Private nap spaces could be coming to O’Hare

Private nap spaces could be coming to O’Hare

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Weary travelers could soon be able to pay for a space to snooze at O’Hare International Airport.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel introduced a package of five-year lease agreements to City Council Thursday, and if approved, Minute Suites will be one of a handful of new specialty stores popping up at O’Hare.

Minute Suites rents private spaces complete with a sofa, pillows and blankets to airline travelers. Interested sleepy patrons can rent a room for around $30 for the first hour, with a incremental cost for every fifteen minutes after that.

Daniel Solomon, co-founder and CEO of Minute Suites, says O’Hare will be a prime location for their business.

“Chicago has a lot of delays,” Solomon said. “Couple that with weather, missed connections, thunderstorms — bad weather tends to be our best friend in terms of business. We know that affects people.”

O’Hare would be the company’s fourth location in the US. There are currently two shops in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the Philadelphia International Airport, and the company is scheduled to open a third location in Dallas Fort Worth this February. If approved, Minute Suites could be in the O’Hare airport by the end of 2013.

The lease agreements were introduced in City Council Thursday. Each retailer is guaranteed to bring in at least $5.6 million dollars, with annual percentage fees between 12 and 19 percent. Rent for each space is $47.75 per square-foot with three percent annual increases. Each contract can be extended for an additional two years with City Council approval.

The agreement also includes shops like Brookstone and Brooks Brothers.