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Hotel has an incredibly strange offer for lonely customers

Not something you see every day.
 By 
Sam Haysom
 on 

Plenty of people travelling for work end up staying on their own at hotels.

It can get lonely, too. Some may alleviate this with a call to the family or a friend. Others put a film on, or get room service.

If you're staying at a specific hotel in Belgium, though, there's another option.

Yep, according to Michelle Cooke from New Zealand, her friend was offered the option to "rent-a-fish" for company at the Hotel Charleroi in Belgium.

It sounds far-fetched, but it's true. David Dillen, the hotel manager, confirmed to Mashable that they've been renting fish to customers since 2013.

Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Dillen described the offer as a "gimmick" that gets a lot of attention on social media.

But while a lot of people responding to Cooke's tweet did find the idea funny, there were also some concerns raised about the wellbeing of fish.

Dillen stressed that the hotel takes "very good care" of their fish.

"They also have a big fish-tank in the housekeeping department, with a shelter in it, oxygen and plants," he said. "When we think it’s necessary, we put them there for a few days."

He went on to explain that the fish have been with the hotel for four years now. 

"If they were not taken care of they would have died a long time ago," he said.

"I think it’s a pity people nowadays tend to look at the glass being half-empty instead of half-full."

Mashable Image
Sam Haysom

Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time.

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