Travel-weary passengers wanting to kick back and nap at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport now have a space to do so — as long as napping is all they do.
With a promise that the Minute Suites won't become bump n' grind rooms, a City Council committee gave the "OK" Wednesday for 29 "extended-stay" suites in O'Hare, reports the Sun-Times.
(Scroll down for photos of the Minute Suites.)
The room additions are part of a plan to add $5.6 million in new annual revenue to the city's coffers. The Tribune reports nine other deals proposed to the City Council include a spa and massage space and beefing up the presence of chain stores.
According to NBC Chicago, the "Extended-Stay" suites at O'Hare will be cozy efficiency-style rooms stuffed with a daybed sofa, a TV and a workstation with an Internet-ready computer. The 29 suites are a compact 62 square feet and range in price from $30 an hour to $120 a night for travelers in by 11 p.m. and out by 7 a.m.
While clean sheets and a room of one's own are a godsend for travelers stuck on a layover, the availability of rent-by-the-hour rooms weren't without concerns: primarily, terrorism and prostitution.
“The commissioner has guaranteed us that we won’t turn O’Hare into the No-Tell Motel,” said Aviation Committee Chairman Mike Zalewski (23rd) according to the Sun-Times.
Apparently disregarding a long history of office-based plots for adult films, Minute Suites CEO Daniel Solomon told the Sun-Times the rooms are designed “very much like an office suite” and are not appropriate for sexual liaisons.
Mayoral spokesman Tom Alexander chimed in to say, "We will work diligently in preventing illegal behavior, as we do throughout the airport."
Minute Suites have already set up in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.
