Berlin brothel offers eco-friendly discount: Bike-riding customers pay less

Berlin is now home to Germany's first eco-friendly brothel, which offers discounts to customers who arrive by bicycle or public transport. Patrons who show a bus or tram ticket, or a bike helmet or padlock key as proof that they didn't drive, receive a 5-euro ($7.50) discount -- dropping the cost of a 30-minute tryst from 50 euros ($75) to 45 euros ($67). This kind of promotion "is something never seen before in this business in Berlin," brothel owner Thomas Goetz tells DailyFinance.

Goetz, who owns Maison d'Envie (House of Desire), hoped the promotion would boost business, which he says has been flaccid since the economic crisis began. Apparently, would-be customers have pared back discretionary spending in all areas, including sex. Goetz and his mother, Regina, who manages the business, bet that an environmentally friendly initiative would do the trick. "We have a problem with parking here, and it's better to come by tram, bicycle or foot," Regina Goetz explains. "And it's better for the environment."