HN Theater @HNTheaterMonth

⬐ echelon

If there was a network of such living accommodations you could stay at all around the world with the flexibility to book at a moment's notice, that might be compelling.

I would pay $1-2k/mo to have the ability to stay in any major city in the world. I wouldn't even sell my condo. This would be an extra luxury.

⬐ flukus

It already exists and millions of people have been doing it since the 60's, backpacker hostels. I think as a general rule you'd be paying over $2000 a month for a private room, but if you're willing to share you can get well below $1000 a month.

⬐ safog

Inspirato keeps spamming me on Instagram with this exact ad. $2500 / mo, any of their hotels across the world. No idea if this is some glorified time-share.

⬐ reggieband

Add in some sort of trunk/container service ... like you can take you possessions and put them into a secure trunk/container of various size that gets shipped to the new location. Add in high-speed internet work rooms/stations. I might sign up!

⬐ ta999999171

The CEO plane equivalent for tech-nomads...

⬐ cutler

I don't think you get it. This is about solving a housing problem, not augmenting the lifestyle of the haves. If you have a condo count your blessings and ... live in it.

⬐ navigatr

This is called a hostel or a flop house.

⬐ xtiansimon

AKA SRO, single room occupancy.

Funny companies wrap $#i+ in tech and call it the Next Big Thing—-Taxi hacks become Uber. Subletting becomes AirBNB—like, who knew being poor and having a lousy job and strangers in your house could be so hip. /rant

Disclosure. I’ve live in several SROs and they’re sad.

⬐ CPLX

The laws, taxes, and zoning surrounding residences for stays under one month and over are typically wildly different.

⬐ _asummers

Like some sort of WeWork (WeLive?) type of arrangement?

⬐ cvhashim

Pretty sure that's what Arrived does. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20682603

⬐ None

None

⬐ wyxuan

Airbnb and hotels? No?

⬐ echelon

That'd be much more expensive than an adult dorm.

⬐ echelon

I think that'd be much more expensive than an adult dorm for long-term travel.

I'm imagining a scenario where I work remotely and visit different cities every month between returning home. Sort of as work tourism. Get to spend lots of time visiting other cities for largely just the cost of airfare, and still have enough budget to support your existing rent/mortgage back home.

I'm thinking you'd want something closer to cheap capsule hotel rates. It gives you the flexibility of not being tied down, but at the same time lets you maintain your life back home for when you want to return to it (since it's affordable). There's no hassle of searching for hotels that satisfy {safe,clean,cheap,accessible} criteria since you're in a network.

Imagine having these available internationally as a part of your subscription service.

I'd love to have something like this.

(Edit: whoops, I just double posted instead of editing. Deleted the duplicate message.)

⬐ dangus

Your price range that you quoted was $33 to $66 a night.

You can absolutely get that rate from a hotel or a hostel nearly anywhere in the world at that price, especially when you're looking at weekly rates.

⬐ pg_is_a_butt

If only there were a network of airplanes you could fly in all around the world with the flexibility to book at a moment's notice, that might be compelling.

⬐ wyxuan

Hostels seem to fit the bill: cheap, worldwide, and willing to accept you for long-term travel

⬐ maerF0x0

I think this would actually undermine their market. People dont want a revolving door of out of towners, they want to build community with people who stay >1Month at a time.

⬐ CriticalCathed

you could mandate that you can only move locations every 6 months, unless you pay double rent or something. it could work.

⬐ werber

I stopped at 2000 dollars a month, this seems insane? I’d love the concept for like maybe 5 or 600 a month

⬐ cryptozeus

Well that was his second line. They are working on a project to get the rent down to $800. Only if you would not have stopped:)

⬐ werber

Thank you! That doesn’t seem as insane

⬐ lumost

Looking at their options it looks like they are simplifying room mate finding. It's a nice value add to be able to work with a steady landlord while only renting a bedroom, it helps shield residents from the cost burden when a room mate moves out and makes it simpler to move into a larger house with more rooms ( and potentially better location ).

In Boston there's a scarcity of 1-bedroom units relative to 3+ bedroom units - it's common for folks to live with a few roommates as the typical cost is ~1/2 of the 1-bedroom equivalent and generally easier to find.

⬐ anon9001

Serious question: how does a guy like this actually get into a business like this? If I walked into YC suggesting to build dorms, I'm sure I'd be laughed out. What's the differentiator for Jon? The only distinction I can see is that he grew up in a commune.

I do see the potential of the idea. The next obvious step is to bundle it with office space. You could give a discount for every employee you move into the dorm below the office. It's easy to imagine a building with shops on the first floor, dorms in the middle, and offices at the top. You could live on a budget, never have to leave the building for work or food, have 0 commute, and some sense of community.

I think there's going to be a rising demographic of people that don't want to work and are willing to sacrifice having kids for an early retirement. This would be an excellent choice. I could have graduated college, put in a decade in a dorm above a software factory, have minimal expenses, and retire by 30-something.

⬐ cryptozeus

Did you actually listen to the whole interview? They have market fit and thousands of applications for their product. What are you basing your opinion on ?

⬐ anon9001

I did. If you list a room for rent in SF that looks nice and is competitively priced, you'll also have thousands of applications.

What do you think is the innovation here? He's offering housing in a market with no housing supply. Of course he has market fit.

It seems the steps here were: Be born in commune. Notice SF has a housing problem. Suggest building a commune in LA and SF. Get funded by YC.

Maybe it's like asking for a date with a very attractive person, where everyone thinks they can't possibly get the date, so nobody ever asks?

⬐ yayitswei

He also brought years of experience in commercial real estate and a compelling game plan.

⬐ cryptozeus

Yeh its always obvious in hindsight. They are designing it for current time. i.e. they have common kitchen so if there is a problem of dirty dishes then they will have someone cleaning up the place daily or weekly. No question of who pays the utility bill because its included. This is very different from just renting out room. They may also have someone loosely policing the place in case there are issues in common living area or someone is not behaving properly.

⬐ jayparth

The answer you're looking for is: you get started incrementally. It's definitely possible to get this company started incrementally. It's an exercise in being resourceful.

> If I walked into YC suggesting to build dorms, I'm sure I'd be laughed out.

Yet, that's exactly what this guy did. So either he had some traction going into YC (by being relentlessly resourceful) or this statement is false.

⬐ newsbinator

> The next obvious step is to bundle it with office space

That's partly the plot of the Canadian film, Waydowntown.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waydowntown

⬐ dannyw

Charisma and connections help.

⬐ D-Livs

The housing crunch is one of the biggest problems of our generation, worthy of a lot of brain power to solve. Why can't we have innovation in housing?

It's not a product for everybody, but a lot of people like social connections-- my old roommates all came to my wedding. Who knows, maybe one day they will figure out a product for families too. I think more options are always great, and reading Jon's response below, it's obvious there is a huge underserved population.

⬐ all_blue_chucks

I believe the preferred nomenclature is "flop house."

⬐ rb808

I spent half my 20s in dorms and big houses with roommates. Awesome time, met a lot of cool people that remain friends to this day. I don't know why people aspire to get their own house/apartment, its really boring.

⬐ BubRoss

Women

⬐ RhysU

It scaled so brilliantly when we could simply evolve plumage.

⬐ CapricornNoble

>>>I don't know why people aspire to get their own house/apartment, its really boring.

Maybe you are dating a screamer, and she's self-conscious about all of your flatmates hearing her moan all night? Or you are dating people who are themselves tired of sharing their living space with a bunch of flatmates, and are eager to experience some quiet, romantic, privacy?

Maybe you wanna listen to death metal at 2am while you do Crossfit in your living room. Easier to do with a free-standing home.

Maybe you carefully meal prep, and are tired of your stoner roommates' random GUESTS eating your food.

Maybe you have met a few married couples who are swingers. They're probably more comfortable coming over a private residence for an S&M party rather than a shared living space, with people they haven't vetted.

Or maybe you want to start a family and have children (GASP, who does that, right?).

It's always interesting to me, seeing so many HN posters that correlate "living like sardines in a can" with "not being boring".

⬐ cvhashim

Really cool idea. Cohabitation and community development. Although I'm worried what would happen if Starcity never reaches profitability and starts going back on everything they've set out to do.

⬐ 0xDEEPFAC

Looks like boarding houses are back....

⬐ Excel_Wizard

I would have been glad to live in a boarding house earlier in my career.

⬐ safog

We-work'd boarding house.

⬐ incompatible

That sounds like the Worry Free work houses in the movie "Sorry to Bother You".

⬐ jondishotsky

Greetings HN, Jon Dishotsky, CEO and cofounder of Starcity here. Thanks for all your feedback. A few notes that I thought I would share with you all.

Starcity's mission is to make great cities accessible to everyone. We're only a little over 3 years old but have made a lot of progress. Let me set the stage a little bit.

There is a sinister problem permeating great cities in the world — increasingly expensive housing costs, and it begins and ends with a lack of will. Politicians, developers, and banks are content with the status quo where economic growth and quality of life are bled out of residents by ever-increasing rents.

But it’s renters that suffer the most from this lack of will, and they’re being pushed further and further away from urban centers — away from culture, job opportunities, and easy access to amenities.

First, a few key facts to keep in mind:

- 7 million new renters enter the market to find housing every decade in the United States and spend $1.1T annually on apartment housing - Apartment living was the fastest-growing segment of the housing market over the last decade - 43% of apartment dwellers live in multi-family developments in urban settings, which translates to 35 million urban renters

Why are these facts important? Because, unfortunately for renters, inflation-adjusted rents have increased by 64% since 1960, while real incomes have not kept pace.

This pushes renters into stressful situations such as: 1. Commuting longer distances to areas where housing supply is less expensive 2. Moving into buildings that aim to fit more residents into the existing housing supply at a higher density and lower comfort 3. Apply to a lottery system for subsidized housing where the chances of getting affordable housing is similar to winning the lottery 4. Paying 50-60% of their income toward housing costs in an expensive modern high-rise 5. Playing craigslist sublease roulette where they don’t know what kinds of roommates they’ll get

Consumers want modern, on-demand, community-oriented housing products in urban settings, but housing supply isn’t able to keep up with demand, and hotels aren’t a viable long-term option.

Developers point to the inflexibility of banks and extensive regulation as reasons why 99% of new developments have the same format and little in the way of community. Regions like the San Francisco Bay Area and the boroughs of New York City would have to build supply at peak capacity for 50 years to create a meaningful reduction in costs for renters.

But, because of the lack of innovation by housing developers, there are only two methods of creating affordable housing:

A. Build expensive housing supply that becomes inexpensive over a significant time B. Subsidize expensive housing supply

This is where Starcity comes in. We’re building a new category of real estate called coliving. In fact, this built form has not been created before, so much so that we worked with San Jose to create a new coliving designation that's separate from hotel, dormitories, and housing (https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/multifamily/why-san-jos...).

Designed to make great cities accessible to anyone, Starcity offers its residents a comfortable living experience with a private, fully furnished bedroom, and private or shared bath, complemented by warm, inviting shared kitchens and living spaces. Our priority is to make it so that our residents feel like they’re part of a greater community from day one, while always feeling at home. We also don't waste space building hundreds of kitchens and living rooms that go virtually unused throughout a given week. The past methodologies are not sustainable and waste a tone of space.

We find underutilized multi-family, hotel, and commercial spaces or build ground-up developments to create coliving communities, adding to the city's housing stock without displacing a community’s longtime residents.

With community-building at its core, Starcity works with local community stakeholders, government agencies, and nonprofits to understand the communities we enter, offer volunteer and engagement opportunities to our residents, and attempt to become a source of energy and opportunity for the neighborhoods in which we offer housing.

The real estate industry and developers are focused on developing projects that create the highest return for investors, creating luxury units catering to high-income populations, which aren’t accessible to the average person looking to live or start their life in a city. Governments, on the other hand, are focused on supporting the lowest income individuals via subsidized housing. The result is that middle-income earners are the first to be squeezed out of cities.

And yet, so much research indicates that just being close to opportunity increases the likelihood of increasing your upward mobility (http://www.rajchetty.com/papers-categorized/#papers_opportun...).

We are just getting started, and hope that you bear with us as we get to our fully realized vision. Developments like 457 Minna (https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Co-living-tower-...) which breaks ground next year in San Francisco will allow someone on minimum wage to afford to live in a Class A property in the heart of the city.

Please feel free to AMA or reach out to me directly if you'd like to hear more about what we're working on.

⬐ xwdv

Dorms are only appealing when they are filled with young attractive peers, not washed up aging adults whose ambitions and dreams have been crushed by the reality of the real world.

⬐ shortandsweet

That statement reflects your own feelings not the state of society or anyone else.

⬐ CapricornNoble

Can't that be said about every post on HN?

Globally, you certainly don't see many uber-wealthy people over 30 yearning for shared living accommodations. Nor have I ever met anyone who said "I wish I had a neckbeard gamer who doesn't shower and a 39yo crazy cat lady on Xanax as my roommates."

⬐ nostromo

We have these in Seattle already: https://www.apodment.com/

⬐ jtlisi

So basically the 21st century equivalent of a boarding house: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_house

⬐ SN76477

Growing up I remember my dad living in boarding houses.

I like the idea, I feel that communal living will be the future. We are tired of being lonely in our 4 bedroom homes.

⬐ cryptozeus

U can have more people over in your house when you want and rest of the time you can have quite time. Once you go in communal space you don’t have a choice.

⬐ tedajax

Don't want to live with other people but very happy in a much smaller home than 4 bedrooms.

⬐ echelon

Yes and no.

There are times I want perfect quiet and isolation.

I also don't think I'd want to live with my partner in shared accommodations.

This would be perfect for "single life" or long-term boarding away from home.

⬐ taborj

I think the general consensus is communal living is awesome...until you try it.

⬐ zdragnar

Been there, done that, never going back to communal living again. I don't have a 4 bedroom house either, but I do have my own house that is the right size for me.

⬐ capdeck

Hmmm... : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communal_apartment

⬐ CPLX

Boarding houses, driving a taxi in your spare time, renting out spare rooms for extra cash, odd jobs.

Except this time with apps. Yay.

⬐ JohnJamesRambo

Imagine a shared working space but this time with words like agile.

⬐ K0balt

... And someone taking 30 percent and making you an employee w/o benifits in the process! Yay!

Yet another example of big tech trying to figure out how to control and profit from the means of production without building it or investing in it.

It's like everyone wants to be a comic book villain these days.

⬐ naringas

this is terrible.

no one wants this. but seems like this is all a lot of people will soon be able to afford.

⬐ Merrill

I thought that lots of senior housing establishments offer what is essentially dorm living as an option in between independent apartment living and full nursing care?

In college, Mrs B's rooming house was about the best accommodations I had. She had 5 single rooms and 2 double rooms IIRC. It was $9/week for a single circa '65. Another $11/week for 20 meals at the eating club, and I only got food poisoning once.

⬐ saghm

> I thought that lots of senior housing establishments offer what is essentially dorm living as an option in between independent apartment living and full nursing care?

My grandmother moved into one of those a few years ago, after one of her friends moved in and loved it. She's still pretty independent, making her own food sometimes instead of eating in the cafeteria, still driving (although she's mentioned that she's thinking of selling her car and voluntarily giving up her license, but seems to really enjoy living around so many people her own age and being able to attend the social events they hold. Although she hasn't had any health problems (89 years and still going strong!), it's comforting to us to know that if some sort of emergency did happen, there are plenty of people around whose jobs are to help out.