國外離婚慶祝業生意紅火

Hotel weekends

In the Netherlands, one company is hoping to help more couples celebrate their divorce - together.

The business in question is called Divorce Hotel, and here is how it works.

For a flat fee of about 4,000 euros ($5,000; ￡3,000), couples going through a divorce check into a hotel on a Friday. They then meet with a solicitor who acts as a mediator over the weekend, before checking out on Sunday - divorced.

The company is brainchild of former marketing man turned entrepreneur Jim Halfens, who thinks that going through a divorce should be quick, and not too expensive.

He came up with the idea after seeing a friend go through a tough divorce, and after time working for a legal firm.

Rather than owning hotels, Divorce Hotel has partnered up with six such establishments across the Netherlands, and one in New York. Mr Halfens now plans to expand to other countries.

"We are convinced that when couples decide to divorce they want to do it in a positive and decent way, not fight for years," he says.

After signing the divorce papers on the Sunday, Mr Halfens - who claims that the company has a 95% success rate - says that many couples drink champagne together to celebrate.

Yet for those divorces which are significantly more acrimonious, there is always the option of ultimately shooting up your wedding dress or tuxedo in Las Vegas.