There is nothing quite like the panic of needing a restroom in a busy city, only to be met with locked doors and strict “Customers Only” signs. At CES 2026, Floyd Freeman, co-founder of Boulder, Colorado-based Flush Locks, explains how he and his team are turning this urban friction point into a revenue opportunity for business owners and cities alike.
Beyond Access: A Marketplace for Clean Facilities
Traditionally, restaurants and shops lock their doors to non-paying visitors to control maintenance costs and foot traffic. Flush Locks shifts this paradigm by installing an automated smart lock system, allowing venue operators to offer a “pay-per-flush” model via a quick credit card tap.
The core business model relies on a zero-friction, revenue-split setup:
- Hardware & Maintenance: Flush Locks supplies and installs the hardware at no upfront cost, handling ongoing technical support and replacements.
- Direct Payment Splits: By partnering with a dedicated processing provider, revenue generated from each door tap is instantly split between Flush Locks and the property owner.
- Dynamic Pricing: Venue operators set and adjust pricing dynamically. Rates can scale from, say, $1 during quiet midweek hours to, for instance, $5 during high-traffic urban events like New Year’s Eve in New York or Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
- Existing Customer Retention: Merchants can still grant paying patrons free access using local passcodes or keyfobs.
Building the “Laundromat of Restrooms”
What makes Flush Locks particularly interesting is its ambition to create a full-fledged marketplace around public facilities through its companion app. Beyond simply unlocking a door, the mobile app provides location mapping, up-front pricing, real-time availability, and detailed facility ratings. Users can filter for specific amenities, such as baby changing stations, ADA compliance, or premium cleanliness levels.
This data-driven approach opens compelling possibilities for public infrastructure and private ventures:
- Municipal Micro-Revenue: Cities like Las Vegas could deploy smart restroom pods along high-density corridors like the Strip, using the direct tap revenue to fund dedicated maintenance crews and keep public spaces hygienic.
- Dedicated Micro-Businesses: Entrepreneurs in high-foot-traffic areas could establish dedicated “restroom laundromats”—standalone multi-stall facilities operating purely on a pay-per-use model.
Rapid Growth from Personal Necessity
The concept was born out of everyday necessity when Freeman and his wife found themselves forced to buy a beverage just to acquire a bathroom door code for a diaper change. Founded in June 2025, the team filed for global patent protections in July and fast-tracked engineering to unveil their functional concept lock at CES2026.
With initial customer commitments secured and installation rolling out, Flush Locks is positioning itself to address a fundamental human need through smart IoT locks and dynamic pricing. Learn more about their rollout at paidrestrooms.com.
This content is AI-generated, but edited and orchestrated by Ken Pyle.