  For many years researchers have tried to glean hints about quantum gravity
from black hole thermodynamics. However, black hole thermodynamics suffers from
the problem of Universality --- at leading order, several approaches with
different microscopic degrees of freedom lead to Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. We
attempt to bypass this issue by using a minimal statistical mechanical model
for the horizon fluid based on Damour-Navier-Stokes (DNS) equation. For
stationary asymptotically flat black hole spacetimes in General Relativity, we
show explicitly that at equilibrium the entropy of the horizon fluid is the
Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. Further we show that, for the bulk viscosity of the
fluctuations of the horizon fluid to be identical to Damour, a confinement
scale exists for these fluctuations, implying quantization of the horizon area.
The implications and possible mechanisms from the fluid point of view are
discussed.
