Millions of people travel every day. Orlando International Airport is the 13th busiest airport in The United States, and the 31st busiest in the world. People traveling through this airport are not able to make effective use of their time. Particularly business people with long layovers. The environment in the airport is too noisy, public and uncomfortable. They are not able to get work done or sleep. Many people arrive at their destination behind on their work or sleep.
Currently if someone in the airport needs to do work, they try to get these things done in a few ways. Some people set their computer up on their laps, and maybe put in headphones to drown out the noise. This is still noisy, as one needs to have their volume up in their headphones in order to drown out the noise. If making phone calls is an important part of their work, there is frequently a lot of background noise, which interferes with these conversations or prevents them altogether.
Some travelers look for a bar or restaurant so they have a surface to work on. In this instance they are paying for the convenience of a surface, as they have to buy food and drink in order to use the restaurant. This also adds the complication of having food and drink on your surface where you are trying to work.
In both of these circumstances, finding space near an outlet is a problem that people face. Sometimes they end up sitting on the floor or in corners, or asking other people to share their space.
When it comes to sleep, there are issues of comfort, security, privacy and quiet. People generally try to find a comfortable position to sleep on the chairs in the gate while they wait for their flight. There are several people around, and they have to find creative ways to hold their luggage while sleeping. There are frequently many people around making the environment loud. It is bright, there are no pillows or blankets, and little opportunity to get horizontal. It is not uncommon, depending on the time of day/ night, to see people sleeping on the floor, using backpacks, purses or suitcases as their pillow, and jackets as their blankets.
The Orlando International Airport Hyatt Regency Hotel has something called Day Use Rooms aimed at satisfying this need. However, they fall short in that they are only available from 10am to 6pm. This leaves 16 hours per day when travelers through Orlando International Airport are not able to get any privacy, comfort or quiet.
I would propose the introduction of private rooms, rentable by the hour, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These rooms would be available only for single occupancy rented for $40 per hour. The idea of off peak pricing might help generate additional income that might otherwise be lost during hours when customers are less likely to need sleep.
The rooms would be furnished with outlets for devices, a small television, a twin sized bed, and adjustable lighting. This would be a place a traveler could sleep for a period of an hour to a few hours. It can also be used to make phone calls, or just relax in peace and quiet.
There would be optional luggage storage available, as well as accessories, such as extra blankets, pillows, earplugs, eye masks. Additional services would be available to make this product more accessible, such as shuttle service to and from their gates, and wake up calls to help them make sure they get to their flight on time. Customers will be kept informed of any changes, such as delays, in their flight schedule.
Facilities like this exist in other cities in The United States, such as Atlanta and Philadelphia. The primary customer for this product is the business traveler. It is particularly popular for layovers, more than for time before flights. It is more likely that customers will use this product at night, rather than during the day, as it is used more for sleep than work and privacy. However it is sometimes used for work and privacy.
It is important that this facility be located near one of the busier gates. The shuttle service will help make this more accessible to travelers through other gates who might still need the amenities offered. It would be beneficial if this product could be offered through travel websites or travel agents, so the customer is aware of it at the time they become aware of their need (for instance, a long layover or a late night flight). This way the customer does not have to take their time at the airport searching for a way to fill their time, or sleep or work. The whole point is to make efficient use of time.
To continue the success of this business, it will be important to constantly examine the experiences and feedback of our customers. It will be important to keep track of travel trends, including security and the reduction of business travel enabled by the internet.
An alliance with a credit card company or airline could be strategic. If this product could be purchased with reward points or “miles”, this would increase traffic, as many business travelers use these reward systems as an integral part of paying for their travel.
Another way to grow the business moving forward could be to expand to families. Especially considering the city of Orlando, and the mass appeal to families. Parents frequently get overwhelmed with their children in the environment of the airport, and children are on different sleep schedules, sometimes needing to sleep in the middle of the day. If this product could be offered to families who need a place for their children to sleep, or even just calm down, this could be a smart new market to approach.
The feedback I received was mostly positive, the only suggestion that I used to update my Venture Concept was the idea that there is not a lot of space available in the airport, so I considered how I can make the Venture generate a bit more revenue to remain competitive with other vendors near the gate in the airport. This brought me to the idea of off peak pricing, particularly to compete with the other product available at the airport Hyatt.
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