This App Lets Cafes and Coffee Shops Charge to Use the Bathroom

A new venture launching at CES 2024, Flush, wants to do just that — renting out restrooms to customers across cafes, restaurants, hotels and other high-traffic areas.

Flush is a double-sided marketplace for bathrooms, basically. Business owners can put their bathrooms up for rent, priced at $5, and users can find and book available bathrooms through Flush's web-based app. Flush takes a 5% cut of every reservation.

Thanks to bans on pay toilets dating back to the 1970s, folks in the U.S. have become accustomed to enjoying free public restroom access pretty much anywhere their travels take them.

Flush is considering purchasing smart locks to let users self-service

"Homelessness is a growing problem, and some providers worry that a homeless person may destroy or soil the bathroom," she said. "Flush provides a way to access and provide access to a clean, reliable bathroom … Airbnb was so successful because it provides something we all need — a roof over our heads — and Flush is doing the same for bathrooms."

Szabo is quite gung ho about the idea, proclaiming Flush could someday "fix the distribution of bathrooms to people."