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PodShare Coliving Concept: Membership Based Live/Work Community


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This is the PodShare coliving concept in Los Angeles. It’s a membership-based live/work community, kind of like coworkspaces but you can also spend the night here. You get your own bunk bed with charging stations plus access to a shared kitchen and bathroom.

The catch? Your bunk has no privacy! But that also means no funny business. PodShare provides toiletries, toothpaste, clean towels, and food. Would you ever consider staying in one of these? Have you ever tried working out of a coworkspace?

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The PodShare Coliving Concept: Membership-based Cohousing

Video: PodShare Coliving in LA with Elvina Beck

Beck, who built the first PodShare in 2012 with her father, wanted to respond to her demographic’s rejection of widespread home ownership and embrace of the sharing economy. She set out to transform the American bunk bed, creating a more open (and co-ed) version of the Japanese capsule hotels.

For $40 to $50 per night (or discounted weekly and monthly prices), Podestrians can choose a bottom or top sleeping pod (equipped with a lamp and a small flatscreen television with Internet access) along with all the shared spaces, including a kitchen (with communal food, and space for individual storage in the pantry and fridge), bathroom, showers (toiletries included) and a communal lounge.

Currently, there are 3 locations in Los Angeles, but Beck sees the model as scalable across the country and, similar to a gym, members could have overnight access at any location.1

Resources

  1. Faircompanies/YouTube
  2. Faircompanies Original story
  3. Podshare

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 29 comments… add one }
  • Mark Rush
    August 28, 2017, 4:34 pm

    No privacy? Hellish.

  • Sally
    August 28, 2017, 5:07 pm

    Eeeeeek ! ,, can’t think of anything worse ,, : 0

  • wiz
    August 28, 2017, 5:19 pm

    What a super cool idea!
    A couple times a year I go to LA and just need a place to crash for a few hours, as I then spend nearly 15-20 hours at seminars, eating, touring, etc. Much better than the danger of sleeping in the car in a dangerous neighborhood. As comfortable as a full hotel room is, it grates on me to spend a lot of money for what amounts to 6-8 hours use. This is a terrific option. Wouldnt use it in place of a full time home, however, for the short term, its really ideal.

    • Alex
      August 31, 2017, 6:20 pm

      I’m with you there Wiz! Wouldn’t use as a permanent home, but for similar reasons as you.. When traveling, going to seminars, it could also be a cool way for a group of coworkers/teams to get a big project done over a weekend or something by staying there together.

  • Louis Burns
    August 28, 2017, 5:23 pm

    It’s the same idea as a hostel. I’ve stayed in similar accommodations while traveling. You can usually pay more or less based on how many bunks are in a room.

    • Alex
      August 31, 2017, 6:21 pm

      Hey Louis! Yeah, it really is a lot like a hostel. Nice to see you around here!

  • Large Marge
    August 28, 2017, 5:47 pm

    We can see this ‘hive’ concept catching on.

    Around the office this afternoon, we popcorned descriptors such as military, penitentiary, Salvation Army flophouse.

    Obviously, this fills a need for some folks.

    But that lack of privacy…

  • SHARON FRIED
    August 28, 2017, 5:56 pm

    It’s a great idea for whoever it suits, but too costly for what is being offered. They shouldn’t charge more than $25 – $30 a night.

  • mark
    August 28, 2017, 6:26 pm

    Looks like a glorified homeless shelter. I can smell it from here. eeew

    • Eric
      August 29, 2017, 4:59 am

      Eeeww, obviously your nose is too close to your posterior! Sheesh, what a crass comment in 2nd sentence.

  • Carrie
    August 28, 2017, 9:42 pm

    Never

  • beachgal
    August 28, 2017, 11:25 pm

    50.00 say for 30 nights $1500.00! Where is the benefit ? , I must be missing it? A budget motel costs less per night, you have storage for your gear, privacy and quiet if desired..
    This is like my College Dorm and Cafeteria Plan…
    Bunks at least should offer black out curtains at bunk like a train bearth for some level of privacy/light control.. Maybe a couple nights with travel friends but it is over priced in my opinion for any longer stays…Wonder how long you have to wait for a toilet or shower! yikes!

    • James D.
      September 10, 2017, 9:59 pm

      Well, for one thing it’s in Los Angeles… Renting a place there isn’t exactly cheap… Never mind how much the hotels charge… So this is affordable in comparison…

      Plus, as stated in the article “PodShare provides toiletries, toothpaste, clean towels, and food.”

      So you’re not just renting a bed…

      Like others have pointed out, it’s like a hostel, which can be a great option for travelers and those who just need temporary accommodations…

  • Michael L
    August 29, 2017, 2:13 am

    Sounds like, and looks like just another hostel concept. Nothing wrong with those but it’s nothing new!

  • Paul Larsen
    August 29, 2017, 1:28 pm

    Interesting Concept! I would be fine staying in a place like that for a night or two, all long as there is a private place where one can change into pyjamas for the night and regular clothes in the morning

    • Alex
      August 31, 2017, 6:24 pm

      Me too!

  • Viki Davis
    September 1, 2017, 1:13 pm

    Reminds me of the WAC barricks at Ft. McClellan. Great idea for young people just starting out.

  • Tom
    September 1, 2017, 1:16 pm

    Why not add curtains for a bit of privacy? Check out pod hotels in Japan; it shouldn’t cost a lot more to make, and would make for a much more private experience.

  • Mark Masson
    September 1, 2017, 1:49 pm

    In Spanish the word for hostel is “Albergue”. They can be had all over Spain for 10-20 euro per night, sometimes that even comes with food. $50 American is a lot of money, but I guess that is LA pricing. Too bad there aren’t more hostels in the states.

  • Kim W
    September 1, 2017, 2:19 pm

    Seems expensive for what it is. Hubby and I and our 3 children spent a couple of nights in LA in hotels (all in the same room!) for less per person than that, and both hotels had pools, one had a gym, all had internet, plugs and showers!

    • James D.
      September 10, 2017, 10:16 pm

      Kim W, if you’re counting your children then that’s not a fair comparison because they’re not being charged as adults and you’re all sharing the same room, which is like sharing a bed in that place.

      You’re also discounting what the minimum cost is for getting a room in a hotel… You’re charged less for each additional person than you are per room rented…

      So a single person traveling by themselves wouldn’t get the same deal you did with your whole family sharing a single room.

      Each bed in this place is also equipped with a lamp and a small flatscreen television with Internet access, along with all the shared spaces, including a kitchen (with communal food, and space for individual storage in the pantry and fridge), bathroom, showers (toiletries included) and a communal lounge.

      While the idea is also for combining access to work spaces, these are actually placed in commercial buildings rather than residential… So companies can have employees traveling to different branches and have the resources to house them while there, among other applications…

      Imagine traveling for work and just going to a different floor to get to work rather than doing additional commuting and dealing with jet lag, etc. after arriving in a new city…

  • Marsha Cowan
    September 1, 2017, 3:00 pm

    No different than a dorm room with roommates. Probablya lot cheaper to live, though. I like it! Its beautiful and well oranganized, and since it is young people living there, a lot like being around family which would be supportive. I like it!

  • Ryan
    September 1, 2017, 3:59 pm

    Oh look, it’s a hostel.

    • Eric
      September 4, 2017, 4:49 am

      Yeah, soon to become an opium den. Sheesh, that’s exactly what it looks like. Just updated accommodation from 1880’s China to 2017’s ‘murica.

  • Betty
    September 2, 2017, 12:29 am

    I like my privacy to much. This would not appeal to me.😳

  • Patricia
    September 3, 2017, 1:19 am

    If traveling alone, this would be perfect and probably safer than elsewhere. For those complaining of cost—it is LA and even cheap motels cost more than other places. In addition, toiletries, towels, toothpaste, and shower products are provided, along with communal food in the communal kitchen. In addition, there is a communal lounge and so much more, including beds for couples. That’s a lot for $40 a night!

    It’s also a social setting where young people can feel accepted, where they can share their lives with young people from all over the world, and if they choose to live there for a while, all they have to worry about is keeping their cubicle clean—everything else is included in their rent.

    I lived for two weeks in a youth hostel in Amsterdam when I was young and it was not as fancy as this. Oh, and Mark, that was a very insulting comment you made because they keep those places very clean.

    If I were a young person today I would LOVE having the experience of staying there for a while—not permanently, but long enough to have a full experience. It seems that being in a huge, confusing, chaotic city like LA, a place like this would be very grounding for a young person.

  • Eric
    September 4, 2017, 4:47 am

    Interestingly someone did this in an apartment block in Auckland. After a complaint both the HOA committee and the local council came down upon them like a ton of bricks and ordered it’s dismantling. Expensive mistake for the naive entrepreneur.

  • December 6, 2017, 12:54 pm

    Brilliant Elvina to create this from her mind!. Great use of simple space. Yes folks it is like a youth hostel. Yes lacks privacy but if you are 20-ish it likely will not bother you. I traveled in youth hostels for a time and it was an interesting experience, some YH’s were very small, others like in NYC or DC were quite large. I love the idea she has concepted and created, she has the passion and enthusiasm to build dozens more. namaste’, rachel

  • Jenn
    July 10, 2019, 1:22 pm

    This is a really cool idea. Especially if you were traveling. Or even if you were relocating or transitioning to a new city, without many belongings.

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