Easynest lets strangers share hotel rooms | Hacker News Reader

Easynest lets strangers share hotel rooms

bizjournals.com

12 pointslarrys11 comments

Does this whole concept creep anyone else out? Forget downgrading to a three-star hotel, I would rather sleep in my car than share a private room with a stranger and I'm a younger guy who is generally not too concerned with my own safety. I would guess that only a very small percentage of women would be willing to do this.

Not only is safety a concern but also just personal habits as well. How do I know the person I'm sharing room with would not come back to the room drunk at 2:00 AM? Or spend over an hour occupying the bathroom in the morning? Would someone assigned to share a room with me mind if I stay up to watch the end of a basketball game on TV or that I snore?

Well from my perspective I agree. Definitely.

But this is the type of thinking that also got a well known VC [1] to not invest in airbnb even after PG strongly suggested that investment. (Which was documented in an email exchange back and forth that I can't easily find. Anyone?)

So with something like this maybe the idea is not to think "why won't this work" (which is an easy exercise) but "why would this work"?

I think a large part of it working would be the feedback system [2] and social constraints which is what makes many of these things possible.

[1] Fred Wilson

[2] As I learned many years ago the difference between buying a product from a company on ebay (which you can give seller feedback) and buying the same product from the same company off ebay (where the seller doesn't have as much motivation to do the right thing because you don't have the stick of feedback and reputation for motivation).

My thoughts too. But I guess if you compare it to (what I believe to be the norm with) hostels then this concept is not too far off. But the thought of hostels also creeps me out. I'm not even that keen on the traditional B&Bs where you get a private room but share a bathroom. I enjoy my space when doing things like sleeping and showering.

Instant start-up formula:

1. Look at what other start-ups are doing (for instance, sharing cars). 2. Do the same thing in a different industry (like sharing hotel rooms).

This way, you can present your idea to VCs as "The X of Y," which is about all VCs have time to listen to.

That said, please enjoy my free start-up ideas:

1. Facebook for aligators. 2. The Airbnb of places in line to buy tickets. 3. Like Twitter, but you can only post emoticons.

Given a fair percentage of hotels seem to do rooms with two double beds, calling it 'sleep with strangers' seems a little odd. Room sharing at conferences is pretty common IME, usually facilitated via the conference's mailing list. Not sure how successful this'll be, but 'find people to share a hotel room with' would better describe what happens in practice.

"'sleep with strangers' seems a little odd"

"Odd" is a great way to get people's attention though.

Of course that was the article title but it actually is a great branding tag even if not factually correct.

Not sure if this salacious writeup, image and title are really helping them, but publicity is publicity I guess. At least the site doesn't present itself as a hook-up/prostitution service. http://www.easynest.com/

Sharing a room is pretty standard for backpackers/hostels, also for overnight train and ship travel. Actually, this service would be convenient for Why Cruise Ships are My Favorite Remote Work Location (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6697416), where he's sharing the cabin with a friend.

"It might sound snobbish or ridiculous, but the reality is that once you've tried a 5-star hotel, you can't go back," said founder Nicolas Reille, a serial entrepreneur who dreamed up the concept when he was traveling for work and could only afford 2- or 3-star digs.

No, it actually sounds like a) you've got a solution in search of a problem, b) you're more concerned with comfort than personal safety or c) both.

It sounds snobbish and ridiculous because it is.

> more than 2,000 people — mostly men and women in their 30's and 40's — have signed on to use the service

And, as expected, there are some neat, undocumented ways to make full use of this service.

Using it to facilitate a prostitute booking service comes to mind. "Hi, I'm Phil! I'm ready to share a hotel room with you in Atlanta any night next month." I wonder whether they have plans to analyze for suspicious usage. Often staying at hotels in the town in which you reside, for instance could be an indicator of this type of behavior.

> Pitching itself as the "Airbnb for hotels,"

Isn't Airbnb the "Airbnb for hotels?"

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