Breakfast in bed, chocolate on the pillow and a divorce

When Elvis Presley's relationship ended he found solace at the end of Lonely Street at the Heartbreak Hotel, and it seems the UK will soon be getting its very own version of the heartbreak hotel.

The divorce hotel is the brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Jim Halfens and has been piloted in the Netherlands, with hopes to launch the programme in the UK early next year. Halfens also intends to open divorce hotels in the US, with plans for a fly-on-the-wall reality series apparently already in the pipeline.

So far, six high-end hotels in the Netherlands have signed up to be divorce hotels, with staff asked to take extra care of their potentially emotionally fragile guests.

Once the couple check into their separate rooms, they will work in a hotel suite with independent lawyers and mediators over the weekend to divide assets and emerge with divorce papers all ready to be signed by a judge to legalise the separation. According to its website, costs start at around ‚¬2,499 for the weekend.

The lawyers, which come as part of the divorce hotel package, are seemingly part of a fixed team. The size of this team, the degree of choice and the overall individual reputations of the lawyers which Halfens will presumably approach for the UK launch will be indicative of its success. As in any other divorce, couples want to know their solicitors have a strong track record and will be working with their best intentions at the heart of the negotiations. It will be interesting to see what effect cost pressures have on meeting these expectations.

Current divorce legislation will still stand under programmes like the divorce hotel, and providing the couple checks out with an agreement to a divorce, the paperwork will just need to be submitted to a court for approval.

Let's stay friends

This is an entirely new approach to divorce, which has long been played out in offices and across lengthy correspondences between warring parties. With the divorce rate rising for the first time in a decade, a fresh and rapid take on the process may be welcomed by the divorcing British population

There's no doubt the programme would speed things up, potentially be cheaper than protracted correspondence and ?certainly cheaper than litigation. In the ?current economic climate, this set price could ?also appeal to many considering entering into divorce proceedings, with the average UK divorce reportedly costing around £13,000.

But, as those in family law know, divorce is often a messy and emotionally fraught affair for all involved and needs to be handled sensitively by professionals.

A couple are divorcing precisely because they no longer want to spend weekends together, so alternating between dividing their family's assets and a soak in a hot tub would be many people's idea of hell. However, Jim Halfens has said he hopes a stay at one of his divorce hotels will ensure the couple emerge as friends and that he came up with the idea after seeing his friends suffering through messy divorces. The cynic in me suggests that the reality TV series with syndicated rights around the world and the prospect of multimillion pound royalties might have been a very small motivating factor for the altruistic Halfens.

But, if that is the case, and a couple can amicably agree to the division of assets over a weekend in such close quarters, a traditional collaborative or mediated approach would also work '“ avoiding the hotel stay altogether.

With celebrity divorces constantly splashed across the tabloids, there is a danger it is increasingly seen as a quick-fix to marriage problems. The launch of divorce hotels in the UK could add emphasis to this notion, giving off the message that ending a marriage can be done over a weekend.

For it to be a success, the idea also relies heavily on the idea that a high number of couples are keen to reach an agreement out of court. With only 17 couples using the service in the Netherlands so far, the scheme is still in its infancy.

Industry evolution

In a world that constantly demands faster and more efficient services, programmes like divorce hotels may be part of the natural evolution for the industry. Indeed, with the emergence of services like the divorce hotel, the advent of alternative business structures and the general liberalisation of the legal market, these types of innovations could become more commonplace. Pressures on the traditional hourly billing model are well documented and we are beginning to see more fixed-price alternatives being introduced to the market. My firm's employment practice offers retainer and fixed-fee based services.

However, for the vast majority of couples, divorce is seen as a last resort and one of the most difficult decisions of a lifetime. A 'one size fits all' approach to a process which is often very complex and can involve intricate tax and trust issues, for example, will simply not always work.

Elvis sang his Heartbreak Hotel was a place 'for broken-hearted lovers, to cry there in their gloom'. It is hoped divorce hotels will offer the opposite '“ a luxury stay and an amicable and friendly split with no tears involved. So, will the British public want to check in?

Jonathan West is head of family at Prolegal (www.prolegal.co.uk)