Airlines cut back on hotel vouchers

As costs rise, fewer offers of a free bed

Sleeping at an airport overnight, once almost a sport for the young and short of cash, has become more common, affecting even older and professional travelers. One reason: Airlines are no longer as free with complimentary hotel vouchers.

"Belt-tightening by airlines over the last 18 months, and more so this year," is how Randy Petersen, editor of the online magazine InsideFlyer and the frequent flier Web site FlyerTalk.com, explains it.

"They have to look at everything they spend a penny on," he said. And because flights are fuller, he added, "they're not just dealing with a few passengers."

Sleeping overnight in airports has become enough of a phenomenon that it inspired a recent novel, "Dear American Airlines." The author, Jonathan Miles, said he was spurred to write the book after an unscheduled overnight stay at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

An unscheduled overnight stay at a German airport inspired one business traveler, Frank Giotto, the president of Fiber Instrument Sales in Oriskany, N.Y., to create the Mini Motel, a one-person tent complete with air mattress, pillow, reading light, alarm clock and pillow, which he now sells for $39.95.

Asked what airports would think of a tent city of his Mini Motels, Giotto expressed confidence.

"People sleeping in chairs don't seem to bother them," he said. "We could be forcing the airports to come up with a solution to respond to the tremendous need."

There's even a Web site, the Budget Traveller's Guide to Sleeping in Airports (sleepinginairports.com) that lists the best and worst airports to spend the night in.

For those who get stuck, advice from seasoned travelers boils down to this:

* Bring or buy a snack and water before airport shops close;

* Bring reading material or music and something soft to lie down on or rest your head against;

* Keep hotel phone numbers or certain Web site addresses handy.

Ron Flavin, a business traveler, recalled a flight after meeting with a client in Detroit. He said he landed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta about 1:45 a.m. for a layover, after thunderstorms caused his flight to be diverted.

He was rebooked on a morning flight home to West Palm Beach, but Delta Air Lines offered no hotel or meal vouchers, he said. So he curled up under a phone booth behind a counter, and slept on the floor with a pillow and blanket from his business-class seat, in the company of many other passengers.

"It wasn't worth investing the money, time and effort to make all the phone calls and get settled in a hotel," said Flavin, a partner in a marketing firm for beauty and health products. "I'm not a greedy guy, but there was no gesture of any kind or a sympathetic ear. I didn't even have a toothbrush or toothpaste."

Though they were never required to, airlines used to give stranded passengers vouchers for rooms and meals if a flight was canceled or delayed as a result of mechanical problem or some other issue of an airline's own making, though not for weather-related delays.

Now, though, vouchers are a thing of the past.

Joe Brancatelli, editor of JoeSentMe.com, a business travel Web site, disputes the idea that sleeping in the airport ever trumps a good cheap hotel, and says that arguing with airline employees for hotel vouchers is a waste of time and energy. "Take some responsibility, and don't wait for the airline to do for you," he said. "Do for yourself."

Brancatelli suggested buying an airline club membership or a day pass for as much as $50 for a comfortable armchair with free snacks, beverages and a television. But most airline clubs close by 10 p.m.

Another suggestion from Brancatelli: Keep the toll-free numbers of hotel chains handy and pay for a room.

"What is your time and productivity worth, and what price do you put on a bed, shower and couple hours of sleep?" he asked.

Airports range widely in what they offer overnight guests.

The top-ranked airport at the Guide to Sleeping in Airports' Web site for the past 10 years is Singapore Changi Airport. It has dimly lit napping areas where comfortable leather chairs have leg rests and head rests. Some are even fitted with alarm clocks. There are also cheap sleeping cubicles available for travelers.