- Startup Moliving is building modular and movable hotel rooms for a New York "eco-resort" opening this summer.
- This portability allows landowners and hospitality companies to scale room inventories per season.
- See inside one of the 400-square-foot units, which has three "rooms" and two balconies.
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A New York startup creating $150,000 off-grid modular portable hotel rooms is opening its first resort near NYC — see what it'll be like
Jun 2, 2022, 12:11 PM ET
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Out with the conventional hotel, in with the quirky individual accommodations.
Meet Moliving, a New York-based hospitality startup that's making portable $150,000 movable hotel rooms that'll be available to book as soon as this year.
Source: Moliving
The New York-based company specializes in what it calls "nomadic hospitality," which allows other hospitality groups and landowners to create and easily scale Moliving-based developments.
- Source: Moliving
And the first iteration will be available to stay this summer in Hudson Valley, New York north of New York City.
The rollout of the new location couldn't have come at a better time: Vacations in atypical accommodations like yurts and tiny homes have been on the rise throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Airbnb
But this doesn't mean it's the beginning of the end for traditional hotel companies.
Moliving sees itself as a "compliment to the traditional hotel model" instead of a replacement of the classic hospitality arrangement, Jordan Bem, founder and CEO of Moliving, told Insider in an email interview in 2021.
Source: Moliving
"While a perfect solution for many, we don't see traditional hotels going away," Bem said.
Unlike other prefab living space makers, Moliving owns all of its mobile hotel units.
The actual hotel space serves as a partnership between the brand and the respective landowners, developers, or hospitality companies.
And once the contract has expired with no intention to renew, Moliving can remove its units and tow them elsewhere without too much impact on the environment.
This mobility also allows companies to tweak their room inventories to match varying levels of demand throughout the year, eliminating what Bem calls "the biggest pain point for every seasonal hotel."
For example, a beach town property can increase the number of units during high traffic summer months, and then scale back during the winter travel slump.
And unlike a typical hotel building that could take a few years of construction, a Moliving unit can be built in three to five months.
Each unit then starts at $150,000, the company told Insider in an email in 2021.
The initial 60 units for Moliving's first project will be built by SG Blocks, a modular prefab construction company.
Source: SG Blocks
Moving forward, Moliving will partner with local "modular factories" — or factories near the future cluster of Moliving units — to cut back on transit costs and carbon emissions.
Source: Moliving
Each customizable tiny home is 45 feet long and about 400 square feet, not including the 120-square-foot deck space available on both the front and back of each unit.
This indoor space then includes a bathroom, living room, and bedroom.
The bedroom is lined with floor-to-ceiling windowed doors that open out into the back deck and beds that can be converted from a king to two twin mattresses.
Moving on to the bathroom, which has the typical amenities like a shower, a sink, a vanity, and a skylight according to renderings of a unit.
To create a luxurious space, every unit will come with a 55-inch smart television, speakers, charging ports, a bar, WiFi, and electronic shades, to name a few features.
And all of this will be powered using the unit's lithium batteries and solar panels, which allow the units to run off-grid.
- Source: Moliving
The standalone hotel rooms — which can be stacked to create a multi-floor unit — can also recycle grey water using UV sanitization, reducing freshwater consumption.
The catch? For now, the Moliving units are only accessible to landowners and developers instead of people looking to buy a unit for personal use.
Source: Moliving
You might not be able to buy your own Moliving unit, but by this summer, you may be able to vacation inside of one.
The first Moliving products will be at the upcoming Hurley House, a New York "eco-resort" set to open this summer at $259 per night, Tim McKeough reported for the New York Times in 2021.
Source: The New York Times, Moliving
Moliving at Hurley House will have 60 units for guests looking to unplug from life in New York City.
Source: Moliving
Like any luxurious sustainability and wellness getaway, the hotel will have plenty of programming, a spa, and a gym.
The property will also be free of cars. So if you want to get around, get ready to hop on a golf cart or bicycle.
Moving forward, Moliving wants to open more developments in locations like Miami, Hamptons, New York, Lake Tahoe, Vail, Colorado, and potentially international spots like Italy and Spain.
And it might not exist solely as hotel pop-ups: In the future, you might find yourself glamping inside a Moliving tiny home.
Source: Moliving, The New York Times