$30 an hour may be a small price to pay for privacy, comfort
Posted on | December 13, 2009 | No Comments
When I travel, one of the things I build into the budget is self-care. This can take several forms, of course. Often it is as simple as making sure I have enough time between flights for a small frozen yogurt or a beer. Not the healthiest option, of course, but if it helps me to stay sane and calm during the sensory overload that is modern travel, I think its worth it (and probably so do the people that don’t have to deal with my being crabby).
Lately, self-care has gotten a tad more elaborate. Several airports now have several spots for massage in their terminals, and I have been making a point to try them out. There is a wide range of service and quality, but on the whole the staffs of these places are competent and the prices are reasonable. After being cramped in a small bulkhead of an Embraer jet, a few minutes of tender loving care to get my blood flowing again is a welcome investment in health and sanity (and non-crabbiness).
I just came across this recent article in USA Today Online describing the five small sleeping cubicles that have recently been opened in Atlanta’s Hartsfield International. The rooms, run by Minute Suites, are charging $30 per hour for (it is claimed) a quiet and comfortable private cubicle for rest and uninterrupted work, featuring HDTV, a telephone, music, and even a “power nap program” designed to guide you to optimal refreshment in minimal time. Reservations can be made online.
There are already similar services in European and Asian airports. If the venture at Hartsfield “takes off,” there are plans in the works to add San Francisco in the near future, with other domestic locations to follow.
I haven’t connected through Hartsfield in a while, so I have not had a chance to try this out myself (though I might the next time the layover is long enough to work in both the Minute Suite and a massage). Has anyone out there reading this used this service, or one like it? Please leave a comment to tell us how your experience was.
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