Ok, as a woman and potential customer, I have some logistical questions about this:

The thread title uses the words "vending machine," which is kind of confusing. In what way are you "vending" the product? Is it a smaller, battery powered version of a straightener that you'd actually buy from the machine and take with you? Or is it a full-powered straightener that stays plugged into this machine, and you pay a few dollars each time to power it up for five minutes?

In the first case, it would be more handy for women who maybe forgot their straightener and just need some touching up--in this case, you wouldn't actually need the machine in each room, you could just sell them in the gift shop or lobby of the hotel.

The second scenario seems to be what you're talking about, but I'd think in a night club or something you'd have an issue with ladies not wanting to wait around while two or three girls ahead of them take their turns. you'd need 3 or four available at once, then you'd have the issue of blowing a fuse or something. Those things take up a lot of wattage on the highest settings, and they'd basically be in use nonstop on a busy night.

Also, the nightclub owners may be wary of this, without someone physically manning the machines, because they won't want to be responsible for some drunk girl who spills a drink or drops it in the sink and gets electrocuted.

P.S., Not sure if you know this, but many big clubs staff their bathrooms with nice ladies who bring things like hair products, makeup, straighteners for anyone to use for free for as long as they want (but of course they work for tips).

Also, the only way I see this working in hotel rooms is if you actually sell the machines to the hotels and have them available for use in the room for free.

Most women are inherently cheap. We like the convenience of having a hair dryer in the hotel room, but if we are being charged by the minute for it, we'd just pack our own.

Straightening irons take up even less space in a bag than a hair dryer. And if you're in a hotel room, you'd want to do more than a touch up. To completely straighten the hair takes at least 20-30 minutes. $10-$15 per day to rent one of these things-- I don't think you'd get enough women willing to use one to justify installing and maintaining them in each room of a hotel.

If you're going for the "pay-per-5-minute" strategy, I'd stick with more public places: airport restrooms, gyms, department stores, malls, casinos, even nice restaurants (all in the ladies' room, obv) would make the most sense. Places where, after walking around all day, a woman might feel the absolute need to "freshen up."

Good luck!

If you think people are cheap then try in local motels where everything is cheap. If you have a motel client base then you have a portfolio to pitch to a regional budget hotel chain. I think you might need to drop the "Vending Machine" mentality and just try to rent them to the motels/hotels and they can figure out how to and if they want to charge for it. You might need a couple of different models. Get a cheap reliable model that you can get from a wholesaler and also use your model. Pitch it both ways and explain the different cost structures.

I really don't think this would work. For starters, you can throw the hotel room idea out the window. The hotel could simply buy their own hair straighteners and put them in every room. This is assuming they haven't already done that?

Also, essentially every place where you want to put this could easily just supply a hair straightener to their clients for free, and if they don't have enough incentive to do that then there really isn't much market for your product in said establishment.

Hotel room idea stinks not because the hotel won't bother outsourcing this (they may) but because the amount of use is minimized by keeping it in a room. At the most it will get a couple uses a day. Compare that to a high traffic area which could see multiple uses per hour.

Drunk people in club, using hot clamp = not good

Yeah I would be worried about the liability aspect of this. Customer and location specific. What if you product shorted out due to one of the ppl using it and it burned down the club/hotel?

this product + drunk girls in a club just doesn't mix as others have said.

however, i still like the idea but just seem unsure of it.

No girl is going to use this.

The liability is off the charts stupid.

The cost of keeping this operational is going to be an issue.

my first roomate in college straightened his hair almost every fockin day so don't forget about potential male customers. Really interesting idea but I agree with what Henry said.

What about gay nightclubs/bars in the male restrooms? Or hell lesbo bars? I imagine it being a smash hit in those as compared to a women's restroom at a club.

As to the gym, do women shower and get cleaned up in the lockerooms that often compared to men? Don't see anyone using them when their hair is sweaty but I also don't feel like women shower at the gym anywhere near as much as men do?

As said, their are a lot of big problems, liability, etc.

Interesting idea nonetheless.

Girls would definitely use this

Lawsuit problem just seems off the chizzarts tho

i am pretty sure my girlfriend would never use anything like this. a hairdryer maybe but not a straightener that a whole lot of other people are using as well, she'd be grossed out. i'll ask her tonight and see though.

+126

I was out with my girlfriend and 4 of her friends for drinks last night, and I have to say I was surprised how receptive they were to the idea. They all said they would definitely use it at a night club or hotel, but that their gyms already had them. They all pretty much thought it was a great idea that would be a money maker.