Draft:Love Motels in Taiwan

Taiwanese love motels are unique because of a fusion of two aspects. On the one hand, there are establishments dedicated to the rental of a room to pursue intimate purposes. On the other hand, there are establishments located mostly outside of cities and close to main roads. Being far from the city and resembling ordinary travellers' motels where visits are frequent and of short duration, they are known for offering a high level of privacy.

Japanese precursors
The origins of Taiwanese love motels date back to the Edo period in Japan (1600–1868). Tea houses (deai-chaya) welcomed couples with tea before granting them time for privacy. Unlike regular brothels, tea houses only offered space and privacy. In the 20th century, these establishments evolved into more developed places, uniquely designed to host couples in search of love-making activities like the "Enshuku, dedicated to the renting of a room furnishes for intimate purposes. 

That way of operating made its way to Taiwan during the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945)[4]. During this period, few establishments like so-called "Sobaya" (japanese noodle restaurants)  settled in Taiwan. These restaurants were unofficially equipped with rooms for couples to rent, mostly used by sex workers and their clients.

Development
A variety of factors have influenced the development of contemporary Taiwanese love motels. Researchers who have looked into the subject describe a four-stage development that changed the design and the uses of Taiwanese love motels with new features completely distinct from the mentioned predecessors.

The first stage of its development corresponds to the importation of the American motel concept to Taiwan in the 60s. Traditionally, motels, also known as 汽車旅館 (qì chē lǚ guǎn) in Taiwan, are built at highway intersections and outside of cities to provide travellers with rooms and a few additional amenities. However, right from their earliest stages in Taiwan, they were often used by businessmen who looked for an anonymous place to take their mistresses. This special use is what earned them the name of 'love petrol stations'. It was not until the 80s that the appellation "love motel" then emerged in Taiwan to refer to these establishments, specifically dedicated to love-making activities and born from the fusion of Japanese-style love-making establishments and American-style motels.

Over the past 20 years, Taiwanese love motels have rapidly evolved into the product we know today which constitutes a unique and thriving industry. Their current commercialisation on a larger scale as well as the evolution of the quality of their services makes the distinction between ordinary hotel and love motel often blurred and unclear, as they are simultaneously seen as associated with prostitution and the hotel industry.

Locations
Within the last 20 years, love motels have been rapidly growing as an industry. Due to cities being comparatively expensive locations to buy land, suburban areas with cheaper land prices and more traffic are desired locations for love motels to be set up.

The main locations for Taiwan's love motels are: Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung. Zhongshan District is a main location for love motels, located in Taipei. It is one of the most popular locations for love motels.

Characteristics
Love motels include a variety of characteristics, which can range from simple, small rooms to luxurious, spacious ones, depending on the price range. Well equipped locations include TVs, minibars with coffee, and alcoholic drinks as well as other amenities, such as a fridge with complimentary snacks. More extravagant and expensive love motels offer themed rooms, such as rooms in fantasy inspired styles. The bathrooms of such rooms often include small whirlpools, a steam room and like high-end hotels a full range of toiletries. They tend to be accompanied by a small outdoor space which offers good views of the scenery. Along with the in-room facilities, many love hotels have a sauna for guests to use, or even offer massages. For the privacy of customers, some motels offer pre-recorded background noise of either MRT stations, beach, or office for customers who do not want to reveal their location during a phone call.

Common services
Most motels offer two different options for staying, which include a rest period, or an overnight stay period.

The 'Rest' option is for a stay for a period of 2 to 3 hours. Love motels main focus is on the high turnover rate, due to customers finding the short stay more attractive. It is often preferred due to the cheaper price for hourly resting. The category 'Overnight-stay' includes staying at the motel for a twelve-hour period. The overnight-stay is less commonly selected, but often chosen in favour of sometimes offered dining services.

Within the last decade some of Taiwan's love motels and hotels have developed amenities with a stronger sexual overtone. Those rooms are designed to explicitly cater to different sexual fantasies, like bondage, so that sex toys and installments are made readily available. Apart from this, some love motels now focus on providing a more nuanced experience. They often exceed the former concept of short-stay motels who only provide basic accommodation. Walking tours, dining options, free parking, family and entertainment services, daily cleaning, and business facilities are sometimes included. There are also high quality security systems in place, such as 24-hour security and fire services, accessibility for disabled guests, and Chinese and English services. Families can even book capsules with a separate play area for the children, to give the parents some privacy. Due to increasing market competition prices have mostly been declining in the past few years and motels try to establish themselves with extravagant themes and high-quality services. The love motels currently tend to serve the high and low price ends of the market with little presence in the middle price range between luxury and basic accommodation.

Public perception
The perception of love motels in Taiwan is closely linked to societal taboos and attitudes towards sexual practices and their place in public spheres, but also to the history of love motels and similar establishments as cheap temporary accommodations for sex and places of illegal activities.

In recent years the media coverage in Taiwan regarding sex and sexual activities shifted towards a more open-minded attitude. Sex and sexual topics are being positively featured more often in television programmes and movies, but also in news reports about Taiwanese dating culture and sexual experiences, especially regarding the younger generations. Sex and sexual practices are hence slowly becoming more openly represented and discussed topics in public spheres. A general change of attitude towards sex is shown mainly in younger generations of people under and around their 30s, who are for example challenging conservative conceptions of premarital sex before marriage. This different generational attitude is also reflected in the customer range of love motels in Taiwan: The main customer group consists of people under 25 up to 35 year-olds. They are mostly single or unmarried, don't have children and tend to stay at love motels for only short periods of time. Low income singles, with an income around NT$20,000 to NT$40,000 form a big group of love motel customers. The majority is below the age of 25 and mainly choses motels as a place to work around societal norms regarding early premarital sex. For young people above the age of 25 this reasoning is less prevalent. These customers with an income above NT$40,000 tend to be more open about their sexual activities. Most state as reasoning for using love motels the desire to have a comfortable place for sex with partners and the acceptance amongst peers to do so. This shift regarding sex itself and the changing openness of pursuing sex also influences the public perception of love motels: The growing acceptance of sex, sexuality and its exploration in Taiwan's broader population can be directly linked to the increasing popularity of its love motels and the noticable rapid growth of this sector.

The rising popularity of such establishments amongst younger generations is accompanied by the slowly changing image of love motels. The industry is now focusing on working against the association of motels as cheap accommodations with poor service standards purely meant for sex by providing clean and well-decorated rooms and other aspects like spa or karaoke facilities, so that their public image has largely improved. With the emergence of more elaborate designs and themed rooms in addition to openly for sex equipped ones, its main perception as a secretive, obscene space changes to that of a safe, clean space for sexual or romantic interactions. Many accommodations' standards now come close to those of five-star hotels, providing a high sense of comfort and security and blurring the lines between regular accommodations and love motels. While its main usage as a secretive space for sex remains, it functions now furthermore as a romantic escape with a partner (with some motels even providing spaces for couples with children who get their own themed rooms), as a tourist attraction, or as a party location with friends. Visitors more frequently sharing their different experiences on social media platforms adds to the love motels new self-branding, apart from its prevailing public perception as a place for cheating and illicit (sexual) activities.

Legal status
Due to its unique features and not clearly defined legal status, the operation of Taiwan's love motels have not been explicitly regulated. Even the distinction between motels, purely meant as stop-by accommodations, and hotels, is not drawn clearly in Taiwan. Some legal obligations that affect hotels therefore do not apply to these establishments. One aspect is for example, that commercial accommodations need to check ID papers of customers for overnight stays. Because the majority of customers only stay at such motels for a short period of time, they are not affected by this law.

Regulations for the Administration of Hotel Enterprises: Legislative History
From a legal perspective, love hotels in Taiwan are not classified under a distinct category with its own specific law. The establishments currently fall under the Regulations for the Administration of Hotel Enterprises law, which differ from the law that targets hotels solely meant for tourism. There are different supervisory authorities for the hotel industry, including love hotels. At the central level operates the Ministry of Transportation. Each municipal government furthermore oversees the local hotel industry, as well as the county governments. Some city governments are currently enforcing stricter criteria for issuing permits to love motels, regulating the local market.

In 2002: Formulation and Promulgation

The full regulations for the Administration of Hotel Enterprises were formulated and promulgated in accordance with the Statute for the Development of Tourism on October 28th in 2002. (Love hotels were stipulated by the Statute for the Development of Tourism from the 1970s before the regulations for the Administration of Hotel Enterprises appeared.) They include four main parts: establishment and issuance of licences, format of designated trade symbol and administration of its use, operation management, and awards and penalties.

In 2016: Amendments of the Definition and Business Premises

(1) In these Regulations, the term "hotel enterprise" means a profit-taking enterprise not categorized as a tourist hotel. It charges a fee for lodging for days or weeks, rest for a brief period of time, or for providing other services.

(2) A hotel enterprise shall operate its business within its business premises, and shall not expand its business premises without approval. This ensures the safety of the customers as well.

The last amendment took place in 2021.

Controversies and incidents
Although the public perception of love motels in Taiwan is improving, they still face various controversies and infamous incidents.

Hidden cameras
The phenomenon of Korea's hidden camera recording crimes 'molka' have spread globally, impacting Taiwan's hospitality industry. Taiwan's advanced electronics industries and complex trade relationships make it easy to obtain easily hidden cameras that can be remotely monitored wirelessly in real time. Hidden cameras have been found in Taiwanese motels and short term stay accommodations with several highly publicised incidents. This has prompted discussions on Taiwanese websites about how to effectively find and thoroughly remove or disable cameras that proprietors and guests may have hidden inside these rooms. Venues have responded by explicitly offering security services intended to prevent such spying activities. Short term stay accommodations are more frequent targets of spy camera crimes because licenced motels are more tightly regulated and more invested in maintaining their reputations for strict privacy and guest safety.

Violent incidents
Taiwanese motels and lodgings have also acquired infamy as locations of criminal activity and self harm from numerous high profile incidents that sometimes carry serious political consequences.

The Suicide of Taipei First Girls' High School students (1994) in Yilan County became a notable example of an ongoing trend of motel guests committing suicide by burning charcoal inside sealed motel rooms. The privacy and distance from family members at home offered by motel rooms reduces the likelihood of someone intervening during a suicide attempt. High profile incidents employing charcoal burning have periodically promoted the popularity of this suicide method which accounts for around 30% of all suicide deaths in Taiwan. Some motel operators explicitly prohibit single women from renting their rooms because they believe such guests carry a high risk of suicide and starting fires that could endanger other guests and staff. The film Taipei Suicide Story (2021) visualises the association of motels with this notorious phenomenon through a fictional account of a suicide motel in which guests stay one night to either check out in the morning or leave in a body bag.

Other incidents
Besides associations like this, love motels, similar to regular hotels, still have a reputation for being used as anonymous venues for illicit affairs. In July 2017, [Lo Chih-cheng] (羅致政) a key member of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) stayed at a motel with his female aide, Vice President Nien Pei-ying (粘珮瑩). This caused disturbances in Taiwanese politics since Lo Chih-cheng was a key influence in the career of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and has led various policies of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Economic impact
The economic impact of love hotels in Asian countries is significant, especially the focal point in Japan's Shibuya Dogenzaka, which is said to generate about 700 billion yen (about US$5 million) in sales on Christmas Day alone. Many love hotels offer a variety of free services, such as free all-you-can-drink bars and free breakfasts, and some patrons use these facilities as regular hotels.

Taiwanese love hotels are similar to Japanese love hotels, with condoms available on bed boards, rooms with various concepts, and cosplay rentals (mainly Chinese dresses).

In recent years love establishments in Taiwan are being more commercialised and evolving into a big business with high engagement, leading to a rapid development of the sector. To boost the industry, some hoteliers are investing up to NT$200 million. As a result, Taiwan's love hotel industry is currently booming, with more establishments arising each year. Their promotion on social media contributes to the proliferation of love motels and enhances their status, making them a popular accommodation option for tourists.

Taiwan's hotel industry is currently on an upward trend in FY2023, with the consumer price index (CPI) and service industry also rising by about 2%. These factors are having a positive impact on the hotel industry in general, as there is also an increase in the minimum wage. According to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, the number of hotel guests in the first half of 2023 will be approximately 38.08 million, approaching pre-COVID epidemic levels. Revenues also reached NT$84.84 billion, surpassing the same period in 2019.

However, there are aspects of the economic impact of love hotels that are difficult to quantify. It is difficult to accurately calculate the profitability of love hotels alone, since they are often not distinguished from regular hotels or excluded from the hospitality sector altogether. However, it can be inferred that the profitability of love hotels is high based on the figures for the hotel industry.

Social aspects
Queer acceptance

Like Taiwan, which legalized same-sex marriage for the first time in Asia, most motels in Taiwan are friendly when it comes to homosexuality. According to studies of changes in homosexuality acceptance, Taiwan is the most accepting in East Asia (Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Mainland China) in recent years. Near Nanjing Sanmin Station in Taipei, there is a love hotel that openly presents itself as a 'gay' hotel, where only male couples can make reservations. Lesbian couples and other gender minority couples are being excluded from this establishment. A gay love hotel visibly claiming its status in such a public space is still not common in most parts of East Asia and highlights Taiwan's more open relation towards LGBTQ+ spaces and sexually explicit establishments.

In many parts of East Asia, same-sex couples are still often rejected when visiting love motels. Cases in Japan and Korea covered by various media still showcase various incidents where same-sex couples were denied access for reasons that were not clearly stated.