Airport plans sleep suites on international concourses

International travelers will soon be able to pay for a quiet place to take a nap at the world’s busiest airport, when Hartsfield-Jackson opens sleep units in international concourses E and F.

The Minute Suites will be the first on the international concourses, and the first sleep units at the Atlanta airport to offer shower service. The Atlanta City Council this week approved a contract with Minute Suites, and the airport aims to open a location with 17 sleep suites on Concourse E and another with six suites on Concourse F around the start of 2015.

International travelers often have longer layovers between connecting flights. Airport officials hope that will translate into higher demand for the sleep units.

There is already a Minute Suites location on Concourse B, opened in 2009 with five small 7 ft-by-8 ft rooms including a pullout daybed, a flat-panel TV, desk and chair. The nap nooks have become popular among airline crews and travelers who need some quiet seclusion.

A suite goes for $34 per hour or $125 overnight, and are most popular among those with a few hours of time to burn in the airport.

The Minute Suites on the international concourses will offer shower service, which has become a popular amenity at a Minute Suites location at Dallas-Fort Worth International. There, the company sells a 30-minute shower for $25, or includes shower service with a suite rental for an extra $15.