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A mascot with a shining bald head set up in the lobby offers a clue to a bizarre discount deal offered by a hotel in this city on the western island of Kyushu.
To qualify for a cut rate, staff members must first examine your head at the Hotel Tetora Kita-Kyushu in the city’s Kokura-Kita Ward.
If they agree that your hair is thinning, then you are in luck, kind of, and you receive a 500-yen ($4.80) discount.
This peculiar service was implemented by Hotel Tetora Group President Koji Miura. He came up with the idea when a cleaning staff member told him how hard it was to remove hair that clogged up drains.
The president thought it would be easier for his staff to do their jobs if guests had little or no hair--in fact, just like himself.
The discount service has been implemented at the group’s hotels, including the one in Kita-Kyushu, since August 2014.
When guests step forward and state that they are suffering from hair loss, reception staff will check how thin their hair is to determine if they are eligible.
Last fall, Kaori Nishino, 38, vice chief at the hotel, received a party of three guests who asked her which one of them could get the discount.
Nishino said she gave the OK for two of them.
“I turned down the last person. He looked glad and sad at the same time,” she said.
More than 20 customers have received a 500-yen discount after timidly asking the hotel staffers whether they were covered by the “hage wari” (bald discount).
(ASAHI SHIMBUN)
