Instant Hotel

Be prepared to binge another reality show. Like The Single Wives, Instant Hotel is a completely addictive Australian show that pits Airbnb homeowners against each other. A competition like no other, there are 10 teams all vying to be crowned champions and win a trip to the USA. It works like this: there are two groups, each with five teams. One of the teams hosts and the other four teams (eight people in total) must rotate through the Instant Hotels for 24 hours each.

The teams must then score the hosts on four criteria. The house, the night's sleep, the nearby attractions and value for money. They can award a maximum of 10 points so there are 40 points up for grabs in total. The show is hosted by the very likeable Luke Jacobz and there is also a guest judge, Juliet Ashworth. She is the queen of interior design and casts a critical eye over the house, also scoring it out of ten. The twist is that the homeowners also score their guests!

So far so good. But where it really ramps up is with the contestants themselves. While some are incredibly nice, almost too nice for their own good, others are downright nasty. The game playing is rife with some couples deliberately marking other homes lower in the hopes of scuppering their chances at a win. I'm almost ashamed to say it, but the comments, bitchiness and back stabbing is utterly compelling. And the more awful the person the more intriguing it becomes to see what their own home is like. Which is how you end up binge watching the life out of the show.

Instant Hotel profiles homes from all over Australia. From Humpty Doo to Brisbane, Sydney to the Barossa Valley, Melbourne to Bondi Beach, each is unique in its own way. There is an incredible 50's retro diner house, a house boat, a millionaires mansion, and plenty in between. Some are amazing, others are a bit meh. But all have been hyped up by their owners.

The first five episodes cover the first team. The second five episodes cover the second team. The winners from each then go head-to-head. The ultimate winners will jet off on a luxury trip to California to one of the best Instant Hotels in the world rumoured to be owned by a major Hollywood star.

Instant Hotel is gripping. The contestants are really engaging, even if some are truly awful people. I'm looking at you Mikey & Shay!! But with all the game play, can the best house actually win??

Update:

Instant Hotel Season 2 is now available on Netflix. However, the lovely Luke Jacobz is no longer hosting the show. That job has gone to flamboyant British designed Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen but the good news is that Juliet Ashworth is back.