
Show HN: Roam – Global co-living subscription - sushimako
https://www.roam.co
======
hunvreus
I spent about 3 years full time on Airbnb, living in various places (Shanghai,
Berlin, NYC, DC, SF, LA...). I wouldn't call myself a "digital nomad", but I
think I'm familiar enough with this concept to formulate an opinion:

\- Without a network of locations, what you have is effectively a boutique
hotel (an expensive one at that).

\- If you're starting with Ubud at 1,600 USD/month, how will you make the
economics work once you open pricier locations (e.g. Miami).

\- User experience is really bad. Even after getting some hints from the
comments here, I struggled to sign up and still have absolutely 0 idea of
what's happening or what I should I do after I did.

\- No info upfront is pretty shady. You're literally expecting to sign people
up with a logo and a blurry picture.

\- No Instagram pictures? Why linking it then? Why linking to AngelList too?
How's that relevant to the average user?

\- Who is the user here? People with very high disposable income who are into
Capoeira and creating startups?

The list goes on.

Overall, I'm just confused. It looks like a boutique hotel for yoga/health
fanatics, at a high price and with little to no information to explain the
value.

If you're serious about it:

\- Hire somebody to rethink your user experience,

\- Rethink your pricing,

\- Maybe wait until you have at least a second location before calling it a
network.

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algorithm_dk
$1600 for a month? In Indonesia? In that room? No wonder you decided to hide
the price until someone actually wants to sign-up.

EDIT: Just took a quick look at Airbnb for Indonesian rentals. I found this:
[https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5021049](https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5021049)
It's cheaper than a room from Roam.

~~~
traviagio
$1600 will get you a room in more than 10 locations by the end of the year,
that's where the real value is. I am actually staying the the Ubud location at
the moment. It's very well done, the community is great and location is just
right. This is not something you can find on Airbnb.

~~~
Ao7bei3s
So can you occupy rooms in more than one location at the same time?

No?

Then it's just a really expensive room with high booking/cancellation
flexibility and customer lock-in (you won't pick another room in a city if
you've already paid for this).

So this seems to be basically just a premium version of what a youth hostel
line membership gets you. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I can
imagine that the business model might work.

(If the answer is actually "Yes" then I'm surprised and 1600$ doesn't seem so
bad.)

~~~
traviagio
Here is one scenario that I see happening - "I leave my $2500 apartment in NYC
and I put my freelance developer job in my carry-on. I buy my flights and pay
rent for a year at The Roam. I want 2 months in Bali, 4 months in Japan and 6
months Miami." I am taken care of and I don't have to worry about searching
for the right location or meeting the right people. It seems pretty good to
me.

~~~
rplnt
But you could live in a hotel for that kind of money in great part of the
world.

~~~
thinkdevcode
$1600 is roughly an 8 night stay in Miami, at a decent hotel. I think this is
a great deal for me as I can stay anywhere they are available when I want. I
already pay over $2000 for a single bedroom apartment in downtown Fort
Lauderdale - and I am stuck here in a lease for a year.

~~~
FanaHOVA
Just pay for this when you're in Miami then, not when you're in Indonesia

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k33n
I know a few people who are (separately from one another) working on the same
concept. Good luck. The idea is right, and there can be multiple winners in
the space. Paying a monthly subscription to be able to "live" in a few major
cities is inevitable. The world is getting smaller every day and this is very
feasible now.

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theinternetman
For $1600 a month I'd expect solo-living not co-living.

~~~
timwaagh
for that amount i'd rent you my house, quit my job and go on a never ending
holiday. it's out of touch with reality.

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brunooo
Co-Founder here, happy to answer any questions.

Some of you might know this from last year when we put the idea out there with
a wonderfully unpronounceable name
[http://www.thecaravanserai.co](http://www.thecaravanserai.co) ...

~~~
sjm
I'm the perfect target for this kind of service — I've been living as a
"digital nomad" since July last year, primarily using Airbnb for accomodation,
working in cafes and coworking spaces.

The website seems really light on information (at least without signing up) —
how much is it going to cost?

~~~
brunooo
Update with the price and 1,600, also putting together an FAQ with all the
questions that popped up today.

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guard-of-terra
It should be cheaper, but more importantly, we've got to own a share.

It should [also] work like that: you deposit say $200k, you get live in any
location described, later on you can sell your share at market price that
factors in all the property Roam owns multiplied by your share.

It's like instead of buying a home, you buy a slot in Roam.

Of course you can make shares tiered.

~~~
kaybe
There is Hapimag of Switzerland, who's been doing that for holidays in Europe
for quite some time. Nearly impossible to get rid of the shares we inherited
though.

~~~
rdl
That's just a timeshare, right? Timeshare initial deposits are notoriously bad
investments; the ongoing fees are sometimes closer to break even vs. other
housing/hotel choices, but with less flexibility.

(You can buy timeshares on eBay for close to $0)

From their FAQ: " Is Hapimag a timeshare company?

In legal terms, Hapimag is a public limited company whose shareholders are
simultaneously the users of the offer. In this respect, Hapimag is a user- and
not profit-oriented cooperative of like-minded people. Hapimag members
purchase rights of residence for all Hapimag resorts. This idea has been
successful for over 50 years. Hapimag is considered to be the inventor of
points-based rights of residence and enjoys the reputation of a professional,
trustworthy provider."

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zongitsrinzler
None of your js or css files are loading for me :/

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janpieterz
Very interesting concept.

I was surprised that most of the open jobs are not remote, I expected the
company to be very open about this and possibly even promoting/preferring
this, sort of eating your own dog food.

~~~
ktothemc
Despite having listed locations, the team is incredibly mobile. Half are
dogfooding.

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caser
If anyone is interested in co-living around the world with other people in
tech, Hacker Paradise will be in Bali from March 13 - April 9 with ~30 people.

We've been up and running for a year and a half now, organizing 1-3 month
trips for developers, designers, and entrepreneurs all over the world (Bali,
Costa Rica, Barcelona, Tokyo, etc.).

Before Bali, we'll be in Vietnam. Afterwards, we'll be in Thailand for a month
and then in Portugal for the summer.

Check out our site for more info: www.hackerparadise.org

Also happy to answer questions here.

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rhgraysonii
Even if this is a global network, if this is your game it seems like just
sticking around Central America and Southeast Asia and you can live at a
fraction of the cost with plenty of amenities.

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andr
I'm sure you could put a nicer picture of the room.

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xianshou
What are the intended costs of the program?

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sushimako
$1600/mo for a bedroom with en-suite bathroom. Also included are a communal
kitchen, co-working space and perfect wifi/internet signal and speed. Some
places have a pool :)

~~~
drawnwren
This sounds like a good idea, but the price seems high for the location you're
offering. I'm not trying to be overly critical here, but what else are you
bringing to the table? At $1600 in SE Asia, I can get my own 1bdrm apartment,
coworking space, and eat out for every meal. I'm currently in Bangkok - I pay
$750 for a very large, serviced 1 bdrm, $150 for a coworking membership, and
couldn't spend $800 on food if I tried. Admittedly, Bangkok is about the
cheapest example - but that is probably why there are so many nomads here.

~~~
sushimako
Bali is just the first location we launched and Miami being the next we open
soon. Many more to come, any regions in particular you'd like to see one
opening up?

~~~
o_____________o
But why would a user want a subscription if they're going to spend a month or
months at locations that don't warrant the price? I don't want to subsidize
the nicer places if I'm not currently there.

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jalalfathi
Wow that great!

