Is 2020 proving a bit too much? The last Blockbuster store on the planet is offering guests a chance to roll back the clock to simpler times with a ’90s themed sleepover, it was announced this week. An Airbnb listing for the holdout video rental shop in the northwestern American state of Oregon promises to convert the store into a makeshift living room “with a pull-out couch, beanbags and pillows for you to cosy up with ‘new releases’ from the ’90s”. For just US$4 a night, four spaces will be available over three nights in September. “When you call dibs on this stay, you’re booking a night back in the ’90s, but this time you won’t have to beg your parents to rent the latest horror flick – we’ll give you the keys to the entire store!” it promises. The store in Bend, Oregon is the last of a chain that boasted more than 9,000 worldwide outlets at its peak in the early 2000s. Blockbuster arrived in Hong Kong in February 1999, having acquired the assets of home-grown video chain KPS and lighting its iconic blue and yellow sign first in Sha Tin and Kwai Fong. Blockbuster evicted by Hong Kong’s property gatekeeper “We feel very confident we have a good chance of success,” said managing director John Skinner. “We have 27 markets’ worth of international experience.” However, in January 2004, the company announced it would be closing the 24 Hong Kong stores it had opened as leases expired over the following 18 months. Blockbuster blamed high rents for its failure in Hong Kong. Globally, Blockbuster suffered a precipitous decline with the advent of streaming platforms such as Netflix. But residents of Bend have remained loyal to its time-honoured process of browsing for physical DVDs and VHS tapes before returning them through a slot days later. It has also become a popular tourist destination. In recent years, a stream of nostalgic fans have posed for selfies outside, and popped in to buy kitsch confectionery and view retro movie memorabilia including Russell Crowe’s jacket from Les Miserables . But with the pandemic stifling tourism, “we’ve been missing the regular visits from friends, neighbours and tourists from around the world”, the listing says. The advert promises to sanitise the store before each set of guests arrive, and provide face coverings, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitiser as well as free snacks and video games. “And remember, the store is all yours for the night!” it says. “So let loose, blast the boombox and wear your favourite ’90s denim so that you feel right at home in another era.” Additional reporting by Staff Reporter