A Dutch commercial property hotel has launched an innovative attraction for couples looking to take a weekend break – the option to get divorced. This may sound like a crazy idea, but it is proving surprisingly popular with couples looking to separate quickly.
The five-star luxury commercial properties, run by owner Jim Halfen, are aptly named as “Divorce Hotels”, and residents have the option of talking through such issues as alimony, child visitation rights and splitting assets with a team of on-site fully trained divorce attorneys. In essence, two people can check in to a participating commercial property as a couple on a Wednesday morning, and check out on Friday as two single people.
This, then, is not a commercial property trip aimed at the honeymoon market!
The business concept was drawn up by Mr Halfen as he spotted a gap in the divorce market. Often, divorce is a lengthy proceeding and can take months, or sometimes even years, to finalise – but by checking into a Divorce Hotel commercial property, the paperwork can be drawn up in a weekend. All the couple would have to do then is show the written agreement to a judge, as required by Dutch law, then wait a few weeks for their divorce to be made official.
Any couples applying to stay in a commercial property hotel with the lawyers and mediators involved are thoroughly assessed to make sure that the separation is truly in their best interests, and not just a spur of the moment decision based on an argument or dispute.
Jim Halfen says that the idea for the hotel came to him while watching a close friend go through a long and painful divorce. He explains; “He was losing weight, he was unable to have fun in life anymore and they were fighting every time you saw them – it was horrible.
“The divorce negotiations dragged on for five months. I was convinced there has to be another way.”
Ninke Bons, sales manager for the Divorce Hotel business, says; “We treat them as any other guests, we just try to keep a closer eye on them or make sure they are not wandering around by themselves.
“Just as an example – we would normally enquire if a guest enjoyed their stay at the hotel.
“Well, obviously that’s not very appropriate in the case of the Divorce Hotel.”
The concept has become so popular that Mr Halfen is now considering expanding his commercial property chain to include hotels in Germany and the USA. However, would the idea work as a business model in the UK?
Statistics show that UK couples are choosing to divorce at an increasing rate, partly due to the stresses of life and work revolving around both partners spending their days in a commercial property workplace. So, say Mr Halfen decided to open up a “Heartbreak Hotel in Hull”, or a “Separation Spa in Somerset”, would the reaction of the British public be as positive as those of our continental cousins?
It seems that the commercial properties could, in fact, find a viable market here in the UK. With well over 100,000 divorces finalised in this country every year, many struggle to cope with the drawn out process and wish for a “quick fix” as a means of returning their lives to normality. Even amicable divorces tend to take a long time to finalise, causing stress and upset to both parties.
A weekend in a five star commercial property hotel surely compares favourably to months in a lawyer’s office.
Would you choose to stay in a Divorce Hotel if the commercial property chain expanded to include the UK? Or do you believe that two days is not enough time to fully cover the implications of divorce?
Previous Post
Olympic Prices in Olympic Games Commercial Properties
What a fabulous idea. Although I don’t know why anyone would want to go to Hull to get divorced 🙂