Be kind and please rewind at the end of your stay.
A 20-year-old Blockbuster video-rental store in Bend, Oregon — known as the last remaining Blockbuster location on Earth — will soon hand its keys to folks with or without membership cards for a 1990s-style slumber party.
This offer, available on vacation-rentals site Airbnb, will see bookings begin on Aug. 17 for one-night stays — hosting up to four people from Deschutes County at a time — between Sept. 18 and 20. The price? A mere $4, just a penny more than the cost of a vintage video rental.
Once a go-to destination for movies, video games and CDs, Blockbuster had 9,000 stores located around the globe.
But as Netflix and Hulu gained prominence in the at-home streaming arena, the famed blue-and-yellow brand declared bankruptcy in 2010. The company shuttered all corporate-owned stores in 2014, but franchised locations — including this one in Oregon — continued to operate, until this Bend store became the final outpost in 2019.
On Tuesday, Blockbuster’s verified Twitter account sent out a tweet saying, “Just checking in,” punctuated with a waving-hand emoji, marking its first update since January 2014. The tweet, which quickly went viral with more than 35,000 retweets, appears to be promoting this Airbnb offer — although that couldn’t immediately be confirmed.
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Airbnb listing notes the store hasn’t received regular visits from customers and tourists. To give locals a bit of relief from their quarantine-related stress — and to offer the community a thank-you gift for keeping the store open — manager Sandi Harding is hosting this series of stays.
Although guests can expect to spend their nights in a living-room set up next to aisles of shelves full of videotapes, those bygone relics will come with modern-day health-conscious protocols — specifically, enhanced cleanings, face masks, disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer and a request for social distancing. Those who want to book this stay must be from the immediate county and come from the same household.
The listing’s images show a pull-out couch in front of a television, as well as snacks — like Doritos and cans of Pepsi — in their ’90s packaging. (Other concession stand staples include Raisinets, pizza and popcorn.)
Once the final guests check out, local customers can head to the store to view the living room display for a limited time.
