The World's Last Blockbuster Is Now Available on Airbnb

The nostalgia for Blockbuster is odd.

When it’s the ’90s and there are no other videos stores near you? Sure, it’s OK. But then there was the lack of curation (particularly independent and NC-17 films), those awful late fees and the arrogance of a company that thought they were too good for Netflix, even at a bargain sale price of $50 million.

Then again, a quick post by the video chain on Twitter this week — after a six-year social-media hiatus — garnered nearly a million likes, so the store still has fans.

So if renting Empire Records and buying a bag of Twizzlers in an overly bright mall store was the height of your adolescence, you may dig this new Airbnb tie-in: You can now rent out the last brick-and-mortar Blockbuster for part of one weekend in September as a nostalgic getaway, as The A.V. Club reported.

As the home-sharing site notes:

Dust off those membership cards for a sleepover inside the world’s last BLOCKBUSTER. When you call dibs on this stay, you’re booking a night back in the 90s, but this time you won’t have to beg your parents to rent the latest horror flick–we’ll give you the keys to the entire store!

At 1 p.m. on Monday, August 17, you’ll be able to book a one-night stay at the Bend, Oregon store on either 9/18, 9/19 or 9/20. Available for just $4 per night, the space has been reimagined with a pull-out couch, bean bags and pillows, along with a selection of ’90s home videos, some two liters of Pepsi and all the candy and popcorn you want.

…cause the last BLOCKBUSTER in the world will be offering movie lovers in Bend a 90s themed sleepover for a limited time—only on airbnb. who’s down? 👀https://t.co/dd4yz1UtZP pic.twitter.com/NJEZK2wxeW

— Airbnb (@Airbnb) August 11, 2020

The store will also be “open” for limited hours if you want to check it out without staying there, and you can even call the store to take advantage of their “Callgorithm” (essentially, employees giving you movie recommendations based off of what you like).

Bad news? Due to the pandemic, you’ll need to be a resident of the surrounding Deschutes County to participate (note: the store will provide sanitizer and masks for all visitors).

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