saneman

I am embarking on a long journey and I saw another toilet topic that raised my curiosity. I am very nitpicky about public toilets and no way I could go #2 in an airplane toilet unless I have no way of holding it in. (So far I have been so lucky that my bowels have remarkably been cooperative even on long journeys). I wonder if there is a market for premium public toilets for travelers. Not everyone has access to a frequent flyer lounge.

I would be willing to
1) Pay $25 for an inflight toilet that is a little more spacious and clean. I wonder if there is enough revenue from such a deal to pay a little bit extra bonus to the inflight attendant stuck cleaning that toilet and the seat revenue lost from the presence of a spacious toilet. I am also guessing that having to pay for it means you will also be more likely to not leave as much of a mess because you do not want to be embarassed when the FA has to clean it after your use.
2) Pay $10 for a clean private toilet at an airport with decent public toilets. If it is third world, I would pay even higher. As much as $25 if I have to if they can give us a western style clean private toilet with a good vent system so that we are not stuck with the previous customer's odors.

MoreMilesPlease

No to all the above. But I don't have any toileting issues and have used toilets all over the world. One was even located in a broom closet that was a squat with the requisite hose and bucket. I managed to live through it and learned about another culture all at the same time.

MissJoeyDFW

In a word, no.

etali

Perhaps I've been lucky, but I've not encountered an airport/airplane toilet that was particularly disgusting. If anything, the toilets in shopping malls and pubs in my local area are dirtier, and are more likely to be unflushed, have full bins, or be missing toilet paper.

I don't like the thought of a fee for clean toilets. If they put prices up a tiny bit in order to provide decent service, fine, but clean toilets should be the default for everyone using the service in my opinion.

goalie

And with that, there is this website

http://www.sitorsquat.com/

And yes, there's an app for that, too

http://www.sitorsquat.com/mobile/index/

vmsea

A clean toilet in the public is sort of hard to expect.. Thankfully #2 is rare when I'm ON a flight.. but in airports they've mostly been pretty manageable.

You can try hitting the bathroom before leaving for airports?
thus staying to #1 only?

exbayern

On board an aircraft? No.

But I already pay to pee, and I am fine with that in many places.

In Germany Sanifair does many of the Autobahn reststops, and one pays 0,50 to 0,70 cents. The receipt can then be used as a discount off a purchase of a snack, meal, etc (albeit at rather higher than usual prices) I may be lucky but often when I am purchasing something someone comes over and drops their receipt onto my tray, or offers it to me.

In return one has a toilet stall with an automated cleaning system after each use, and an attendant who checks regularly. In train stations McClean is similar, and the attendant tries to check after each person uses it.

Rome Termini station is pay to pee, and they have fabulous bathrooms, complete with hairdryers.

I contrast that to the often extremely filthy bathrooms I find in the US, where I believe that pay to pee is generally unheard of. Some of the worst for filthy toilets and sinks etc are at Target, and the Disney parks in the US (which claim to have a high level of cleanliness)

On the flip side, I have toileted in very remote places around the world, in the dark, with no paper, over a hole or even more primative. I don't have issues with that, but given a choice, I'll take the extremely clean bathrooms I find in parts of Europe.

But again, I don't agree with pay to pee on board an aircraft. What I would like however is for the men who seem to always pee before me to at least put down the seat, if they cannot manage to close the lid, in an airplane bathroom. (Seriously, do people like the smell of that blue odour suppressor? Close the lid before flushing to avoid that scent)

emma69

I am generally ok with most airplane / airport loos - the ones I cannot stomach, as in, I will actually throw up, are porta-potties. If I have to use one (and thankfully, it is very very infrequent, the only time in the last year was at an outdoor race) I will also throw up - not pleasant for anyone. There is just something about them, no matter how clean, that sets off my gag reflex - I guess I have experienced some pretty bad ones and the image stuck!

I would far far far rather find a nice secluded bush somewhere than use a porta potty, alas at running events etc there really isn't the necessary solitude!

clacko

might be a new revenue source for airlines!.....maybe $50 in flight or $35/entry in advance...

cordelli

$25 for a toilet? Not a chance.

doctor15

I definitely would not pay extra just for a toliet on board or at an airport when they are already reasonable facilities available.

I would, however, gladly pay a buck or two for a clean public toilet in city centers, as another poster mention is comment in europe

cheltzel

You can get the premium toilet by flying a better class of airline. I found the business class toilets on OZ to be spotlessly clean during an entire 14 hour TPAC flight.

A nicer than average 772 restroom, nicely appointed and always very, very clean.

dcpatti

I will-- and have, many times-- pay more for a hotel room with a really nice bathroom, but that's the whole thing, not just a toilet. If I'm paying more, I want a nice soaking tub or jacuzzi; I basically want a reason to enjoy being in the bathroom, and not just a place to do my business.

I do not mind paying for a public toilet in countries where that is the norm, but I really dislike it in countries where that's not the norm. In Europe, I'm happy to add my coins (spend a penny to spend a penny, and all). In the US, pay toilets REALLY irritate me.

I will not, however, pay a premium for a "premium" toilet. It's a toilet. I'm going to spend 3 minutes in there in most cases, and while I've seen some really nasty bathrooms, I can guarantee you there's not a bathroom in the world that is SO nasty that I'd rather wet my britches than use it. If I really gotta go, and there's no other choice, I'll roll up my pants legs, cover every surface in tissue, and hover as long as I need to.

One of the worst bathrooms I have ever seen was the Ladies' Room at my old job, on the floor where the Office of the General Counsel was. I was working for the Feds and let me tell you, there were some seriously angry women working there, judging from how they managed to pee practically on the ceiling. These are for the most part middle-aged women (read: old enough to know better) working solid, high-paying government jobs that they couldn't get without a minimum college degree and more like a J.D. and there's nasty stuff on the stall walls, paper and wet patches all over the floors, I felt like I needed some sort of vaccine just to go in there. I see similar behavior in ladies' rooms in airports all over the world, and have seen some real shockers in malls/stores/lower-end restaurants, but that office really took the prize.

By comparison, the most surprisingly nice public toilet I have ever seen was at a "rest area" in Rhyolite, NV, which is a proper ghost town about 2 hours outside of Vegas. I mean real abandonned ruined town when I say "ghost town." The toilets were not at all posh--- not even running water but rather a chemical toilet and some hand sanitizer--- but I had been expecting to see a frightshow and found instead a perfectly clean, well-kept, well-cared-for toilet, no funny odors, no debris, and cleaner than many airport bathrooms I've seen.

nycboy

A clean toilet in the public is sort of hard to expect.. Thankfully #2 is rare when I'm ON a flight.. but in airports they've mostly been pretty manageable.

exbayern

That isn't the case everywhere. There are many places where I can have an expectation of a clean public toilet, and find one.