Russian Firm Introduces a Mini-Hotel for Weary Air Travelers

Most anyone who's traveled for the holidays has been there before: exhausted, burdened by luggage, and irritated because your flight's just been delayed. A tired person stuck for hours in an airport used to roll up her sweater like a pillow and find a corner for a few minutes of very uncomfortable shuteye. But now a Russian creation has arrived to rival St. Christopher as the saving grace of travelers.

Designed by Russian architecture firm Arch Group, the Sleepbox is almost exactly what it sounds like: a seven-feet-deep, nine-feet-high pod made for people on the go to sleep in. Beds (a maximum of three), bedside tables, electrical outlets, and reading lamps come standard in the Sleepboxes, but they can also be outfitted to include WiFi, televisions, and an alarm clock. In all, they're cozy little temporary homes to use until you reach your real home.

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The first Sleepbox is now up and running in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, and the Arch Group hopes more are on the way. If they come to America, the designers recommend charging $15 an hour to rent them. That's a lot cheaper than the cost of chiropractic care following a couple hours snoozing on the tile at O'Hare.

Photos courtesy of Ivanov Ilya, Arch Group