Will the United States Ever See a Death Hotel?

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

There are over 90,000 hotels and motels in the United States, but none, as far as we know, cater to the dying. Things are a little different in India, home to at least one death hotel.

The death hotel in India that has received the most attention is the Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan in Varanasi, a city considered to be one of the most sacred in India.

What is a Death Hotel? 

The Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan is a charity-funded hotel that offers a haven for the dying. Charity allows the hotel to provide its services for a trivial price. It costs 20 rupees a night to stay there, which comes to roughly $0.24.

There’s a priest who sings prayers and hymns from the Bhagavad Gita and the Ramayana at intervals throughout the day to try to help the dying achieve enlightenment.

Each inhabitant must have at least two family members staying with them, and they’re allowed to stay up to two weeks. If their health is improving towards the end of their stay, they must move on.

Why Do People Stay Here?

To understand the concept of the death hotel, it’s important to understand the city that houses it. Varanasi is one of the longest-inhabited cities in the world, and Hindus consider it a sacred place nestled on a sacred river.

Varanasi is located on the Ganges river, a place where Hindus consider it an honor to cremate their dead. They also don’t view death negatively but rather as a liberation of the soul — a reason to celebrate.

A cremation ceremony is held on the Ganges.
Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Hindus believe that after death, the soul eventually reincarnates as another human or an animal. This cycle continues in perpetuity until they attain salvation and break the cycle, thus granting them eternal peace. Many believe that dying in Varanasi grants them this salvation.

And that is why death hotels exist here.

Rohit Kumar Jha, a 29-year-old lawyer from Bihar, described to The National why he booked his grandfather at the Kashi Labh Mukti Bhawan:

“My father died before his eyes. My grandfather was heartbroken after his death and suffered a heart attack. He repeatedly asked us to take him there as he wanted freedom from the pain of human life.”

Would the United States Ever Have a Death Hotel? 

It’s not clear whether the United States will ever see such facilities. American culture tends to push death away rather than embrace it. After death, most bodies are cleaned, covered in makeup, injected with chemicals, and only sometimes put on display for an hour or so for the mourning loved ones. Some even view the U.S. funeral industry as a capitalist scam.

However, there are signs that views are changing. The reintroduction of psychedelics is helping portions of the population get more comfortable with death. And as American society becomes more diverse and accepting of different cultural practices, it’s possible that the concept of death hotels may eventually gain acceptance in the U.S.

But for now, if Americans want hotel accommodations during their final stay on Earth, they’ll have to travel east.