After nearly three decades, the concept of a Japanese-style capsule hotel makes its way to India. Launched on March 1 in Andheri in suburban Mumbai , Urbanpod offers travellers accommodation starting at Rs 1,800.
The rooms are designed by Berlin Lee, an award-winning Singapore-based architect. The hotel features shared washrooms and a common living area. Of the 140 pods, 18 belong to the ‘ladies only’ section, which the company claims is an adaptation for the Indian market.
Hiren Gandhi, director and co-founder, Urbanpod, believes Indians are ready to live in a shared living environment. “The response has been positive. It’s just that people need to try this once and later they would opt for this on their own,” he says.
In the last 40 days, the Mumbai hotel has seen more than 200 customers. The company has partnered with Airbnb and plans to add another 800 pods across other metro cities over the next three years.
