What to do during your Stop-over
 

Hello travelers,

I'm working on a business idea which will help you to spend time in a fun and active way during your stop-overs!

I have few quick questions for you ;)
What do you do during your stop-overs?
How long are they? How often are you in stop-over?
Anything you would like to find in the transit area to kill the waiting time?

I hope to receive some tips from you ;)

Palombae ;)

I stopped over in Dubai for 2 days and explored the town.
I stopped over in Iceland for 2 days and did the Blue Lagoon and drove the Golden Circle
I stopped over in Istanbul for 36 hours and walked the city.

Unless there's a night stay, that I've planned, I stay in the airport, listening to music, catching up on email, browsing/catching up on news/FT/etc.

would you like to find activities or in general things to do if you had about 5 hours to wait? not full days!

Can you be a bit more specific about your business proposition? Specifically, what do you expect to be offering? Deep sea fishing excursions? Museum tours? Open-top bus rides? Speed dating with strangers at a nearby restaurant?

Had 8-hour stopover at AMS; took my teenage daughter to Anne Frank's House.

With 5 hours I find a comfortable place to hang out in the airport. It's not worth trying to go somewhere else.

What do you do during your stop-overs?

Depends how long it is. I may be running like Usain Bolt to make another flight, or I could be staying in a hotel to sleep over night. Mostly I have just enough time to walk to the connection at a leisurely pace.

How long are they? How often are you in stop-over?

It seems that these days more and more, and with pretty tight connections at the 30 to 45 minute mark. I used to fly ONLY direct because my route made it easy..but these days I am going to stranger and more far flung places.

Anything you would like to find in the transit area to kill the waiting time?


The lounges seem to take care of most of my needs. I can take a shower and have a nice drink, along with some food, electrical charging and reading material. Although I wouldn't mind seeing more smoking areas in many airports!

Hello :)

What I mean with activities is the possibility to have fitness facilities in the transit area for when you take "short" stopover of about 5 or 6 hours

Thank you

would you like to find something to do? like a gym or some fitness facilities?

Where will you be building a fitness facility in an airport? Do you have experience in this? Who will be funding you? Is this an idea or do you have a serious business plan.

I can tell you that most of the airports I transit have very high retail rents. I think you'd get people interested, but you would have to invest a lot of money upfront for a significant area including the various fitness facilities as well as showers and changing rooms, etc.

Anything more than 6 hours, I get out of the airport into whatever city I'm in. But, yes, a well equipped fitness facility (not just with cardio, but also with weightlifting equipment) would be nice. However, knowing typical airport prices for other items, I'm guessing you'd have to charge more than $10 for using the fitness facility, which is typically where I draw the line.

FYI, stopover = 24+ hours, layover (what I think you meant to ask about) = <24 hours

I'm working on this business idea as a master assignment that will be brought to reality once the master is over and in the mean time we are making all the researches.

If you have any advise or suggestion please write me your email and I will be happy to write to you for more details ;)

Thank you

If you can come up with a product or service that someone is willing to pay for, and make a profit, then go for it!

Of course it's gong to be something no one else has thought of. If it were obvious, everyone would already be doing it.

I get the idea. Not sure if the 5 hour window is a strong target, though. How did you arrive at that time frame - studies, or just an experience? I think most layovers tend to either be just an hour or two, or longer, such as 7+ hours. I am sure there are some, but I would do a study to make sure you are targeting the right timeframe. Assuming you are looking at international layovers, I think you need to study particularly the specific airline, airport, and passengers who would be traveling through. People may not want to have to dig through their luggage for gym clothes, or have to deal with taking a shower. conversely, maybe low stress active exercise might might be ideal for some.

Are you looking for idea in general or specifically related to exercise? I almost never have a long layover, when I do and am not leaving the airport, I would walk around and look at planes, check out shops, have a leisurely meal. On the other hand, if I have lounge access I tend to be captive there. Perhaps an expanded lounge - one that is more than drinks and food, would be ideal. Shopping, video games, a comfortable place to lie down and watch TV or a movie. Keep in mind though that many people who would use a lounge will also likely have hand luggage they are taking with them, so they have to have a place for that.

I think the OP needs to look up the difference between a layover and a stopover. If I have a long layover I usually just want a quiet place to relax, recharge my phone, check emails and have a bite to eat.