ROUPERTS View On…

AIRPORT DELAYS

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This past spring I visited Rome and as always leaving Italy is difficult. Well, be careful what you wish for…

My friends and I were waiting at the gate ready to fly back to Amsterdam. A half hour earlier we overheard something about ash shooting out of a volcano in Iceland. We understood certain flights had been cancelled and that Northern European airspace was not in full swing. After finally obtaining information on the flight status, we immediately realized our sole destination was downtown Rome. My wish was the volcano’s command.

I’m sure you remember images of near helpless airline employees desperately trying to comfort stranded passengers, rows of improvised sleeping areas, fully booked hotels, suffocating train stations etc. Maybe some of you were in the midst of the chaos too. Luckily companies such as Dream & Fly are launching concepts that might help ease the prospect of a delay and improve efficiency and comfort when travelling.

Dream & Fly has developed a concept targeted at travellers in transit and – at the time of this writing – is currently in the pre-implementation phase with two international companies. The concept is based around a modular unit: Bubble. The bubble is a small luxury hotel room – varying from 5m² to 10m² and bookable by the hour – fully equipped with bathroom, bedroom and modern technological necessities. The units can be implemented individually or as a conglomerate structure, i.e. a micro hotel.

Theoretically, this bubble would have helped my friends and I during our delay. We would’ve been able to stay at the airport and not have the hassle of finding a taxi to downtown Rome amidst tens of other passengers and ringing every single hotel reception bell desperately asking if they have rooms available. Staying in Rome as opposed to a hotel room at the airport did however give us a chance to further explore the city. Besides, our delay lasted three days, not just a few hours.

Dream & Fly isn’t alone. Yotel offers a similar hotel concept and launched a few years ago in the UK and the Netherlands. Furthermore, the general concept of mini hotel rooms dates back to 1979 when the Japanese invented the capsule hotel. Competition is healthy and will hopefully continue to drive innovation in the travel and lodging industry.

Although I believe there would not have been sufficient bubbles to cater to the meltdown in the spring of 2010, Dream & Fly has definitely tapped into a growing market. Certainly business travellers should be eager to welcome the bubbles. And quite frankly, I can’t wait to try one out!

As for my friends and I, we thoroughly enjoyed our adventure in Rome. We managed to book an apartment near the city centre and the culinary treats and sunshine were most accommodating during our prolonged vacation. Mille grazie Roma!