Renting by the Hour

Here is a relatively new take on accommodation that I think has legs. Isabelle’s Travel Guide: Yotel Review

You know that feeling when you step out of the plane after a long flight, usually an overnight one where you hardly slept a wink, the only thing you can think of is a hot shower and a comfortable bed. The creator of Yotel must have had the same thoughts when he started his hotel concept. It`s an interesting concept, where else can you book a room for a couple of hours, early in the morning or in the middle of the day?

Renting a hotel room by the hour is nothing new, but this is a classed up version that sheds off the stigma typically associated with hourly rentals.

According to Yotel’s website:

Our airport hotels are situated inside terminal buildings to give customers the ultimate experience of being minutes from departure and arrivals gates. Cabins are bookable by the hour with check in and check out times totally flexible.

They have airport hotels in the London Gatwick South Terminal, London Heathrow Terminal 4, and Amsterdam Schiphol airport. They also have a city center hotel two blocks west of Times Square in New York.

This seems like a great idea if you can manage to get the space inside an airport terminal. Would the traffic through your city’s airport(s) support this model? I would imagine that the administrators at most airports would be all for it. From a copy-cat perspective it would probably be a lot more affordable to open something like this in/near train and bus stations, but it might be difficult to prevent them from becoming hotspots for prostitutes and drug addicts. On the other hand, Lisbon Destination Hostel is inside a train station, and they don't seem to have any trouble maintaining a great clientele.

What do you think? Are we going to see more of these springing up around the world?