Dutch airport hotel for goldfish the newest victim of the recession

Seriously, is nothing safe from the grasps of the crappy economy?

Even the goldfish hotel we wrote about back in June barely lasted 4 weeks before closing the lid of its tank.

Closing the “hotel” wasn’t too hard, because when its end came, there were no guests checked in, and no reservations lined up.

Of course, because the whole concept was sponsored by a travel agency, it is perfectly possible that the opening and subsequent closing were all one big PR stunt, but sources confirm that the hotel was real, and that several people actually arrived at Schiphol airport with a goldfish ready to be checked in for a week.

Still, I think 4 weeks is a record for the launch and failure of a hotel, even if it was only open to fish. Then again, in an era where pets get their own airline or hotel and dogs have sex toys, not much surprises me.

Amsterdam airport opens the world’s first hotel – for goldfish…

We’ll file this one under “wacky PR news” – Amsterdam airport just opened the world’s first hotel specifically designed for goldfish.

The hotel is operated by “D-Travel”, a major player in the Dutch travel booking market, and passengers who booked their trip through them can use the facility for free.

Upon arrival at Schiphol airport, passengers can hand over their fish at the goldfish check-in desk (seriously!) and each fish will be placed in its own little fish tank.

Having arrived home after a 2 week vacation to discover that my aquarium had gone through a catastrophic meltdown, I have to say that the idea sounds cool, though I’m not entirely sure I’d feel comfortable loading fish into a bag to transport to the airport.

Imagine arriving at the airport, only to discover that the goldfish hotel is closed, or overbooked! You’d be stuck at the airport with a flight departing in 2 hours and a bag full of fish on your luggage cart. Obviously a bad way to start your vacation.

Click the images below to learn about other weird hotels: