A new network of futuristic capsule hotels Monotel plans to launch in Ukraine by the end of the summer, including cryptocurrencies among the payment methods.
According to the words of Monotel representatives, the project is created on the image of already working high-tech Asian capsule hotels. There will be an online checkout, digitally controlled capsules, and it will be possible to order any services without having to communicate with the staff.
The first facility is expected to open by Ukraine's Independence Day on Shevchenko Boulevard in Kiev. It will have capacity for 28 people, including female and male bedrooms with 10 beds each and one bedroom for couples with four double pods.
Facility amenities also include separate showers and toilets, lockers for personal items, laundry, ironing room, luggage storage and a 24-hour front desk.
"Services include pods for two, monotransportation rentals and cryptocurrency payment. Stopover fees are charged per day as well as per stay... The hotel of the future is distinguished by its intuitive and tech-savvy design. The futuristic capsule is as self-sufficient as a personal space. Each has an air system, memory mattress, personal lighting and headphones," says the report of Monotel.
The idea of capsule hotels was born in Japan, offering busy people at work the possibility of a short-term vacation. The creation of this kind of hotels, the first of which appeared in Osaka in 1979, was due to the high population density in Japan: while much smaller in territory the number of residents in the Land of the Rising Sun is comparable with the total population of Russia. Such capsule hotels are usually located near major train stations and transportation hubs.
In June 2017, Comics & Capsule Hotel Comicap in Osaka became the first hotel of its kind to accept bitcoins as payment.