Capsule hotels, the closest thing to a 'bed in a box' you can rent, are making themselves known across Europe, mostly at or near airports, but one has now opened in central Milan under the name Ostelzzz.
Originally developed in Japan in the 1970s, the hotels stack small private spaces for sleeping and storage with space in the building given over to a coffee shop or other communal space. The rooms themselves are tiny, about 4' x 4' x 7' with eight of them fitting in the space of a normal hotel room. Each unit has its own toilet, but the shower's down the hall.
A number of companies are developing them in Europe; the parent of Ostelzzz is the largest operator and the most aggressive at expanding them. While some may find the space too confining, for others it combines cheap hostel-like rates with the privacy that's not available at a hostel.
One company official told TheLocal.it that "Small spaces aren't a problem for young people. What they want is technology, like automated checkin, sockets to charge their electronics."
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