Yotel Makes Long Lay-Overs a Dream

Filed in archive En Route on December 18, 2007

Yotel. It sounds like some sort of toy. Or perhaps a hotel that tried (and failed) to bring some urban culture to itself by changing its name.

Nope.

Yotel is a hotel, but it owes more to Japan's creative use of space than to Snoop Dog's diction. The first Yotels opened recently in London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports. The rooms, descried as capsules, are small, but boast a bed, shower, and desk. Doesn't sound overly comfortable, but the idea is interesting.

Yotel's founder, Simon Woodruffe, explains the inspiration behind bringing capsule hotels, popular in Japan, to the West.

"I was lucky enough to get an upgrade to the sleeper bed in British Airways first class. I went to sleep with the conundrum of how to make a Japanese capsule hotel acceptable in the west and woke up realizing the solution was around me: all I needed to do was find the designer of the BA first class cabin and ask them to help me design a hotel."

Most of Yotel's customers are those on extended layovers, seeking some much needed rest from a long haul commute. The rates are figured by hour, so customers don't have to feel like they are losing money by checking in to a conventional hotel for a two-hour nap and a shower.

Yotel offers everything a regular hotel would, including room service. The rooms measure about 7 meters squared, so if you need to blow off some steam by jumping rope or break dancing, Yotel probably isn't for you. But if you are like most travelers who just wish they had a place to get off their feet for a few hours, Yotel could be a godsend.

At the very least, it's an interesting idea that is not out of anyone's price range.