You've most likely been to a hotel or a motel. But how about a Yotel? It's a micro hotel room that's designed for super high functionality with communal areas and amenities such as a 24/7 gym; bike, golf or ski gear storage; Amazon lockers; laundry; home cinema; library and a lounge to meet friends or colleagues. The YotelPad living concept is about to arrive in Park City, joining such exotic locales as Dubai and Geneva Lake, Switzerland.
YO! Company operates international travel housing in cities and airports including London's Gatwick and Heathrow, Paris' Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam's Schiphol. I hate and love this company because I had been thinking of this concept for years but then they figured it out first. Founder Simon Woodroffe loved his stays at Japanese capsule hotels, and in 2011 he opened Yotel in Times Square, with 699 rooms that are 170 square feet each. He's the guy who pioneered electronic check-in (no person at the front desk) and created the Yobot, a robotic luggage concierge that is a tourist attraction all by itself. The rooms are soundproof and have smart sensors to turn off lights or air conditioning and heat. I've had friends stay there and they love it, because who spends time in a hotel room in NYC?
It's a big deal that Park City is getting this kind of nightly housing option—even more so because you can buy a room. Deer Valley Real Estate (Berkshire Hathaway Home Services), Replay Destinations and Yotel partnered together to create one of the first YotelPad projects in North America at the Canyons Village at the bottom of Park City Mountain. They took reservations through March 16 from those interested in purchasing a Pad for between $275,000 and $325,000. The 144 Pads are still under construction, and will feature common areas befitting a resort lifestyle: fireplace and fire pit areas, kids zone and a terrace, an outdoor pool and hot tub. Each micro unit will have a kitchenette, big view windows and valet service for guests.
According to Zillow, condo prices in Park City list at $656 per square foot. If you purchase a 170-square-foot YotelPad in our mountains at, say, $300,000, the price would be $1,765 per square foot.
If you didn't make the deadline to purchase your own, Yotel allows owners to do nightly VRBO/AirBNB rentals. You, your friends or family might be renting one of these in the future.