Thanks to bans on pay toilets dating back to the 1970s, folks in the U.S. have become accustomed to enjoying free public restroom access pretty much anywhere their travels take them. Depending on the town or city, however, free-use bathrooms aren\u2019t necessarily plentiful \u2014 or well-maintained, for that matter.<\/p>\n
In lieu of stateside political momentum to build more \u2014 and better \u2014 public toilets, enterprising developers and entrepreneurs have attempted to tackle the problem in a number of ways. Beyond maps that track the locations of public restrooms, startups like Throne are deploying high-tech, self-cleaning and self-contained portable toilets that can be reserved through a mobile app.<\/p>\n
But what about opening up the business-owned bathrooms that already exist?<\/p>\n
A new venture launching at CES 2024, Flush<\/a>, wants to do just that \u2014 renting out restrooms to customers across cafes, restaurants, hotels and other high-traffic areas. USC computer science graduate Elle Szabo founded Flush after frustrating experiences trying to find public restrooms while on a diuretic medication.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll never forget the day I went out for a big dinner and we all piled into the car to go hang out in Pasadena, where I knew there\u2019d be no open bathrooms,\u201d Szabo told TechCrunch in an email interview. \u201cWe\u2019d been driving for a couple minutes when I had to force the car to stop at the nearest building \u2014 which in this case was a hospital! If being on this medication was a problem for me, I wondered how many other people it was a problem for.\u201d<\/p>\n Flush is a double-sided marketplace for bathrooms, basically. Business owners can put their bathrooms up for rent, priced at $5, and users can find and book available bathrooms through Flush\u2019s web-based app. Flush takes a 5% cut of every reservation.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Flush<\/p>\n<\/div>\n To combat bathroom-soiling guests, Flush has a built-in rating system, which providers see when they\u2019re approving a restroom reservation. (One hopes there\u2019s measures to prevent abuse; Szabo didn\u2019t say.) Flush is also exploring some form of insurance to compensate businesses in the event of guest-caused damage, for example a major plumbing issue.<\/p>\n \u201cBy using Flush, a coffee shop or cafe can create an additional revenue stream without increasing overhead,\u201d Szabo said. \u201cOn top of the added revenue stream, Flush provides a unique means for attracting new customers without any extra marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n Szabo is quite gung ho about the idea, proclaiming Flush could someday \u201cfix the distribution of bathrooms to people.\u201d But outside of buying coffee as a courtesy, I\u2019m not convinced the average person would entertain paying $5 to use the bathroom even in an emergency.<\/p>\n Speaking as someone who didn\u2019t grow up in a country where paying for the toilet\u2019s the norm, it\u2019d be a tough mental adjustment to make. Even Europeans might balk \u2014 fee-based toilets in countries like Italy tend to be a lot cheaper (around a euro or so) than what Flush is currently asking.<\/p>\n Now, to be fair, there are some situations \u2014 say a diaper change \u2014 where I could imagine a customer <\/em>being able to justify Flush\u2019s fee, particularly if there aren\u2019t any other viable nearby options. And Szabo envisions businesses creating Flush-exclusive entrances that let customers bypass lines and cover charges (imagine a busy bar or club), which admittedly has some appeal.<\/p>\n But the rent-a-restroom idea has been tried before \u2014 and not been met with wild successful, exactly.<\/p>\n Good2Go, much like Flush, once partnered with local businesses to rent out their bathrooms, charging a subscription fee that it split with owners. Despite securing early high-profile customers like Peet\u2019s Coffee and raising a $7 million seed funding round, Good2Go \u2014 which also used to work with businesses to renovate restrooms \u2014 eventually pivoted to selling general door access control tech after failing to make the economics work.<\/p>\n Restpace, another bathroom rental service, is still alive and kicking. But it charges on a per-minute use basis (e.g. $15 for 15 minutes), a potentially more lucrative business model than Flush;s.<\/p>\n Flush users can view a bathroom\u2019s pics before booking \u2014 and read reviews.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Even if Flush, which is launching in Pittsburgh to start, where Szabo\u2019s based, catches on, I\u2019d think it\u2019d eventually become tough for businesses to handle the logistics of figuring out who\u2019s purchased access to which bathroom \u2014 and which customer\u2019s next in queue. Flush is considering purchasing smart locks to let users self-service, but Szabo hasn\u2019t committed to that idea yet.<\/p>\n The elephant in the room is the harm platforms like Flush might do to those who can\u2019t afford to pay the fee.<\/p>\n Some might argue it\u2019s incumbent on governments, not businesses, to build and service more public restrooms \u2014 and this writer doesn\u2019t disagree. But given that there doesn\u2019t appear to be much appetite for that sort of infrastructure spending, privately-owned restrooms have become a vital resource<\/a> for homeless populations who\u2019d otherwise be forced to urinate or defecate in the street.<\/p>\n Szabo doesn\u2019t see it that way, though.<\/p>\n \u201cHomelessness is a growing problem, and some providers worry that a homeless person may destroy or soil the bathroom,\u201d she said. \u201cFlush provides a way to access and provide access to a clean, reliable bathroom \u2026 Airbnb was so successful because it provides something we all need \u2014 a roof over our heads \u2014 and Flush is doing the same for bathrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n Flush, which Szabo is running and coding by herself, is currently bootstrapped. It\u2019s in the process of signing up businesses and lining up investors (hence the media tour at CES), and plans to hire an employee this year.<\/p>\n![\"Flush\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-05-at-3.48.09\u202fPM-e1704487940782.png\")
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