Anyone remember these? Don't think they would make it today--hourly rates anyone?
The following is condensed from a Washington Post article from May 2, 2005:
The AirWayte opened in early 1960 and was to accommodate a flight passenger on layovers.
There were two AirWayte units at National, about 50 yards from the terminal and right near the parking lot. Each was 75 feet long and 20 feet wide, and each contained 18 rooms. Room rates were $1.75 for the first hour and 75 cents for each additional hour; rates were higher at night.
For your buck seventy-five, you got a 7-by-6 1/2 -foot carpeted room with bed, desk, telephone, toilet and shower. The AirWayte was open round-the-clock, and a call system notified occupants of flight departures.
The company had great plans for the AirWayte concept, hoping to open them across the country. A survey at the time revealed that nearly one-third of passengers at major U.S. airports were subject to delays of more than an hour. This was a market.
In the end, only National Airport got the AirWayte. Dealing with airport bureaucracy was a problem. Hotel Corp. of America pulled the plug on the AirWayte in 1972.
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