A new divorce hotel concept allows couples to divorce over one weekend at a hotel. The couple enters on Friday married and leaves Sunday with divorce papers in hand. Jim Halfens, the Netherlands entrepreneur who developed the concept, already has an operational Divorce Hotel in the Netherlands.
According to the New York Times, a couple would check in on Friday to a specially designated 5-star hotel. They’d spend the weekend in separate rooms and meet with mediators and lawyers over the weekend to help the couples settle all differences.
The operational Divorce Hotel in the Netherlands reports costs of between $3,500-$10,000, and the final cost depends upon the assets that will be split and the children involved.
While the idea of a Divorce Hotel sounds clean and fast, the truth is that it’s not realistic. Divorces can be messy situations, especially when you bring children, custody issues and the division of assets into the picture. While it would be nice if couples in Deer Park, Texas, could walk into a 5-star hotel to settle their divorce over the course of 48 hours, it’s just not the reality.
The Divorce Hotel concept may be finding its way to the U.S. soon, though, and you may also see Halfens on television; he’s currently shopping the Divorce Hotel concept as a reality television show.