Forget co-living, ‘hot-bedding’ sees students in Australia share beds with strangers to save on rent

‘Hot-bedding’ involves sharing a mattress with a stranger – usually sleeping in shifts – in order to split the rent on a room
It’s increasingly being used by migrants and international students in Australia, and elsewhere, to combat the high cost of living and housing crisis

Australia

Business Insider

Published: 3:02pm, 4 Jul 2023

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As housing prices soar, more adults are opting for roommates. But would you be willing to share a bed to cut down on rent?

Enter “hot-bedding”, a distant relative of hot-desking. Hot-bedding involves sharing a bed with a stranger, usually while sleeping in shifts.

One international college student in Melbourne, Australia, a 19-year-old woman from India, told SBS News that she splits US$550 to rent a room with a man who works night shifts as a truck driver.

The woman, who went by the pseudonym “Priyanka”, told the publication that she sleeps in the bed at night while the truck driver sleeps in that same bed during the day. On days when the truck driver isn’t working, she told SBS News she’s not able to use the bed, and instead camps out in a “storeroom” in the house that can squeeze in a mattress.

Hot-bedding isn’t exactly new, but Priyanka’s story is the latest example of a creative solution for those feeling the financial crunch of inflation and rising rent costs.

Prices are rising in many parts of the world, including Australia, where Priyanka lives. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a 7.3 per cent increase in the living cost index between 2022 and 2023.

Immigrants and international students may be susceptible to financial struggles from inflation. They move to countries for a better life, sometimes unaware of the high cost of living and the housing crisis.

A 2021 survey from the University of Technology Sydney polled 7,000 international students living in Sydney and Melbourne. Of the students surveyed, 3 per cent reported hot-bedding to save on rent. Four out of 10 of the students surveyed reported skipping meals due to financial costs.

Chinese students in Australia contemplate sleeping on the streets amid housing crisis

Although the concept of hot-bedding has mostly been reported on in Australia, sharing a mattress could be spreading to other countries. In June, a Canadian landlord posted an ad on the classifieds website Kijiji for a C$550 room (US$417), but with a catch: the tenant would share a king-size bed with a stranger. The room is no longer available, and it’s not clear if anyone took the landlord up on the unusual offer.

While most people would balk at hot-bedding, more people are going the more traditional route and getting a roommate. Millennials are now reportedly considered the “roommate generation”, as inflation creates tighter living quarters and a lower rate of home ownership.

Some young adults are even opting for living arrangements with older adults. Last July, Nadia Abdullah, 25, told The Washington Post that she rents a room from 64-year-old Judith Allonby.

I am so stressed all the time … To not have even a peaceful place to lay my head and relax while I study feels terrible

“Priyanka”, Indian student living in Australia

Meanwhile, some universities are creating programmes that allow college students to live among older adults.

Priyanka told SBS News that her family made financial sacrifices to send her to Australia, but she still struggles to afford food, rent and transport. She has not told her family the full story about her living situation.

“I am so stressed all the time, and very anxious,” Priyanka told SBS News. “To not have even a peaceful place to lay my head and relax while I study feels terrible.”

This article was first published by Business Insider