When it came to by-the-hour hotels, the investors behind Up-otel saw people were not getting bang for their buck.
And with the lack of space in Hong Kong known to be curtailing the sex lives of young couples, they saw an opportunity.
So, the Yau Ma Tei hotel has partnered with two sexual education organizations to provide a safe, friendly and quality option for frisky folks.
Also, did we mention clean? The staff at Up-otel will even lend out a Ultraviolet light for those who want to be sure those bedsheets weren’t the location of Stainfest 2018.
The project was discussed by the Yau Ma Tei’s hotel’s four investors at a small press conference on Sunday, HK01 reports.
Partners in the venture include 480.0 Gender & Art Space — a creative project aiming to raise awareness of gender and sexual violence — and Sticky Rice Love, a sex education website for young people.
The investors (without going into too much anecdotal detail) mentioned they’d all experienced by-the-hour hotels before and, as is common, were left unimpressed (and perhaps a little sticky) by their shabbiness and lack of hygiene.
Up-otel, located on Tung Fong Street, is all about providing privacy and avoiding awkwardness, explained Jun Rivers, one of the investors.
Rooms can be booked via an app, he said, which will then generate a QR code that can be scanned at the front desk in exchange for the room key.
So no awkward eye contact with receptionists while hanging out in the lobby, which is a thing we’ve heard happens.
There’s also a vending machine for snacks (energy), drinks (replenishment) and condoms (because you totally forgot to bring them, didn’t you!).
The rooms can be seen showcased in this Apple Daily video report, and they definitely look better than some of the by-the-hour hotels some of our, uh, friends have been too.
According to HK01, the three organizations banded together to provide the service after the results of questionnaire about the lack of space for intimacy in Hong Kong.
Conducted between October and November and including some 200 people, it found 80 percent of respondents had difficulty finding a place to have sex, or be intimate, with their partner.
A big part of this was that about 68 percent of respondents still lived with their families, with 57 percent saying it was inconvenient to have sex at home.
Just less than half — 45 percent — said that, in the past six months, they had been to a by-the-hour hotel anywhere from one to five times a month just to have sex.
The venture is also promoting itself as a safe destination, having in place a “consensual sex” policy.
Irene Lam, a spokesperson for 480.0, told Apple Daily that the Yau Tsim Mong District has the highest rate of sexual violence of any place in Hong Kong.
So, to be on guard, hotel staff have been trained spot signs of sexual abuse or assault and have been given strategies to deal with any incidences of sexual violence at the hotel.
All hotel bathrooms will soon have an emergency alarm installed so that anyone in trouble can call for help, while customers must be over the age of 16 to book a room.
According to Apple Daily, the minimum price of each room is HK$199, although it doesn’t make clear if this is an hourly rate or day rate.
The investors also moved to remind people that the hotel wasn’t only for intimate rendezvous, and travelers and families were also catered for.
They didn’t, however, mention how thick the walls were.
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