Ikea Pleads With Teen Pranksters: Stop Sleeping Over In Our Stores

It all began with a viral video, "Two Idiots at Night in Ikea."

It started as a goofy prank by a pair of Belgian teenagers who stayed overnight in an Ikea store, recording themselves reading a bedtime story and sleeping in a furniture-display bed, and racked up 2 million YouTube hits. Now it’s become a trend and the home furnishings company isn’t laughing.

There have been “stealth sleepovers” at Ikea stores in the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Australia and Poland this year, an Ikea spokeswoman told The Associated Press. A pair of Brits who were nabbed by a security guard after just a few hours garnered 2.3 million views for their video.

These operations take planning, requiring snacks and schemes for hiding out (often in wardrobes) to escape detection until a store is locked down for the night.

“We appreciate that people are interested in Ikea and want to create fun experiences,” an Ikea spokesperson told the BBC. “However, the safety and security of our co-workers and customers is our highest priority and that’s why we do not allow sleepovers in our stores.”

The company is taking the exploits “seriously” because management can’t guarantee the safety of those involved, the spokeswoman told AP. She also insisted that the fun is “overrated” and warned that trespassers risk arrest.

Florian Van Hecke and Bram Geirnaert sparked the craze in August with an astonishingly entertaining video called “Two Idiots at Night in Ikea.” It begins with a meatball dinner at a Belgian Ikea store and records their nervousness as they dodge store personnel and whisper about the attributes of the various beds. “This bed is pure heaven. Really, it’s great,” says Geirnaert before he curls up with a bedtime book. They hide again in a wardrobe and sneak out after the store reopens.

“My best friend and I love to push the limits. We do not accept status quo. Life is about building experiences and memories,” the duo say in their video’s description on YouTube. “There is a quote that says: ‘Do not regret what you have done, regret what you have not done in your life.’ Life is one big youtube video.”

It was “one hell of an adventure,” Van Hecke told The Washington Post. But he added, “We were very relieved and glad they wouldn’t sue us. We don’t want to have trouble with Ikea.”

The stealth sleepovers haven’t been confined solely to Ikea, which owns nearly 400 stores in almost 50 nations. Teens have also posted video of sleepover attempts at McDonald’s, zoos, Wembley Stadium, Costco, theme parks and a shopping mall — among other spots.

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