
Airbnb is offering a sleepover at the last Blockbuster - wallflower
https://www.buzzfeed.com/lyapalater/last-blockbuster-sleepover
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werber
This is one of the marketing stunts that really hit home for me. My memories
of going to the video store as a kid are some of the most vibrant early
memories. I wonder if kids today will have the Netflix or Dinsey+ UI burned
into their memory the same way, or if they're exposed to so much content it
will all be a blur

~~~
adventured
I never cared much about movie rentals as a kid, however growing up in the
late 1980s one of my favorite things was renting NES games from local video
rental stores on the weekends (they all got into NES rentals pretty quickly).

There was always a bit of a thrill looking for a new game to play through.
Each game experience back then seemed remarkably original, like new gaming
territory was being traversed for the first time. Going from Ninja Gaiden to
Little Nemo to DuckTales to Mega Man and so on.

The only thing better was the massive wall of games at Toys R Us. Originally
they displayed the boxes on the wall (they later switched to a lame slip of
paper). I vividly remember Zelda's gold box leaping out from everything else.

~~~
slezakattack
What was particularly fun for me as a kid, regarding video game rentals, was
that consoles like the N64 and SNES had saves on the cartridge and sometimes
you'd pick a game with a save slot where someone already unlocked a huge chunk
of the game. Hitting the "jackpot" with a cartridge that had everything
unlocked made the game even more fun. Suddenly that one level I was stuck on
in Donkey Kong Country has been passed and I'm on to checking out other
levels..

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rglover
What a waste of a killer brand. Would love to see them resurrected.

Edit: to clarify, I mean seeing the Dish Blockbuster logo on the .com. Feels
like a wise entrepreneur could turn that business around for the nostalgia
crowd (myself included).

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neonate
Funny, I was just searching for an Airbnb in Bend, OR a couple weeks ago, and
they were all bizarrely expensive, like from $600 to thousands of dollars a
night.

~~~
hcknwscommenter
Tech/HNW crowd fleeing Bay Area/Seattle for space. I know of a few well-funded
startups that have essentially relocated to Bend area (broken commercial
leases in Bay Area and major employees/management moved to Bend).

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catern
What a weird promotion. I guess Airbnb approached Blockbuster about this, and
is paying them? I can't imagine Blockbuster would have any desire for this
kind of advertisement for their own sake.

~~~
ardy42
> What a weird promotion. I guess Airbnb approached Blockbuster about this,
> and is paying them? I can't imagine Blockbuster would have any desire for
> this kind of advertisement for their own sake.

I don't think there's really such a thing as "Blockbuster" anymore. IIRC, this
location is a franchisee that outlived the franchise itself.

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gfaure
I did see that a verified Blockbuster Twitter account briefly came out of
retirement this month -- don't know who would be operating that anymore, as I
doubt they have a social media manager...

[https://twitter.com/blockbuster/status/1293318870074302467](https://twitter.com/blockbuster/status/1293318870074302467)

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brailsafe
I drove past this BlockBuster last year while visiting Bend for a concert. I
didn't go in because we were late for the show, but it tripped me out and had
to double-take. Bend is a humble little town that's a bit touristy, but of all
places to have a BlockBuster, this would be the place.

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loktarogar
The last Blockbuster is offering a sleepover on Airbnb, not the other way
around.

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kanobo
It's only 4 dollars a night! It's a no brainer if you are a nomad short on
cash.

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rogerdickey
This makes me think they should have pivoted Blockbuster to a hostel / low
cost hotel experience. Could have small rooms / shared baths that center
around a living room where you can do movie night with other guests. I would
be a customer.

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stu2b50
I guess this is how they're preparing for the IPO?

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amiga_500
Airbnb is looking for cheap publicity and buzzfeed is looking for an easy
article.

~~~
pmiller2
Sounds like a win-win to me. Actually, win-win-win, because I think this
sounds like a pretty cool excursion.

~~~
amiga_500
Can't wait for a sleepover, which implies several people, in a closed room.
Just them, me and covid. What a great idea.

~~~
pmiller2
Eh, it's limited to 4 people per night, and they are doing extra cleaning and
sanitizing to keep things safe. What more can you ask? How is that any more
dangerous than the same 4 people spending the night anywhere else? Or, even,
those same 4 people hanging out at the store during the day for, say, 12
hours? As the listing itself says:

> Keeping our customers (and now our guests!) comfortable and feeling at home
> is our priority. You’ll have the store to yourself from check-in to check-
> out, and it will be cleaned prior to your arrival in accordance to Airbnb's
> Enhanced Cleaning Protocol which is informed by recommendations from the
> U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Plus we’ll provide
> you with a pack of face coverings, disinfectant wipes, and endless hand
> sanitizer!

See
[https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/44577127?source_impression_id=p...](https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/44577127?source_impression_id=p3_1597448153_gVRYSqNAPezxlEn0)

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aresant
Over the last few days I've seen several front page articles on SEO pop up on
HN.

It is almost too meta for my brain on Friday afternoon to see a !@$@! buzzfeed
article on HN that is lightly chronicling AirBNB's amazing publicity stunt.

Which is, even as you read it now, generating untold fathoms of sweet, sweet
SEO link juice and domain authority.

THAT is how you SEO!

