The catch? You have to livestream your stay
When 27-year-old Tetsuya Inoue began running Asahi Ryokan — a hotel in the Japanese city of Fukuoka that is owned by his grandmother — he wondered how he could improve business in the new economy.
Inoue had an idea: what if he could use the internet to bring in a new audience and a new revenue stream?
Now, guests coming to Asahi Ryokan have the option to pay just ¥100 (about $1) per night to stay the night — if they agree to have their entire stay live streamed.
That said, there are restrictions around how the live streaming works. Inoue explains to CNN Travel that the feed is video-only, so guests will have privacy in their conversations or phone calls. His YouTube channel is called One Dollar Hotel.
Guests are permitted to turn the lights off, and the bathroom area is out of camera range.
I – Word Understanding
Catch – a hidden complication or difficulty
Livestream – to broadcast a live event over the internet
II – Have Your Say
1. Would you take a chance on this $1 hotel?
2. What is the difference between a ryokan and other hotels in Japan? Which one do you prefer?
3. Every second, a million minutes of video content will cross the network by 2021, that’s how much video content is out there and it’s growing, fast. The only thing growing faster than video, is LIVE video. What videos or livestream contents would you be interested to watch?
4. If you can do a livestream, what activity or topic would it be?
