Workout equipment rental for people in quarantine an opportunity too good to pass up for hotels, gyms, and a nimble entrepreneur
- David Lee resorted to lifting chairs and the bed (too heavy) in Singapore hotel quarantine. It gave the entrepreneur a business idea
- His company, as well as gyms and hotels in Asia Pacific, rent out workout gear such as treadmills, weights, and exercise bikes to people who are confined
Given the restrictions being imposed on people around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, it can be difficult to stick to a regular fitness regime.
Doing so at home is hard enough, let alone while confined to a tiny hotel room. But this is the challenge faced by many people, hotel quarantine now being mandatory for travellers arriving from overseas in many countries.
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With the average hotel room measuring around 20 square metres, running is out of the question, while online HIIT and yoga classes can quickly lose their appeal.
In response, hotels, gyms – and some entrepreneurs – are renting out exercise equipment to travellers looking to shake up their quarantine fitness routines.
In Singapore, David Lee Kuo-liang, who is in his thirties and was renting out Airbnb properties in South Korea until that business dried up, launched Happy SHN in December, after undergoing not one but two hotel quarantines. During these enforced stays, he found out how difficult it can be to keep fit in a hotel room.