Inventing Night Flight Hotels
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008Every time that I have had to spend a night in an international airport, I wish so hard that somebody would get around to building an hourly-rate bed and shower facility right inside the secure portion of the airport for those travelers with ongoing tickets. I has finally happened in the Tokyo airport and it’s called a Transit Hotel, so, hopefully, the plan will spread. My stopover there was too brief and I wasn’t allowed to go in and find out how they had set it up, because my ticket showed a plane change, not a layover, and they tightly control access for the protection of the sleeping guests. However, just learning that such a thing exists was like having a dream come true.
It was in the early 1990’s, when I was traveling frequently to the Soviet Union, that I realized what a boon it would be to have a spot to clean up and rest after completing an overseas flight to Europe and then waiting, sometimes many hours, for a continuing flight to my destination. Just the need to lie down and stretch out was overwhelming. Japan had, even then, pioneered in that respect and I remember reading an article about little mattress cubby holes there, that you could rent for a few hours sleep. But, it sounded as if you had to crawl in when the last user crawled out and that didn’t sound too attractive. Still, it was better than the floor, which I have resorted to on some occasions.
Yes, of course, there are the expensive airport hotels, often attached conveniently to the terminal, and I have used them sometimes, out of desperation. But, if I have under six hours to a layover, it’s a great extravagance to pay $150 or more for a shower and a nap. What I picture, in my Night Flight Hotels is something much more basic. Ideally, it would be placed within the secure international region of the terminal, serving travelers waiting between flights or for early arrivals on an outgoing flight. Pods containing a number of sleeping units could be tucked around in various parts of the airport, if necessary; because built-in Pullman-type beds, with wrap-around surrounding amenities – alarm clock, light, phone, mini-bar, etc. – to serve each sleeper, would be all that is necessary, rather than entire rooms for each renter. A hallway would lead to men and women’s shower/bathrooms. Entry, security, and silence would be controlled by an employee at a manned desk and maids would change sheets, clean, and restock the unit upon checkout. Guests with ongoing air tickets could rent hourly, say $6 per hour, and the service would be available 24/7.
Many travelers would pay well for a few hours sleep and a shower, and certainly during massive delays due to holiday crunch or weather problems, this service would prove invaluable and be in high demand. It would also be a lifesaver to business travelers with early appointments upon arrival in a foreign city, who have no time to get to their hotel before swinging into their business day. A shave, a change of clothes, even without a nap, can make a huge difference in your life.
A clean, simple, prefab design is all that is necessary. Not luxury. Something like this could be popped right into wasted terminal space……or alternatively, on a parking garage floor if no other space exists, though that requires leaving security. I know that this could be done, having eyeballed enough airports with this in mind. My point is, that it would not require new construction, as in building an airport hotel.
I’m really surprised that something like this is not already widely available. I have seen it provided in shopping malls, so that marathon shoppers can get a second wind and stick around longer, but we don’t have it in the airports of the world and that’s a crying shame. So, please someone, take this and run with it! The world needs it right now. Don’t you agree?
lindajbrown