'Cocoon hotel' must close due to lack of fire permit

Unable to obtain relevant operating licenses, Xiangshui Space - a Chinese startup providing nap services for office workers - was forced to close, Tech In Asia reported.

Based in Beijing, Xiangshui Space offered nap pods to office workers in 18 major Chinese cities. However, after just a month in operation, the startup was forced to shut down after Beijing and Shanghai police discovered the company did not have the proper local fire department licenses.

Xiangshui Space's bedrooms are fully equipped with blankets, mattresses, earplugs, and ultraviolet disinfection lamps - Photo: Caixin

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The company has also voluntarily closed its facilities in other cities. However, Xiangshui Space CEO Dai Jiangong told Sixth Tone that the closures are temporary.

Like many other sharing services in China today, Xiangshui Space customers book services through the app, scan a QR code to check in, and pay via WeChat or Alipay e-wallet.

Xiangshui Space’s sleeping pods are fully equipped with blankets, mattresses, earplugs, and ultraviolet disinfection lamps to provide quality sleep for office workers who have difficulty finding a private, comfortable place to nap. The rental price for half an hour is 10 yuan (US$1.50), sometimes dropping to 6 yuan.

The “pod” hotel model has appeared in Japan before. However, Han Yue, the operations director of Xiangshui Space, said the difference of Xiangshui Space is that it is aimed at customers looking for a place to take a nap for a short time, instead of the whole night.

Launched in Beijing a month ago, Xiangshui Space has since expanded to Shanghai and Chengdu. Before being forced to close, the company planned to expand to cities such as Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenzhen in late July - early August.

Xiangshui Space’s model follows the booming sharing trend in China. However, many startups in this “sharing economy” have encountered many troubles.

Before Xiangshui Space, a bike-sharing startup also had to shut down after losing up to 90% of its bikes, while another umbrella-sharing startup also lost 300,000 umbrellas after a few weeks of operation.

However, China’s “sharing economy” has been receiving huge investments from venture capitalists. According to Reuters estimates, this sector in China will grow 40% this year to 4.83 trillion yuan ($705 billion) and will account for 10% of China’s GDP by 2020.

According to Kim Tuyen/vneconomy