Japanese Hotel Room Costs $1 a Night -- If You'll Livestream Yourself

"Guests coming to Asahi Ryokan have the option to pay just ¥100 (about $1) per night to stay the night -- if they agree to have their entire stay livestreamed," reports CNN:

[T]here are restrictions around how the live streaming works. [27-year-old manager] Tetsuya Inoue explains to CNN Travel that the feed is video-only, so guests will have privacy in their conversations or phone calls... Guests are permitted to turn the lights off, and the bathroom area is out of camera range. 

"This is a very old ryokan [traditional Japanese hotel] and I was looking into a new business model," says Inoue, who started running the hotel last year. "Our hotel is on the cheaper side, so we need some added value, something special that everyone will talk about." So far, four guests have taken him up on the offer since Inoue began offering the deal last month. "Young people nowadays don't care much about the privacy," Inoue adds. "Some of them say it's OK to be [watched] for just one day."

Inoue ultimately hopes to monetize the YouTube channel, according to CNN . (Though it currently appears to be down.)

But Inoue told CNN that when the hotel room is vacant, he plans to just livestream himself, working in his office.

Source: CNN