# Punch Clock Currency Cafes Brooklyn's Glass Hour Charges Patrons by the Minute instead of Drinks By Joey Haar | Published 2016-10-23 | Lifestyle Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/glass-hour References: [businessinsider](http://www.businessinsider.com/coffee-shop-charges-for-time-spent-2016-10) & [glasshour.co](http://www.glasshour.co/) Glass Hour is a cafe in Williamsburg, Brooklyn that offers unlimited coffee, tea, granola bars, and candy. There's a catch, though; while patrons don't get charged for the drinks and snacks, they instead get charged for how long they spend in the cafe. The unique business model is a response to the way that people tend to use cafes: as workspaces. At many cafes, people come in and buy a single coffee, then take up a table for hours while they work on a project. Not only is that inefficient from a business standpoint, but it makes it harder for customers to find seats in the cafe as well. Glass Hour's [pay-per-minute system](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/reverse-happy-hour) eliminates that issue, and it also keeps customers from worrying about whether its time to [buy another drink or snack](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/oblix-happy-hour). ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 6.7/10 - Popularity: 96% | Activity: 97% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial - Top markets: North America ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Lifestyle](https://www.trendhunter.com/lifestyle) > [Food](https://www.trendhunter.com/food) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Pay-per-minute Cafes:** Opportunity for cafes to charge customers based on the time spent in the establishment rather than traditional per-item purchases. - **Shared Workspace Cafes:** Disruptive innovation opportunity to create cafes that specifically cater to customers who seek workspaces and offer flexible payment models. - **Unlimited Beverage Cafes:** Idea for cafes to adopt the concept of unlimited beverage offerings and charge customers based on the time they spend in the cafe rather than individual purchases. ### Who This Affects Most - **Cafe Industry:** Potential for cafes to reimagine their business models by implementing pay-per-minute systems or unlimited options to better cater to customer needs. - **Co-working Industry:** Opportunity for co-working spaces to integrate cafe services and offer pay-per-minute options for customers who require a workspace with unlimited refreshments. - **Hospitality Industry:** Disruptive innovation potential in the hospitality sector by incorporating pay-per-minute cafes as a unique offering to accommodate guests looking for flexible workspace and refreshments. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Micro Workplace Cafe Concepts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/moments-by-lavazza-professional.md) - [Stock Market-Themed Bars](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-sauga-bar-xchange.md) - [Daytime Coffee Mixers](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/the-coffee-party.md) - [NFT-Funded Cafes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/coffee-bros.md) - [Fitness-Focused Coffee Shops](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fit-cafe.md) - [Home Security-Branded Cafes](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/neighbourgood-caf.md) - [Coffee-Wine Bar Hybrids](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/equal-parts.md) - [Upright Cafe Sleeping Pods](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/nescaf-harajuku.md) - [Year-Long Drink Subscriptions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/annual-unlimited-sip-club-membership.md)