The last remaining Blockbuster video store in the world is getting a new lease on life.
Airbnb is turning the Bend, Oregon, store into a nostalgia-themed rental, according to NBC News. It is listed for three one-night stays in September for the low cost of $4 — a penny more than the video store’s rental fee.
The store will be stocked with “all the movies your heart could desire,” according to a press release from Blockbuster.
Airbnb periodically promotes novelty rentals on its platform. Earlier this year the company helped rent out New Jersey’s Lucy the Elephant attraction for brief stays. In the past the company has rented out a Goodyear Blimp and a Barbie Dreamhouse–themed house in Malibu.
At Blockbuster’s peak in the mid-2000s, it had nearly 9,100 stores worldwide, but broadband internet and the advent of streaming video platforms such as Netflix spelled the end for the once-ubiquitous movie rental franchise. The chain filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010 and Bend’s Blockbuster became the last operating store in the country in 2018 when a handful of other remaining stores in Alaska shut their doors.
The store, which is privately owned, has since become somewhat of a tourist attraction. Earlier this year a documentary about the store, “The Last Blockbuster,” premiered in Bend.
Unfortunately for Blockbuster fans around the country, the one-night Airbnb stays are open only to residents of Bend and surrounding Deschutes County in order to minimize the risk of Covid-19.
Guests must adhere to local guidelines on coronavirus safety and store staff will clean and prepare the store per CDC guidelines, according to NBC. [NBC News] — Dennis Lynch