Pod hotels help penny-pinchers

CAN anyone tell me when a pod hotel will open in South Africa? I can’t wait for the day when I can rent a room in a prime location for a bargain rate. It’s the cheap price I’m after.

I don’t need more than what the smarter ones offer: a comfy bed, television, air conditioning and internet access. And I don’t care if there’s no space to swing a cat — who on earth travels with a cat, anyway?

It’s not surprising that pod (or capsule) hotels are starting to pop up around the globe. Why would anyone want to pay for facilities they don’t need?

I can’t see what the delay is here. They don’t cost much to build and they are lowmaintenance, with guests checking in and out by swiping their credit or debit cards at the door.

The only staff needed are cleaners. One manager can oversee a number of pods using cameras linked to the internet and space around the building can be rented to food outlets and other shops. Surely this is a win-win for an enterprising entrepreneur?

Sleeping capsules originated in Japan to give workers who lived far from the cities somewhere cheap to overnight. Since then, they have spread to the west and been refined for use in airports and city centres. The smartest ones, like the Yotel at Heathrow Airport, have a private shower and toilet, as well as high quality bed linen, mood lighting and high-speed wifi.

But they don’t have to be luxurious. At Munich Airport they have installed “Napcabs”, tiny cabins on the airport concourse. They are fitted with a single bed, television and internet access and located close to the departure gates, so you can doze until your flight is boarding.

In South Africa, I can see them being built at airports and in city centres. As you wait for a flight or recover from a hard day’s shopping, what could be nicer than to put your feet up in a comfy cabin? If you need a private space to work on your laptop, you can retreat into one for a few hours. And what about a few in the nightlife areas? That will end the need to drive home under the influence — and you can hire one for a bit of hanky panky as well.

I’d like to see capsule hotels on the Durban beachfront, at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and near the Gautrain station in Sandton. Charge a few hundred bucks a night and I will be your loyal guest for life.