They Rent By the Hour – Rooms for Rent at the Airport

The New York Times reported today on Minute Suites, a company which began providing small rooms for rent at Philadelphia International Airport in March, and has bee

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n serving Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport since 2009.

The company has already served 18,000 customers, 24 percent of them repeat business. The rates are simple. Thirty dollars an hour, seven dollars and fifty cents for each 15 minutes thereafter. A fifteen percent discount for four hours or more, twenty-five percent for eight hours or more, and a special discount rate for pilots, airline employees, and military personnel.

“Each suite comes equipped with a comfortable daybed sofa, pillows and fresh blankets. A sound masking system within each suite helps neutralize noise and a unique Nap26 audio program is available to help deliver a refreshing powernap. Guests can use the alarm clock in the suite or request a wake-up call. 

The HDTV in each suite can be used to view the news, sports, or a favorite show. With a simple click on the remote control, the television converts to a computer with access to the Internet and the airport’s flight tracking system.

A desk, phone, and office chair provide guests with a functional workstation. Laptop users can connect with the internet using airport WiFi or a direct connection port. Alternatively, guests can use the suite’s computer and wireless keyboard/mouse as their gateway to a variety of browsers and business applications.”

Sounds good to us. At Atlanta, they offer 5 suites, and at Philadelphia 13, according to their site. This means you may, in a disruption, be hard-pressed to get space. There are also no restrooms or shower facilities, but you can use the terminal restrooms. This would also be something, at many airports, that people would pay for. A place to freshen up and change after a long overnight flight.

This idea may be rare in the United States, but several companies overseas are offering similar service. The service makes particular sense at airports where passengers may be subject to long layovers, as opposed to point to point traffic, but there are numerous possibilities. At the least, they offer a contrast to airline lounges, which has become more crowded as airlines have started promoting day passes and other options.

Related articles

• Is It a Dream? A Place to Nap at the Airport (nytimes.com)