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Some San Francisco Tech Workers are Renting Cheap 'Bed Pods' (sfgate.com) 184

Posted by EditorDavid from the sleep-mode dept.
An anonymous reader shared this report from SFGate: Late last year, tales of tech workers paying $700 a month for tiny "bed pods" in downtown San Francisco went viral. The story provided a perfect distillation of SF's wild (and wildly expensive) housing market — and inspired schadenfreude when the city deemed the situation illegal. But the provocative living situation wasn't an anomaly, according to a city official.

"We've definitely seen an uptick of these 'pod'-type complaints," Kelly Wong, a planner with San Francisco's code enforcement and zoning and compliance team, told SFGATE... Wong stressed that it's not that San Francisco is inherently against bed pod-type arrangements, but that the city is responsible for making sure these spaces are safe and legally zoned.

So Brownstone Shared Housing is still renting one bed pod location — but not accepting new tenants — after citations for failing to get proper permits and having a lock on the front door that required a key to exit.

And SFGate also spoke to Alex Akel, general manager of Olive Rooms, which opened up a co-living and co-working space in SoMa earlier this year (and also faced "a flurry of complaints.") "Unfortunately, we had complaints from neighbors because of foot traffic and noise, and since then we cut the number of people to fit the ordinance by the city," Akel wrote. Olive Rooms describes its space as targeted at "tech founders from Central Asia, giving them opportunities to get involved in the current AI boom." Akel added that its residents are "bringing new energy to SF," but that the program "will not accept new residents before we clarify the status with the city."

In April, the city also received a complaint about a group called Let's Be Buds, which rents out 14 pods in a loft on Divisadero Street that start at $575 per month for an upper bunk.

While this recent burst of complaints is new, bed pods in San Francisco have been catching flak for years... a company called PodShare, which rents — you guessed it — bed pods, squared itself away with the city and has operated in SF since 2019.
Brownstone's CEO told SFGate "A lot of people want to be here for AI, or for school, or different opportunities." He argues that "it's literally impossible without a product like ours," and that their residents had said the option "positively changed the trajectory of their lives."

Some San Francisco Tech Workers are Renting Cheap 'Bed Pods' More | Reply

Some San Francisco Tech Workers are Renting Cheap 'Bed Pods'

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  • Sidewalk (Score:5, Funny)

    by registrations_suck ( 1075251 ) on Sunday May 05, 2024 @02:36PM (#64449716)

    Do they come with a patch of sidewalk to shit on?

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      We generally hike over to your neighborhood to do that.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by rlwinm ( 6158720 )
      LOL! I would assume that's extra and I hear there are different areas for this in SF. I've been told that the "Tenderloin" is where the prime shitting areas are.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kisai ( 213879 )

      Missing the point dude. "Pods" have no toilets, no running water. They are literately a fucking coffin.

      This is why they should be illegal except as a special purpose hotel. You know why these exist in Asia? Because commuters who work 18 hours a day don't want to commute back to their apartment 2 hours away. They need a place to sleep. They take their shits at work or at the restaurant or convenience store.

      It's a symptom of the quality of life going negative. If these places exist, then pressure needs to be

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by flink ( 18449 )

        It's a symptom of the quality of life going negative. If these places exist, then pressure needs to be put on the employer to have in-building or on-campus housing.

        Pressure needs to be put on the employer to hire more workers and pay them a working wage and limits shifts to 8 hours so the job can get done without people working themselves to death.

      • They are literately a fucking coffin.

        Considering the size of the typical computer geek and that there's just enough room for a twin mattress, I doubt that there will be much fucking going on in those coffins, even assuming that the typical computer geek's going to find somebody to fuck.
  • This is like some sort of dystopian nightmare. Heck, I wouldn't even consider the idea of living in an apartment let alone this. All my friends also live in houses (without roommates). I don't think I know a single person who rents. The "Let's Be Buds" FAQ states that utilities are not included and people have mandatory chores. In the town where I live the only folks living in such a communal arrangement are prisoners. I think being in Federal prison would still be preferable than living in SF.

    The WEF is

    • Re:Wow. (Score:5, Interesting)

      by OrangeTide ( 124937 ) on Sunday May 05, 2024 @02:58PM (#64449748) Homepage Journal

      About a third of households rent (34% [ipropertymanagement.com]). About 2/5th of renters are in apartments (38% [getflex.com]). And about 2/3rd (65.9% [pewresearch.org]) of renters are below the age of 35.

      If you don't know any young people, poor people, or minorities or live in a small town that does not zone for multi-unit properties like duplexes, apartments and condos. Then I can believe that you don't have anyone in your peer group that lives in an apartment. I'm not sure if that informs us much about apartments or it only informs us about you.

      I think being in Federal prison would still be preferable than living in SF.

      Being poor in any big city kind of sucks. Once you have income and assets and financial stability. There are lots of really lovely places in the SF Bay Area to live, including different parts of SF itself. Although between COVID lockdowns wrecking a lot of the great restaurants, and the tech worker boom then bust that broke up a lot of old neighborhoods. The City isn't quite the jewel that it used to be.

      The food in Federal prison is much worse than what you'd find even in the trash in SF. So let's not joke too much about our national embarrassment of a prison system.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by dbialac ( 320955 )
      I've seen hostels similar in Europe, but you only stay there for a few nights and then move on.

    • Let's Be Buds application questions may violate the fair housing laws.

    • Or it's workers who want to earn a lot of money while working for one of the big Bay Area tech companies, but don't want to spend all of that money renting a slightly bigger shoe box or getting a house with a ridiculous mortgage that will suck up all of their salary. What's dystopian is that the city will try to make this illegal, but will do nothing about the crime and deprivation that exists on the city streets. Can't live here, but we'll gladly let you live on the sidewalks.

      I'd bust ass while working

    • Dystopian nightmare stuff:
      1) Requiring a key to exit.
      2) Cities jacking up housing/rental prices by banning cheap housing.
      3) Employers paying people so little they can't afford housing.

      • I think the "Requiring a key to exit" is a fire safety code violation?
        On my outside door, there is a keyhole on the outside, so you need a key to get in, but a knob in the inside, so you don't need a key to get out. So if I needed to get out really quickly in an emergency, I don't need to spend time trying to find the key.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by havana9 ( 101033 )
      Living in apartment has some advantages. I live in an apartment on a commercial street. If I walk downstairs, I'm basically in a strip mall: if I want an hamburger I could choose between Burger King and McDonalds' and in the evening there's also a pub that makes better burgers and proper selection of beverages, having 15 taps and big fridges full of bottles. There's also a supermarket, a Chinese restaurant, a kebap, and other shops. It's noisy and crowded? Yes: but is a trade off with the convenience to not

    • Maybe it sounds like dystopia, but it somewhat describes Tokyo. And that housing problem has been going on for a very long time. And yes, they have a homeless problem as well, they just keep it well hidden.

    • These sort of "pods" have long been in use in crowded east Asian cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo.
    • Whilst they're asleep in their pods, maybe they could wire their bodies up to the grid to power AI with their spare calories? I think there's a business idea there...
  • This is a lot like the extortionate (and illegal) type of housing we've had here in the Netherlands: 10-14 migrant workers sharing a smallish apartment. The main difference is that these pods look a little more stylish than the bunk beds in our workers' flop houses. Oh, and the migrant workers aren't here for "AI"...

    As a former landlord, this pisses me off. We've kept our properties in order and charged reasonable rents, and most of the other landlords I know do the same. But when people think of lan

    • Are citizens allowed to live with those densities?

      • Not officially. In most places here, you need a permit to let rooms to 3 or more people in a single property. And when the permits are issued, they don't just take fire safety concerns into consideration, but also livability, impact on the block and the neighborhood, noise issues, available parking and so on. I don't think they get issued when tenants don't get their own room at least.

        Solution: don't apply for the permit and just let the place. Works especially well if its your own workers you're hou

  • Fuck "The City" (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    the city deemed the situation illegal

    Well...fuck "The City".
    Another example of government doing anything it can to make existing illegal.
    Can't afford rent? Tough shit loser.
    But don't fret. Those of us with homes and businesses will complain that you're "dirty" and making our community look bad--so we'll get government to make your existence illegal and (if you're lucky) ship you somewhere else.

    Living in a cardboard box? It's illegal to live in a cardboard box on public land. You're just gonna have to magically come up with $10k for fi

  • Never enough houses (Score:4, Insightful)

    by xack ( 5304745 ) on Sunday May 05, 2024 @03:17PM (#64449806)
    We've built so many houses yet it's still not enough. Deal with the fact we have too many people in America instead. Meanwhile places like Italy and Japan can't even give away houses for free.

    • Other places in America don't have this problem, just the Bay Area.

      In Houston, you can still rent a decent 2-bedroom apartment for $1,400 a month. Find one roommate, and you've got a full apartment for the same price as these pods.

      People in American who live in its dense cities think it's overcrowded. In 37 states, the entire state population is less than the population of the Bay Area.

      Don't want to live in a bed pod? Consider moving somewhere, anywhere else.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by pauljlucas ( 529435 )

        Other places in America don't have this problem, just the Bay Area.

        No, not just the Bay Area [usnews.com]. (San Francisco is only #6 on the list.)

        Don't want to live in a bed pod? Consider moving somewhere, anywhere else.

        Not anywhere else. Typically, young and/or single people want to be where there's actual stuff to do including nightlife, not to mention jobs.

        With the possible exception of Austin, there's nothing special about anywhere in Texas, not to mention that you roast in the summer and freeze in the winter d

        • I'll grant your "expensive places to live" list is more than just the Bay Area.

          As for "anywhere else"...pick your poison. Don't like hot weather? Texas isn't for you. Don't like cold weather? Northern states aren't for you. Want affordable living? California isn't for you. Whatever, everybody has something they don't like about every place.

          As for "stuff to do," most people don't realize that Houston's Theater District is second only to Broadway in terms of theater seats. https://www.visithoustontexas.... [visithoustontexas.com] It

    • Too many people in the Bay Area maybe. There are plenty of cities where there's room for more people, but no jobs, so that's why not so many people live there.

    • Re:Never enough houses (Score:4, Insightful)

      by hey! ( 33014 ) on Sunday May 05, 2024 @05:01PM (#64450038) Homepage Journal

      Italy and Japan have shrinking populations. We would too, if it weren't for immigration. However our population growth rate is still low, and if it were any lower we'd be facing serious economic and social challenges. Sure, a shrinking population would drop housing prices, but we are far from having so many people there isn't space to fit them. Our real problem is seventy years of public policy aimed at the elimination of "slums" and the prevention of their reemergence.

      If you think about it, "slum" is just a derogatory word for a neighborhood with a high concentration of very affordable housing. Basically policy has by design eliminated the most affordable tier of housing, which eliminates downward price pressure on higher tiers of housing. Today in my city a median studio apartment cost $2800; by the old 1/5 of income rule that means you'd need an income of $168k. Of course the rule now is 30% of income, so to afford a studio apartment you need "only" 112k of income. So essentially there is no affordable housing at all in the city, even for young middle class workers. There is, however a glut of *luxury* housing.

      In a way, this is what we set out to accomplish: a city where the only concentrations of people allowed are wealthy people. We didn't really think it through; we acted as if poor to middle income people would just disappear. In reality two things happened. First they got pushed further and further into the suburbs, sparking backlash by residents concerned with property values. And a lot of people, even middle-class young people, end up in illegal off-the-book apartments in spaces like old warehouses and industrial spaces.

  • Handy for nomads, the young, and domestic abuse (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Somervillain ( 4719341 ) on Sunday May 05, 2024 @03:31PM (#64449838)
    You have to remember that you can get breakfast, lunch, and dinner at work at many places, for free....so you need a place to sleep until you can figure out what you want to do. I could live there for a long time and focus on being anyplace but home. If I was in my 20s and just hired by Google, I'd love one of these...spend most of my hours at work or out in the city enjoying my life and just go there to shower, sleep, and maybe hang out in the cocoon and watch movies on play games there. For many, it would beat having roommates or spending so much money on a shitty apt with a shitty landlord and a restrictive lease.

    A long time ago, I was living with a girlfriend and things got really bad really fast. She hid a substance abuse issue from me and when she lost her job and fell into a pit of depression, started using...she started getting violet when I'd confront her about it. While I am literally twice her size, I wasn't fearful for my safety, but she took a swing at me while high. She's no fighter and gave lots of warning, so effortlessly stepped back and she fell without me touching her...broke her wrist. I was really she didn't lie to the police because they were questioning if she was a victim of domestic abuse in the ER. I needed to get out. I just moved to that city for her, so all my local friends were coworkers and I didn't want to look unprofessional, so I got a shitty hotel and staying a few nights there cost a lot more than $700.

    So yeah, cheap housing is handy: New job, domestic abuse or drama...or for people who are generally nomadic or need short-term housing. In fact, I can imagine a lot of women wanting these because they basically live at their boyfriend's house. Why have a huge place of your own when you can have a small bed to sleep in when the BF is not around? My wife paid rent at an apt she never was at when we were dating.

    Now that I am in my 40s?...I wouldn't consider one unless I was going through a divorce and didn't have kids. But when I was younger, I would have loved it.
    • I moved a couple times when I was young and stayed at hostels until I could figure out a living situation without being under pressure to find one.

  • I'd want some sort of lockable door / hatch, at a minimum.

    • I'd want some sort of lockable door / hatch, at a minimum.

      And you can probably have that. For $200 more a month.

      It’s the 21st Century. We sell privacy at a premium now.

  • Just don't live in that cesspit of a city (Score:3, Insightful)

    by argStyopa ( 232550 ) on Sunday May 05, 2024 @05:17PM (#64450068) Journal

    Don't get me wrong, San Francisco the PLACE is beautiful, absolutely stunning. The Bay, the Point - some of the most consistently beautiful geography on the planet.

    But the people of the city (at least, the ones that run it, who are elected to that position by the others) are the fucking worst humans. They have failed to run the city so badly that they have a full time crew to JUST pick up human feces?

    At what point can one consider one's city government failed, if not that?

    Do you know that at the same time they were criticizing Texas for sending them busses of illegals (despite their status as a 'sanctuary city' suggesting that they want them), THEY WERE THE FIRST city to implement 30+ years ago a program where the city would pay homeless 1 bus fare to go anywhere else but SFO?

  • Reminds of the show Lexx where one of the characters wakes up everyday in a box not too much bigger than a coffin. The other character was raised by a computer program in one of those boxes while she was still a small child. This all takes place on the The Cluster, Capital planet of the Divine Order and the League of 20,000 Planets.

  • Growth draws people whose presence destroys most of what makes a location desirable. There are too many people in SF for available space.
    Should their presence be facilitated?
    Is there a right to infinite overcrowding?
    Is government obliged to facilitate infinite overcrowding?

    How socially desirable is concentrating the tech gold rush in SF? Who besides the ultra-rich benefit from concentration?

    What are better ways to grow the economy than passively accepting overwhelming urban population growth?

  • Not for 700$ (Score:3)

    by cygnusvis ( 6168614 ) on Monday May 06, 2024 @04:03AM (#64450874)
    Maybe 300 ðYââ(TM)ï

  • I'm not american. I thought everyone there wanted to live far from town in a cute suburban neighborhood or a small town etc... confused

    • People are simple herd animals and flock to cities because the know no better. Desirable burbs are also in demand (the US population is not small) but tech is so tempting because it's not manual labor.

  • Aren't these just glorified SROs?

    Wikipedia: "Since the 1970s and 1980s, there has been an increasing displacement of SRO units aimed at low-income earners in a process of gentrification, with SRO facilities being sold and turned into condominiums.[6] Between 1955 and 2013, almost one million SRO units were eliminated in the US by regulation, conversion or demolition"

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