Swedish 'Heartbreak Hotel' Consoles Divorcees With Money-Backs

The Countryside Hotels chain was founded in 1983 and runs around 40 hotels across Sweden. Their new scheme applies to married couples who spend the night in the same room booked under their "relationship guarantee." Provided that they split less than 12 months hereinafter, they get their money back for two nights if they send in the divorce papers as proof, the Swedish tabloid daily Expressen reported.

While some may perceive it as a bizarre loophole for milking the system or a devious scheme shattering the foundations of holy matrimony, the idea is in fact exactly the opposite. The hotel's message is that couples must spend more time together. If people invest in their relationship by, for instance, booking a weekend in a hotel, this is expected to make divorce less likely.

Countryside Hotels marketing manager Anna Madsen argued that all relationships need to be nurtured, and couples should be given an opportunity to get away from the stress of everyday life and fill up with energy. According to Petra Fagrell Jansson at Hennickehammars Manor, which is part of the chain, an ailing relationship can even be patched up by a night at a cozy hotel.

​"Everyone needs a little more time for their relationships and enjoying a little outing from everyday life," Petra Fagrell Jansson told the Swedish newspaper Filipstads Tidning.

In 2015, a total of 24,876 marriages ended in divorce in Sweden, according to the national agency Statistics Sweden. In general, the Nordic country has experienced a growing number of single households in recent decades. Incidentally, a recent survey by Swedish pollster SIFO indicated that nearly one in five Swedes believe that their partners fail to invest enough commitment into their relationship.

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