks a good desk, a good chair; and the high-speed internet is too enticing.
Specifically, the space is provided to those who would block out hours from their calendar for "reading" or "writing" but constantly fail to protect that commitment. More broadly, my intuition is that "traveling" to a dedicated offline zone once in a while may be as beneficial as traveling to a different country.
I realize the idea is rather unrefined, and not very "tech." But I'd love to know HN community's thoughts on it. Thanks.
This isn't a startup. You're looking at the intersection of people who:
* Need to get away from distractions.
* Lack self-control to reduce distractions themselves.
* ...but do have discipline to check in regularly to this distraction-detox zone.
* Have something they can do to fill up time that doesn't require connectivity. No google docs, and no streaming music.
* Are not claustrophobic.
* Will visit regularly.
* Will pay.
You pay $X/mo for access to the service. Your X buys you Y x 2hr slots which you have to book in advance to manage availability.
You can have different tiers for X and Y, but you would need to make sure you have good availability, otherwise people would cancel their subscription if they can never find a good slot.
But for me personally, it seems like it would be difficult to sort of "intentionally" decompress in a limited amount of time. The fact that I'm being charged for every minute I don't slow down would probably stress me out to the point of being counterproductive.
So I think it needs to be a little bit more intensive somehow, especially in order to compete with the things I already do if I want to decompress and disconnect for an hour or two: massage, float tank, etc.
Some questions that may or may not be useful:
* Who is realistically experiencing enough pain that they would pay for this service?
* What psychological or social customer needs are not satisfied my the market?
* If Apple launched this service, how would it be? What about your local city admin? Hoe about a non-profit?
* What are the top 5 competing alternatives and what are their pros/cons?
* How would you prototype this idea with just 100 dollars and 2 days? What about a physical prototype over 5 days?
* Someone is ready to pay a premium price for this service. Why? Who? When? Where?
> - Who is realistically experiencing enough pain that they would pay for this service? > - What psychological or social customer needs are not satisfied my the market?
I've tried to digital detox at home by leaving all of my devices away in another room. I find myself reaching for my phone to take a picture, ask someone a question, or search for some answer to a question. I tried a half hour and a whole hour. I wasn't trying to meditate; I just wanted to be where I was without distraction. I started counting how many times I reached for my device. I would instinctively try to use my phone a least 10-15 times an hour. Having my always on phone and watch has changed the way I think and act. Since I always have my phone, it feels like an extension of myself. The smartwatch is similar. If I'm not wearing it, I'll still instinctively look at my arm for the time, date, weather, etc.
I imagine there are other people like me, looking for a 3rd space to either do some deep work, meditate, or try to get away to fight burnout and other related issues (not always work burnout). The obvious competitor for the deep-work side is WeWork. I can rent personal workspaces in various styles: working in a shared room, finding an available private booth (and trying to work) that is not much bigger than a portable restroom, or renting and working in a conference-type room. Each gets more expensive, except the booths. Those are usually free to use for a brief period (30m?) if you have paid for common room space, but finding an available booth is challenging. None of those are for non-work. Common areas are noisy and busy enough to distract a monk. I can't get deep work done there unless I hide in a booth if one is available, and they are not time bound (I think they recommend 30m before letting someone else use the booth.
If there were screens or just pre-programmed audio for guided meditations, that would be helpful for those trying to disconnect truly. Otherwise, they sound like nap pods or a coffin-type hotel.
Real estate can be costly, especially when renting instead of buying the space (and building equity). I don't consider home or coffee shops a reliable 3rd space for deep work, as they are too noisy and distracting (even with headphones). Going into the office is hit or miss, as it can be productive to be around other people working, but it isn't always conducive to deep work. We have booths at work for something like this, but there's no sound isolation or door.
I've experienced enough burnout and not feeling productive to pay for a place to go and meditate. I can also probably find a meditation class or maybe a quiet but shared space at my local community center or community gym (I'm in Austin, TX, USA).
I could probably go to an internet-enabled library for deep work, but not all libraries provide booths (most I've seen is in college libraries, which means being an enrolled student). Library solo space is hit or miss. A lot of libraries have reading areas that are shared, which can be distracting.
Re: making it non-profit: Starting and running a not-for-profit corporation is as much work as a regular corporation, possibly more (I've started a nonprofit, which folded, and sat on the board of another). The upside is you may be lucky enough to find wealthy donors, so not all of the money would rely on making enough space rental revenue to cover expenses (beyond just rent). The downside is you need to know where to find wealthy donors.
Get a box with a time lock.
Put ALL your devices in it.
Set the timer to 1/2 hour.
Find EVERY day a half hour to dedicate to this exercise.
After 1 week increase the timeout to 1 hour ...
As to "who's the customers?" I've jotted down 4 types of customer profiles that I think have the most urgent needs. You'll probably understand the scenarios from the descriptions: 1. the writer on deadline 2. the CEO that needs deep thinking (say Bill Gates) 3. the busy couple that needs to talk heart-to-heart (this is for a couple setting) 4. the exhausted dad who just wants to do nothing
As to the urge of constantly reaching for phone, I hear you. One method I find helpful during a "digital detox" is to write down whatever answers I want to search for. This way I can kick the idea out of my mind and stay out of internet a bit longer.
If you're offering people to disconnect completely for several hours, some form of "we'll hold your phone / offer an emergency contact number" service would be attractive. Like it or not people - especially parents - have gotten used to being contactable at all hours in emergencies, and it would get rid of a major anxiety I think a lot of people feel when going off-grid.
The other kind of gym keeps membership to a fixed number, and will actually drop you as a member if you don't follow through on commitments to visit regularly, exercise, and get fit.
You can guess that the former business model is much more common than the latter. And obviously they cater to different segments of the market.
Compare gyms to your idea. Which model do you prefer? Oversell real estate? Or gamify people into chasing an artificially scarce resource?
This is a cynical take. But it's going to take marketing for your idea to succeed, and marketing is fundamentally about getting people to do something they don't want to do.
Marketing would be absolutely crucial, as you and many people have rightly pointed out.
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/recharge
https://breather.com/
- "your meditation room with noise-proofing, privacy guaranteed. As an additional purchase you can hire a paid-by-the-hour buddy that will meditate with you in the room"
This can be your marketing.
It is just a hotel room? Is it a retreat? Is it a new type of therapy?
Semantics might be key here perhaps.
If this was paired with something like a cafe trolley service then it could be quite nice. Chill little rooms that are peaceful and every hour on the hour the offer of green tea. Little oases in which to read, write, or code with minimal other distractions. My partner is an academic and is seeking a retreat space bookable on a weekly basis (not hourly) in which to have silence and write with minimal disturbance (libraries are too bustling, coworking spaces too noisy).
The first thing that comes to mind though: How do you stop this being used as a place for drugs and sex? How do you balance the low distraction and privacy with a basic need to prevent the spaces being used in a way that creates risk for the business?
Also how do you make this affordable given the places with density are also the places with high rents?
Prevent sex -- by only allowing one person in the room at a time. I've also thought about a semi-private space where the room is largely separated but not completely insulated. Like the door is opaque but not completely transparent?
Prevent drug use -- honestly have no idea for now.
In terms of getting away from noise pollution, I think this is more generally provided in major Asian cities through sauna and public baths.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31012685
Gotta be in Tokyo, though.
The assumption I started from was that such an experience has a potential of improving participants' overall productivity and self-perception of mental wellbeing and focus during and post-experience. The key was to measure and improve those metrics while refining the experience itself. I have managed to successfully complete a 3-month pilot with clear indication that this is doable and can be beneficial. This was a very strong selling point.
B2C path didn't graduate due to unaffordable expected end-consumer costs. I ended up focusing on 50-500-employee companies with the intention of building these rooms according to spec for monthly membership fee from their HR budgets. COVID hit and there were no offices or HR budget allocations anymore. For B2B, a catchphrase that worked for me and caught everyone's attention was that "happy hours" cost them hours and bring no happiness.
I believe this is a necessity in today's growing pace of things. Good luck!
I can also foresee the high cost of B2C business, given it is a physical business after all. But I thought it's the only way to control the quality at first. Building rooms to spec for a B2B client is quite innovative! Best luck to you as well.
Actively blocking cell phone signals might be illegal depending on your country - but building a faraday cage isn't.
Given how much of your identity a phone has become, and how easily someone could take my identity over if they had access to my device, only death or threat of deadly force will separate me from mine. If you want to go for the "handing in" approach, maybe small lockers are ok (especially so if they are padlock-operated and I bring my own padlock). Bonus points for being able to charge the battery in these (Like the phone charging boxes often present at airports)
In Europe, there are several places that offer "connectionfree vacations", often in remote valleys, often in monasteries (sometimes run by clergy, sometimes not) with thick walls.
Such a "cell" would be best if it not only had a desk, but also something more comfortable, like a couch. Bonus points for the ability to get cold and/or hot beverages on-site.
I'd pay a monthly membership fee of around 50 Euros for this.
Yep, but how many hours are you going (or expect) to use this space (monthly)?
I mean 1 hour/month, 1 hour/week or 1 hour/day.
Moreover would you envision it as "reservation based" or "First Come First Served"? [1]
More or less one of this cells could be a half-length shipping container, roughly 6 m x 2.50 m, which (has to be verified) probably also works as a Faraday cage.
[1] I don't know, but having to be there at a given hour or arriving at a time when all boxes are alredy taken could add to the stress.
3-4 hours per week, similar to gym use (which costs be about the same).
> Moreover would you envision it as "reservation based" or "First Come First Served"?
For practicality reasons, I guess best would be a mixed system: have 80% of your rooms reservation based, 20% on a reserve "first come, first serve" approach, which I can get by randomly showing up and paying a premium fee.
> half-length shipping container
Make them sound-insulated and put on a climate unit, and I am fine with that.
24 h open 7/7 at 2/3 occupancy would be 30x24x2/3=480 h/month, so 480/16=30 users/half container, or 30x50=1,500 US$/month.
To cover the 24hx7=168 hours/week (considering holidays/illness/whatever) you will need 6 or 7 people in the role of reception/cleaning/etc., if costs for each are 5,000 US$/month, and we assume to spend no more than 50% for personnel, you need 70,000 US$/month of income, so 70,000/1,500=47 half containers. let's make them 50 (one will be used for reception, one for storage, and one for common toilets).
You will need 50% more area than the area occupied by containers (for corridors between them) 50x6x2.50x1.50= 1,125, or between 1,000 and 1,500 sqm for this "camp".
At first sight is doable, the income is not different from a hotel room (at 100US$/night and 50% occupancy) but the building costs are far smaller, a half length container can cost, including the modifications around 10,000 US$, let's make it 12,000 including furniture, whilst a hotel room is more like 30 sqm at 2,000 US$/sqm or 60,000 US$.
And of course I didn't consider the "gym effect" of people paying the monthly fee but never showing up, and the "premium fee" you mention for a "no reservation".
Major cities also have private libraries where a similar arrangement exists. Public libraries may be too busy and not as stringent in maintaining sound levels. They usually don't have private rooms either. From my experience, they are also not as clean as private libraries.
I've been confused why more people don't take advantage of these "friend of a library" programs or take part in private library memberships. The programs allow non-students to support libraries (although private ones) and they're significantly cheaper than going to cafes or coffee shops. I'm pretty sure most places will want you to buy something everytime to be considered a patron so that you aren't kicked out or pressured for freeloading.
Examples:
* Cooper Union (https://library.cooper.edu/friends/)
* NYU (https://library.nyu.edu/about/general/fob/)
* Princeton (https://fpul.princeton.edu/)
* NY Society Library (https://www.nysoclib.org/)
I think the use cases overlap a bit. But the space I'm thinking about will also have a bed (or reclining chair) and a (shared) bath facility. It would be more private, internet-free, and more clean. I'd have to study why people don't step in library as often.
I suppose the one difference is that they don't confiscate your electronics, but many have had places to store personal things, so with a tiny bit of discipline, you can easily achieve your idea for free by simply using public services that are already out there!
Perhaps some people would prefer the aesthetic of a boutique startup that seeks to provide this type of space, but it seems like there's just better things to spend your time on then trying to monetize something like this.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jjimjilbang
It should probably be a Faraday cage, I don't think you could do jamming in highly populated areas, but also providing a landline seems like a good idea in case of emergency.
In a broader sense, I do think the "manipulate space for your needs" market will grow in the future, especially as remote work continues to become a viable alternative to the office.
1. https://selfcontrolapp.com/
I can't think of a similar offer, since it's something you can achieve for yourself (given enough willpower) just by turning off your phone and not taking a device.
Would people pay for something they can have for free? Many wouldn't for sure, but would many? Even if they lacked the will power, would they be too embarrassed to admit they needed your service?
If there are no similar businesses that could be a sign it won't work.
These obviously also have internet in rooms, but contacting one to try to setup and advertise distraction-free rooms might get you somewhere if they exist where you live.
Even if successful, you probably won’t much money from it. Best that it be a passion project born out of a need to help others. If you either don’t have the passion or want to make money then go to the next idea.
What you are describing (putting aside the issue of whether this is appealing) is a small business not a startup.
On the plus side of that equation it's relatively easy to start and inexpensive to try.
https://matadornetwork.com/read/people-japan-renting-cars-ev...
Sometimes I go into a church for the same reason, but just for 10 minutes.
On a more serious note, have you tried working in a public library rather than a coffee shop? Just ask the librarian to hold onto your phone while you're there.
Maybe do a cost benefit analysis or try to estimate traffic, just leasing it out might earn more.
This always puzzled me. The most quiet place to work is usually ones' house/flat. And even if your place is not that quiet, I bet coffee shops are way noiser.
https://lamanufacture.fr
”Totally disconnected offsite session”