danielonn

I was thinking to open up airport lounges throughout the world called Suite Dreams and take the Embassy Suites approach but make it upscale. Every suite(for stays from 4-24 hours) would have a large jacuzzi tub, one large King, Queen Bed or Two Doubles, a living room with a sofa bed, two plasma tvs, two telephones, a large writing desk, a minibar filled with complimentary snacks and drinks. For those staying under 4 hours a mini room with lie-flat sleeper airline seats by Recaro would be available. There would be a buffet bar for all times of the day so for breakfast you can have a cooked to order breakfast, cooked to order lunch or a cooked to order dinner. There would be GrabnGo snacks which would include a box where you can choose what you want. Also I would have GrabnGo meals for the airplane trip.

Every evening from 5-11 there would be a happy hour with free alcohol and appetizers.

In the lounge area I would have personal AVOD tv sysms with a lot o f MP3s, Movies , Video Games and more in small rooms. There would be a coffe bar serving fancy drinks and Bailey's Coffee.

There would also be a soda fountain to get your non-alcoholic drinks. At special times of the day there would be programs for kids and teens. In the recreation room there would be a pool table.

If room permits I may add a mini fitness center and spa.

I would charge $150 for a room or $50 for lounge access only( for $10 more you can use a shower in the lounge). The $80 lounge includes 2 guests and for an additional $15 more you can bring in more unless they are under 12. Most lounges would be 24 hours so the $150 allows you to use the room for a 24 hour period. Students/ Seniors and Auto Club members get 10 percent off. You can also just pay for the lounge access which includes meals and snacks.

The main revenue would come from people joining as members for $5,000 dollars for up to 4 guests, $2500 for 2 guest and $950 for a single guest. We will also offer a Business Center, Online Check-in kiosks and all the tv monitors will show flight status info along with personalized info for each guest's flights.

So you don[t have to clear security to sleep in comfort. We would offer freshly baked cookies and other goodies for special occasions. So if airlines booked you on an overnight itinerary you would be able to come to a 24 hour secured area. Airline lounges close at 11 and we would be open around the clock.

If you only stay 4 hours we would charge $40 for up t2 guests and for $15 you can bring in more

I would charge extra for massage, spa treatment and VIP transportation to your gate.

This would be a dream since there are people who are not part of an airline lounge. I would offer an annual membership of $4,000

The Suites are in an occupancy for 4.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciative. At least it's a neat dream and possibly could make money. Maybe I need to up the prices(:

worldwidedreamer

Your idea sounds a cross between an airport Hilton and a traditional airline lounge. I don't think there is really a business case, but keep on dreaming.

kkjay77

Just make sure the lounge is exactly same as "The Wing" at HKG or VS CH at LHR, and you'll get my $950.

Will you serve Dom Perignon a la SKL?

BearX220

This is kind of Laptop Lane for human beings, right? Interesting idea.

In most airports it would not pay you to be open around the clock. There is a need for a "layover zone" where a traveler can sleep for a few hours between connections, but not a huge need for overnight stays. And I think there might be security / airport management issues running a big overnight hotel operation airside; there's a reason airline lounges close at night.

What locations do you have in mind?

I think in many airports you would have difficulty finding sufficient retail square footage airside to open what amounts to a hotel.

Many of the world's key hub airports are subdivided into terminals (JFK, LHR, NRT, etc.) with their own security zones. You cannot pass from one terminal to another without exiting security. Since a main point of your proposition is to offer people some hotel-type benefits without the security-checkpoint hassle, how do you serve members who happen to be in a different terminal from yours? Where would you situate Suite Dreams at JFK, for example?

I see a cost basis / revenue squeeze here. If you could find enough floorspace off a concourse post-security, the rent could be too high for you to make it at your proposed price point. And I think a $5,000 annual membership is too high when a person can either buy an airline lounge membership for $300 or $400 a year, or go to a landside hotel for $100 or $200 per visit. For a $5,000 price point to have any chance of sticking you would have to do a "big bang" opening with a bunch of locations around the world up and running all at once -- nobody will pay that sum if you only have one or two locations open, and it's going to be hard for you to organize and finance 15 or 20 locations simultaneously.

The higher the price point, the more amenities members will expect gratis -- I don't think you will be able to charge extra for "VIP transportation to your gate" (what is that, a golf cart ride?), although spa treatments might work. Then again having spa people and facilities in your space only runs up your overhead costs further.

I do see an opening for a scaled-down version of your idea, though. At Heathrow BA has (or used to have; it's been a couple of years) lounges that included a section with Recaro-type recliners behind partitions; people doing long-haul connections can nap there and an attendant will come and wake them when their onward flight is boarding. I've always wondered why a similar oasis wasn't available at US hubs on a pay-as-you-go basis. More like a cube farm than a hotel but cheaper to install and probably cheaper for customers to get into.

Gargoyle

Interesting idea, but needs some refining. Why two telephones? Would any significant portion of your clientele not have a cell phone? Yes, one telephone, like in a hotel, to call the front desk, room service, wake-up calls, etc., but not two.

You do need high speed internet- wifi and ethernet. Also recharging ports which will connect to all major cell phones, laptops, PDA's, ipods, etc.

IIRC, doesn't NRT have little sleeping rooms for rent?