Save Money and Stay in a Capsule Hotel

The capsule hotel is typically associated with travel in Japan, where population density and premium real estate costs made these small bed chambers a viable service in the tourism marketplace.

However, hotel owners and travels around the world have discovered the efficiency and comfort of capsule hotels. In fact, even airport planners are finding there is a market for sleeping space between long security lines and the gate. Some travelers want to take a short nap, while others settle in for a full night's sleep.

Outside of airport terminals, cities with expensive real estate such as New York and Tokyo are prime grounds for putting a lot of beds into a small-hotel space, and the capsule hotel makes that possible.

What Is a Capsule Hotel?

The term originated as a description for a space that offers little more than a bed and perhaps a small work space. In some cases, they are literally sleep boxes. In others (sometimes called pod hotels), they are tiny rooms in which you actually can walk on the floor for a few steps.

Japan has offered these options for decades. Initially, almost all the capsule hotel choices were for men only. Frankly, some catered to businessmen too inebriated to navigate the path back home at night.

However, others became a solid budget travel option for those who wanted to average in a cheap stay with their other plans. For the equivalent of as little as $12 USD/night in some places, travels could access basic ammenities: privacy, safety, a mattress, and a pull-down shade for sleeping. Most also have electrical outlets for recharging as you snooze.

The Capsule Hotel Concept and Airports

The capsule hotel concept has found its way from the crowded streets of Japan to the busy terminals of Western Europe. The Yotel Group already owns hotel operations at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London, Paris CDG, Istanbul Airport, and Singapore Changi Airport as well as in New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Edinburgh.

Yotel's aim is to offer style and quiet in these settings, as well as some room to move around. Prices reflect that more comfortable approach and are higher than what you'd expect to pay for a night in a capsule hotel in Japan.

Yotel in New York

Yotel opened a Times Square location with 669 rooms in June 2011. The announcement promoted Yotel as the "iPOD of the hotel industry."

Unlike most of the Japanese models that provide sleeping and work space but no restrooms, the Yotel in New York offers 171 square feet of space in each room and private facilities.For an extra fee, they'll provide breakfast in the morning.

Note that discounts are possible at the Manhattan Yotel when booking at least three consecutive nights. There is also a concierge service that will assist with booking Broadway shows or making airport transfers.

Call them capsule hotels, pods or cabins, but recognize that the general concept is for you to pay somewhat less for a safe, restful overnight in exchange for sacrificing room to roam and some other amenities. It will be interesting to see how many budget travelers are willing to make the exchange.