A video about a young designer living outside London in the United Kingdom, who has turned to a pod hotel to cut down her commuting costs, has gone viral on social media, drawing both sympathy and disbelief online.
The TikTok video, shared by Anastasia Lukman (@anastasiarebeccca), a 23-year-old designer from Indonesia, shows her morning routine inside a pod. Text overlaid on the clip reads: "GRWM [get ready with me] but I live in a pod." Since its posting on September 15, the video has been viewed more than 354,000 times.
Lukman told Newsweek that she began staying at the pod hotel, located in the Piccadilly Circus area of central London, around July. "I have a job in London that requires me to commute to London three times a week, but the train cost is just too expensive," she said. "I pay per day and it costs £20 [around $27] to £30 [around $40] per night. I just stay here one to two times a week as I rented outside London."
Lukman added: "Obviously, it is quite scary because of the storage situation; also because we live with other people that we don’t know."
Lukman's drastic attempt to reduce commuting expenses reflects a broader affordability crisis. In the United States, for example, nearly half of renter households are considered cost-burdened, according to a 2024 report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. About 12.1 million renters are "severely cost-burdened," spending more than half of their income on rent.
The viral TikTok video shows Lukman getting ready for work inside her pod, which is housed in a warehouse-style setting where each unit appears to contain only enough space for a mattress.
"I decided to just live in this pod whenever I have [work] two days in a row," she said in the clip. "This way is actually cheaper than for me to go back and forth by train, because the train here is so expensive. For me, I have to spend almost £50 [around $70], when one night here is just £25 [around $33]."
She added that guests store luggage outside their pods. "Just remember to keep your valuables inside your pod," she said.
The savings are significant for Lukman, whose commute to work normally takes about two hours by train. From the pod hotel, her journey is only 20 minutes.
TikTok users were quick to react to her unusual solution: "this is so crazy," wrote user yhhhlool. User adeel.social said: "Yeah, this is wild. But I don’t blame you."
Another, ruks. 92, said: "My claustrophobia could never." User Viva Diva posted: "This is a coffin."
Others focused on the wider issues her situation highlights. "Employers are so inconsiderate man," wrote Alex. User @fiercelyindependentt commented: "May this life never find me." Another, niyyahfirst, said: "Humans weren’t meant to live like this."
Some noted they might end up doing the same. "Honestly … I think I’m gonna end up doing the same," wrote Sully v2. "I just got a job that has been working too late to make my train home."