An innovative breed of accommodation is aiming to shape the future of hospitality, and has its sights set firmly on South-east Asia.
In the modern age of travel, where mass tourism can have a detrimental effect on the environment and people are seeking out unique experiences, Danish start-up Poshtel PopUp believes it has found the solution.
It plans to “challenge the hotel industry and the dominant logic around it” by offering a sustainable alternative to traditional beds, according to co-founder Kristoffer Bloom.
Having snapped up a fleet of shipping containers, the company’s vision is to transform them into luxury, eco-friendly pop-up suites that are affordable and can be transported anywhere in the world.
Said Bloom: “We often see ourselves as part of a greater movement… sustainability is one of the main factors. Sustainability has moved from being a niche to a necessity. Not (simply) stickers about towels on the floor; we mean deeply embedded responsible behaviour in every piece and element of the business. You can pretty much view the suites as banks of raw materials.”
With the first project recently opening its doors in Copenhagen, franchise deals are being negotiated across the globe, with prospective sites in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia currently being explored. Projects in Japan and South Korea are also likely to pan out.
“Our plans for South-east Asia are big as the opportunities are endless. In this part of the world, it feels like every corner tells a new story, it’s rich in exciting cultures and rapid growth that opens new possibilities,” Bloom said.
“These traits have led to a lot of over-tourism during the last two decades. This has (led) a lot of travellers to seek out the unexplored. Poshtel’s highly-modular construction method combined with out high concentration on sustainability allows us to enter new, unexplored frontiers.”
Pushing the sustainability element, Poshtel has also designed a utility unit in a box called The 5th Element. This is an off-the-grid utility unit that provides power, water and waste management that is 100 per cent solar powered.
“With this technology, we can really challenge the boundaries of what is today possible in the industry, and that’s exactly what we set out to do,” added Bloom.
