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'Uh, there's no camping here," says a flight attendent, struggling to hide her laughter as she walks past me.
I'm not sure she's right. And I'm not exactly roasting marshmallows. But given that I've just set up a tent in the middle of Pearson International Airport - Canada's busiest - I suppose I'm fair game for jokes, disdainful looks and confused shrugs. I'm surprised, in fact, that I haven't been tasered yet.
Still, my face reddens and my cheeks go hot. Apparently I'm not as immune to embarrassment as Frank Giotto. He's the man behind the new Mini Motel I'm bunking down in - developed after he was stranded at an airport in Germany.
"After an all-night stay, I was watching people hang around the lobby, sleeping on the chairs and on the floor... and I said, 'You know, there's got to be something better than this,' " he recalls. "I needed a place to stretch out."
So the 60-year-old, whose company Fiber Instrument Sales in Oriskany, N.Y., also makes communication fibre optics, spent the next two years tinkering around. He came up with a one-person tent. Then he added bedding, an alarm clock, a reading light and other sleepover aids and billed his creation a "solution to cancelled flights and overnight layovers."
Well, maybe. But why not just check into a hotel with, you know, actual walls and a bed and no obvious risk of humiliation when your flight has been delayed?
"The layover may be six or seven hours, and it's simply not worth getting a taxi out of your facility and getting back two hours before flight time to go through security," Giotto says. "And many times, you get a cancellation because of bad weather and hotel rooms are not available."
There is no doubt that flight delays and cancellations are getting worse. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 26 per cent of commercial flights in the U.S. arrived late or were cancelled last year. And recent airline cutbacks are compounding the frustration for displaced travellers.
"There isn't the support staff at the airports to look after them all," says Richard Job, the relationship manager for airlines at Flight Centre Canada.
Even when passengers do find airline staff to talk to, they can't always get the help they need: Most airlines provide hotel rooms for passengers stranded because of airline delays, but they don't assist people marooned because of the weather, power outages, acts of god, wars, riots, or traffic congestion.
The list goes on. You can also forget a fluffy hotel pillow if you get stuck at the airport on a connecting flight. "No one in that case is going to step up and take responsibility," Job says. "Really, there's no substitute in that situation for cancellation [and] interruption insurance."
But people who buy insurance can still find themselves stuck on a layover or two. So the question is whether they would actually be willing to pitch a tent in a busy airport - or would rather kill time the old-fashioned way, by attempting to sleep on extremely uncomfortable chairs.
Katherine Nguyen, a 54-year-old social worker en route from Toronto to Atlanta, stares quizzically at the Mini Motel as I set it up. When I ask her if she would give it a go, though, she says she might "if I had a long layover overnight."
Matthias Meiwes, a 23-year-old from Germany in Toronto for a friend's wedding, says he would also use the Mini Motel in a pinch. "If I had the possibility to sleep in a bed, I would," he says. "But if I couldn't check in to a hotel, sure, I would use it."
On the other hand, Mary Meyes, a 70-year-old who lives with her husband in Austin, Tex., insists that she is well past the age of staying in Mini Motels. "Maybe I would have earlier, you know, when I was younger."
Funny, because I feel as though putting this thing together is prematurely aging me. Granted, I'm not very outdoorsy, but it takes a least 40 minutes for me to assemble the tent and the frustration of inflating the mattress puts a few grey hairs on my head.
Once it's inflated, though, the mattress is a lot more comfortable than the floor. And it's nice to stretch out, especially with a girl twisted into a sleeping pretzel on a chair in plain sight. I may feel silly, but at least I won't need to visit a chiropractor when I get where I'm going.
Now, it seems, the main issue is the rules. But after a little digging I find out that even if flight attendants make fun of you or security guards don't like the looks of your one-person encampment, none of Canada's big airports ban sleeping in their facilities.
In fact, Donna McSherry, a travel agent in Toronto who runs a cheeky website called Sleepinginairports.com, says the vast majority of airports around the world allow passengers to nod off. And some even cater to travellers in need of shut-eye.
Singapore's Changi Airport, for example, has been the top-ranked airport on Sleepinginairports.com for the past 10 years. That's because it has napping areas and leather chairs that come equipped with head and leg rests. And it is reportedly so quiet that students go to the airport to study.
Since not all airports are created equal, though, McSherry recommends bringing something to rest on wherever you're flying. Her pick: an inflatable pool raft. "It costs $2. You can blow it up and put it on the floor if you don't have a cushioned seat," she says.
Or perhaps the Mini Motel will take off. At the very least, Giotto hopes it will empower travellers - and send a message to airports.
"I'm hoping they start to accommodate the traveller," he says. "Airports certainly have a lot of square footage. Maybe they could set some areas aside for Mini Motels."
Perhaps they could throw in a fire pit for roasting marshmallows too.
Sleeping aids
There are many ways to deal with an airport layover. Ranting through the night, for instance. Or taking a sleeping pill and curling up on the cold floor. But for an expert's point of view, here are tips - some serious, some tongue-in-cheek - from travel agent Donna McSherry, who created The Guide to Sleeping in Airports in 1996.
Be prepared
Your emergency airport survival kit should include:
A cheap inflatable pool raft - they fold up nicely and make the hard floor a lot more comfortable
A personal music device with large headphones to block out loud announcements.
An alarm clock or a pen and Post-it pad. If you are travelling solo, write a "Wake me at 5 a.m." note and stick a few on and around you. It works. People will wake you.
Disinfectant wipes to make your "bed" for the night a little less germ- and grease-covered.
Eye shades.
Ear plugs.
Scope it out
Finding a good spot may be your biggest challenge. Consider seating, temperature, announcements and people traffic. Your best source of info will be security, airport and airline staff. If you are nice, these people will probably help you.
Ask about cots
For unexpected overnight stays, did you know that some airports actually have cots and blankets for passenger use? Ask and you may receive.
Dress in layers
Wear clothes that will make you comfortable if it is unbearably hot or sub-Arctic.
Have Fun
Sleeping in airports is an adventure. From someone who has done it to save money or as a result of a layover, let me tell you that it can be fun and it adds an extra element of strangeness to your trip.
Adapted from
Sleepinginairports.com
