Retail brand Muji has branched out into the business of hospitality with its first ever ‘Muji Hotel’ in Shenzhen, China.
The ‘integrated’ Muji hotel has been designed in its signature minimal style and is touted as a “facility where guests can experience Muji’s view of the world,”
The design hotel offers the same styles of simple and basic bedding, toiletries and bathroom amenities as those available at all Muji stores.
According to Muji, they say that;
“Travel has become part of our daily lives. It has evolved from the extraordinary to the ordinary, from something in which we participate to something we create,”
The fittings and interiors of Muji hotel’s 79 guest rooms all utilise natural material themes such as “earth” and “wood,” in keeping with Muji products and core ‘Zen’ philosophy.
Room Type B, MUJI Hotel
The walls of each room are plastered with ‘earth’, a traditional material used in Japanese architecture and the rooms are decorated with off-cuts of furniture collected from factories in China. Even the wall behind the reception is decorated with recycled materials. Very clever.
Some guest rooms have views of an old wooden fishing boat placed in the courtyard, which was acquired from a nearby village. The boat itself symbolises old Shenzhen, which rapidly expanded from a tiny fishing village into the vibrant city it is today.
The hotel (naturally) also contains a large Muji shop, which covers 1,726 square meters, making it the third-biggest Muji store in China. Also on site is a Muji Diner and a space to utilise for events.
Chinese customers are not the only ones excited by the Muji Hotel development, which has built a global following via its Instagram account.
The hotel started taking bookings from Jan. 10 this year and had more than 500 rooms booked before its official opening.
Speaking to the Asahi Shimbun publication in China, Muji President Matsuzaki said; “Guests can have the full Muji experience, through shopping, dining and stay overnight. I believe it can turn them into more enthusiastic fans of Muji, far more than just being shoppers at Muji outlets are able to.”
MUJI Diner
A one-night stay at Muji Hotel Shenzhen is priced from 950 yuan (AU$190).
A second Muji Hotel is due to open in Beijing in autumn, with a third one expected to open its doors in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district in autumn 2019.
The only question to ask now is, “When will IKEA launch a hotel?”
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