Next-gen appeal: Tribe Theory, a new “venture hotel” in Singapore that targets entrepreneurs and start-ups, accepts Bitcoin and Ethereum for payment. Made up of capsule beds in shared dorm rooms with an average rate of around US$26, Tribe Theory combines the communal atmosphere of a hostel with the standards of a hotel and the entrepreneurial environment of a co-working space.
“We have a lot of entrepreneurs who are broke but have cryptocurrency, so we’re happy to accept that,” Tribe Theory founder Vikram Bharati told CNBC Make It. —Jeff Weinstein
Hotels into co-living spaces: An increasing number of hotels in Hong Kong’s non-core tourist areas are playing with the idea of converting their properties to co-living spaces as they face challenges from the changing travel pattern of young professionals and a drop in mainland tourists, according to reporting from South China Morning Post. The move could be a smart one: JLL notes that hotel owners and investors can improve rental yields by up to 12.1% if they convert an existing property into a co-living situation. Another reason for the conversion has been a sharp decline in mainland group tours after shopping tours were banned in the city in 2015. —Chloe Riley
Portugal’s new problem: Economic recovery, even when it’s desperately needed, comes with its own set of challenges. Just ask Portugal – formerly of sky-high unemployment, teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Today, says Bloomberg, its smoking-hot tourism trade has created a shortage of local workers to fill hospitality jobs that support an increasing pipeline of hotels, and along with it demand for higher wages. —Barbara Bohn
Redrum it is not: An Oscars commercial played a nice trick on everyone. The ad promoted the “newly-renovated” Overlook Hotel, aka the setting of Stanley Kubrick’s film (And Stephen King novel) “The Shining,” the whimsical tale of a man who starts losing his mind while staying at the hotel and tries to kill his family. Only one thing, writes Lonely Planet: The Stanley Hotel in Colorado, the real hotel where “The Shining” was filmed, is not being renovated – the ad is actually promoting the forthcoming Academy Museum, which will be “dedicated to the art and science of movies” and opens in 2019. Heeere’s Johnny! —Chloe Riley