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Overcrowded and dense, Japan was in the midst of a growth process in the 1970s. The contradiction caused by small spaces and very high population density typical of large cities led to the emergence of a new concept of accommodation in Osaka in 1979: the capsule hotel.
The idea was to offer greater intimacy than a conventional hotel through a small cubicle with just enough space for a bed and potentially something else. However, not much more was needed, seeing as the initial purpose of those first capsule rooms was for them to serve as a place of rest for office workers who had long working days away from home or as a short stop for travellers.
That first establishment, called 'Capsule Inn', was the seed of a concept that has evolved to adapt to the needs of the different cultures where it has taken root. In Malaga, there are already several capsule hotels available and the phenomenon is growing, not without facing controversy concerning its use as an alternative to hostels and tourist flats.
"In Malaga, there is no longer only sun and beach tourism. Areas such as the TechPark have created new needs - those of workers who only need accommodation for a couple of days," said Vanesa Juárez, co-founder of Superlativo8, one of the latest companies to opt for capsule hotels in the city. According to her, the growth in air traffic and layovers is another reason why this type of establishment is proliferating: "They [passengers] need a place to stay for a couple of days that is both not excessively expensive and private."
The Japanese idea required a transformation to adapt to European soil. Those cubicles were designed solely for sleeping or napping and they have little to do with the capsule hotel that has landed on our continent.
The idea is essentially the same, but the cubicles and the complex that houses them are adapted to a society with different needs or standards. Many of the capsule hotels we find in Spain are high enough for a person to walk standing up, which was not the case with the initial concept.
There can also be individual heating, television with streaming services and even consoles for playing video games. In addition, the complexes that house the capsules are equipped with common areas that go beyond covering the basic needs of the guests.
Futurotel, for example, has a gaming area and a jacuzzi. Superlativo has a café, where coffee is prepared by a professional barista from Malaga - 'Mr you coffee'.
Every added detail brings what was an originally cheap solution closer to a much more sophisticated and immersive experience despite the size of the accommodation. "In fact, one of our struggles is to stop calling it a 'capsule' hotel and start popularising the term 'podbed', which is what this really is," Juárez said.
The difference between these two concepts - the capsule hotel and the podbed hotel - actually lies in the adaptation of the Japanese concept to other markets. Podbed hotels offer larger cubicles and common areas focused on offering a more social experience to guests, while capsule hotels are based on a more private and individualistic approach, understanding the accommodation as a place to pass through and rest and not as a place to promote leisure.
The capsule hotel or 'podbed' uses a land classification categorised as a hostel (albergue) rather than a guesthouse (hostal). The difference in Andalusian territory lies in the characteristics that the establishment must meet according to urban planning regulations in order to obtain a land use license. While 'albergues' are typical for offering accommodation in shared rooms and for charging per bed and not per room or accommodation unit, 'hostales' offer private rooms.
Both accommodation types, however, have shared common facilities, such as kitchens, common areas and bathrooms. Capsule hotels are a hybrid between 'albergues' and 'hostales', since they consist of individual pods within a larger shared room, which could be classified as lodging units. In the absence of specific regulations that define which land use classification these types of accommodations fall under, they can operate under the classification of 'albergue', taking advantage of the benefits this entails, as the general urban development plan (PGOU) is much stricter when granting hotel-use licences.
For lawyer José Luis de Castro, the lack of regulations should not be a cause for alarm as long as the number of establishments opting for this type of accommodation is not excessive. "It is not relevant whether it is contemplated in the urban planning licensing regulations. The body in charge has sufficient tools to refuse or condition the licence to the requirements it deems appropriate."
Although regulations do not allow long-term stays (more than one month) in this type of establishment, some capsule hotels have even offered their investors the possibility of making a return on their investment through offering the 'podbeds' for longer stays during the low season or in the event of a new pandemic, emphasising the need not only for specific regulations, but also for controls to curb the entrepreneurial hunger for a new concept that is governed by the laws established for other types of establishments that do not completely adapt to capsule hotels or podbeds.
The main controversy that has arisen around this type of establishment is the possibility that, by circumventing the law, they may end up becoming precarious housing alternatives in an environment where access to housing is becoming increasingly difficult.
The very high prices, which continue to rise, both for renting and buying, force people to look for alternatives, which has become a fertile ground for speculation. In recent months, alleged irregularities have begun to be uncovered in cities such as Madrid, where capsule hotels, disguised as proper rooms for rent, have been offered to students. Juárez stated that regulatory and urban planning systems are lagging behind social economic realities.
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