Announcing the Arrival of Skytel Inc. at LAX : Mini-Hotel Is a Departure From Regular Facilities

How many hotels do you know of where you rent by the hour or by the shower?

Or, when it is time for a wake-up call, where the manager personally knocks on your door?

On the other hand, at how many hotels do you walk out the door and into a waiting jetliner?

Such has been the case for 10 months now in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles International Airport.

“We are averaging a combined total of about 70 rentals a day for our 13 rooms,” said Jeffrey Panish, general manager of Skytel Inc. “Sometimes it’s a traveler wanting a nap while waiting for a connecting flight, sometimes it’s a pilot or stewardess wanting to freshen up with a shower before taking off.”

First of Its Kind

The hotel is the first of its kind in the continental United States, according to Panish’s father, Norman, who founded the company. “And we are in the black,” he added. “The word is getting out, and we are seeing repeat users. People are coming over from the other eight terminals.” (There are variations on Panish’s theme at some other airports, including Dallas-Fort Worth, which has its emphasis on spa facilities. Honolulu, Copenhagen and areas of Japan also have unusual facilities for travelers and business people.)

Sometimes the travelers or flight crews are lined up in front of Skytel’s desk next to the Air France counter--perhaps to pay for half an hour of a ground-type jet stream, or for an hour of shut-eye on a bed.

“During the baseball and football seasons, we have people who check in just to watch a color TV set in privacy, and catch the end of a game that was in progress while they were in the air,” Jeffrey Panish said. “Some businessmen just want to work at a table in privacy.”

Single Occupancy Only

To answer the obvious question, it is single occupancy only and no guests--strictly enforced. “The only exception is a parent with a child under 13,” Jeffrey Panish said. “Otherwise, even if a couple happens to be carrying a marriage certificate, airport regulations require that they take separate rooms. If they choose, they can rent one room for an hour, and each use it for half that time.”

Since the $500,000 mini-hotel hasn’t yet been through the peak summer travel period, neither Department of Airports General Manager Clifton Moore nor the elder Panish was ready to predict yet whether the concept would be expanded to the other terminals at LAX. The present lease is five years.

“But I can tell you that we are already having discussions with officials of airport terminals in two other states regarding installing similar Skytels,” Norman Panish said.

Just the Prescription

Grime and Panishment. It came about when a former pharmacist, traveling the world with his wife and observing weary wanderers in various airports, thought he might have just the prescription.

‘Pretty Much Locked In’

“It was a scene we had been part of dozens of times,” Norman Panish said. “A few years ago, Merle and I were returning here from Amsterdam, and we were supposed to have a one-hour layover in London Heathrow. But there were storms in New York, and the planes were late in getting in.

“Once you are inside customs, you are pretty much locked in. The layover became eight hours. People were dozing on the floors, or trying to be comfortable in seats, if you could find one.”

By that year, he had already sold his four pharmacies in favor of a new career in real estate development. And at roughly the same time, the Department of Airports staff here had decided that its new international terminal was to include private space for sleeping and showering.

“An advertisement asking for proposals was placed in The Times, I was one of about 60 who responded, and I got the contract,” the former pharmacist said.

And, lo, at the left entrance to the terminal on the upper departure level, behind a check-in counter, is what appears to be a futuristic, shiny aluminum railway car, doorways on either side of its neon-lit corridor leading to a pause that refreshes for weary travelers.

“Actually, the intended effect is more that of an airplane fuselage,” Norman Panish explained. “Thus, passengers who are still carrying the feeling of being on a jetliner can adapt comfortably to their new surroundings.

“Also, the reason for the oval ceiling in each room is to create an illusion of spaciousness. A square room with level height would seem smaller.”

Each of the 13 air-conditioned and soundproofed rooms (the last one is numbered 14) measures 6 by 13 1/2 feet.

Each rose-colored room contains a twin-size bed and bedding, a closet, a table hinged to the wall, an elevated 10-inch color TV set with remote control, an overhead reading light and smoke detector, an AM-FM clock radio, a telephone usable with credit cards (although card-less guests may reverse the charges through an outside operator), and a jack available for travelers carrying personal computers.

The adjoining bathroom has a hair dryer mounted in the wall, a makeup mirror with 10 bulbs, a commode, sink and stall shower with Shower Massage. Awaiting the guest are a disposable toothbrush with toothpaste, envelope of shampoo, envelope of clothing spot remover, disposable razor and blades, shave cream, eye makeup remover, shoeshine pad, soap bar, box of Kleenex, wash cloth and towel.

To use all this, the guest pays $7.50 for a half-hour shower (plus 11% room tax), $15 for an hour’s use of the room, the hourly scale continuing until it becomes $45 for eight hours. “If the person plans to stay longer than that, we recommend one of the hotels near the airport, which would probably be less expensive,” Jeffrey Panish said.

As with most new endeavors, there were adjustments. “When we first opened in September, we charged by the minute--25 cents per minute,” the father said. “But people became confused. They weren’t used to that in a hotel. So after two days, we switched to the hourly rate.”

Converting the Phones

A change currently being put into effect, his son said, is to convert the phone usage to accept all major consumer credit cards. “Travelers from other nations don’t always have telephone credit cards,” he explained.

The guest inside the airport terminal can set the alarm clock himself or may request a wake-up call when checking in. “Since he or she is probably about to catch a flight, being awakened is crucial,” the son said. “The desk clerk will ring the phone a couple times, and if there is no answer, either of us will go bang on the door to make sure the occupant knows it is time to leave.”

A board in front of the clerk lights up yellow when the maid is cleaning a room, red when it is occupied, and green when it is available. Behind the desk are safety deposit boxes for valuables.

“We take reservations,” Jeffrey Panish said. “An airline may call and say it needs eight rooms for a while because of mechanical problems or weather delays. We got a call from someone in Frankfurt who wanted to make sure she had a room for four hours.

“Just the other day we had six Varig pilots who each took a room to shower before taking off for South America.”

The busiest period at the always-open complex is generally 3 p.m. to 11 p.m., the general manager added.

As he was talking, the passing parade included Felice Chiapperini, manager of the Greater Los Angeles Visitors & Convention Bureau, which has an office at the airport.

“I have used the hotel twice,” he said. “Once I was working late, had a dinner engagement in the Valley, and wanted to freshen up before I left. The other time it was the reverse. I was returning from a dinner and wanted to take a short nap before reporting for work.”

Jeffrey Panish said that thus far there haven’t been many complaints--just an occasional suggestion that two people be allowed in a room.

Inside Honolulu International Airport, the accommodations are much less elaborate, but double occupancy is permitted.

“You get very intuitive about the intention of the parties,” said a former owner of The Shower Tree, who asked that her name not be used.

One of the current co-owners, Mona Dunn, said by phone that the facility (named after a flowering tree in Hawaii) consists of four cubicles, each with bunk beds and each separated by soundproof dividers. Bookending the place are two shower rooms.

Informal Wake-Up Calls

“Each sleeping room is 4x9 feet,” Dunn said. “The charge is $7.50 to use the shower and toiletries, $3 an hour to sleep, up to a maximum of $18 for eight hours, which includes the shower.”

Since there are no doors, wake-up calls are quite informal. “I just walk in,” Dunn disclosed, “and say: ‘Sir, it’s 5 o’clock.’ ”

The Shower Tree came about in the late ‘70s, according to the previous owner, as a result of observations by two nurses at that airport. “Passengers were coming into Medical just because they were dead tired from long flights.”

The nurses subsequently set up three beds with bathrooms, each compartment divided by shower curtains, and rented them by the hour.

The facility was expanded to eight beds by the next owner, who sold the business when she returned to the mainland to live.

At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, a multi-service complex is available at the Amfac Hotel on airport grounds. The facility is run by Air Vita Corp., headquartered in Manhattan.

“Our focus isn’t just on naps and showers,” said Bente Strong, president. “We also offer exercise facilities, saunas and steam baths, a manicurist, and business support services such as a stenographer.”

Memberships are available, otherwise the per-user fee is $15, with no time limit. There is one nap room with a single bed and desk, which rents for an additional $5 per hour.

‘Airport Oasis’

Gayle Moeller, chief operating officer, revealed that in October the company will open an “airport oasis” inside a terminal at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, one that will have fully furnished bedrooms. Her company also is negotiating with other airports for similar complexes, she said.

In foreign lands, there are various nests for nappers.

“We started ours two years ago and we call it Flytel,” Peter Thoeger said by phone from Copenhagen International Airport. “There are 15 rooms in the basement of the terminal, some singles, some doubles, all with beds, showers, toilets, phones (for calling inside the building) and alarm clocks.

“The rate is about $13 for a single, $19 for a double, for usage any amount of time up to eight hours. It is first come, first served--we don’t take reservations--and we seem to be always full. Sometimes people are waiting for a vacancy.”

A sauna down the hall is available, as is a nursery in which parents may feed and care for their babies while awaiting flights, said Thoeger, public relations manager for the Copenhagen Airport Authority, which operates the rest facility.

It is available only to passengers with flight tickets, he added.

Travelers and businessmen in Japan are increasingly using what are known as capsule hotels, although, as far as could be determined, none is thus far inside an airport terminal.

“The capsules are lined up along an aisle, usually two high” explained Yasutake Tsukamoto, deputy director of the Japan National Tourist Organization here. “Each capsule is roughly 5 feet wide, 10 feet long, and 6 feet high.”

The non-claustrophobic occupant crawls inside, and often has access to a private TV set, clock and light, although no basketball hoop. The overnight charge for such a space in a honeycomb is about $18, Tsukamoto said, but hourly rates are usually available.

At the other extreme is Amsterdam. “The airport terminal there has a complete hotel inside,” Norman Panish said. “It is spacious and has everything, but the problem is the price structure--only a half-day rate or a full-day rate, which is about $100.”

Meanwhile, outside the humble hostelry here, a Marina del Rey man paused after having napped a couple hours before enduring a lengthy flight. “It sure was better than sitting in one of those chairs in the terminal, “ he said, hastening away with his luggage.

Awaiting the vacancy were other passengers, weary of everything but sleep.