An airport pod just big enough to fit one person is causing massive debate online.
On May 9, Instagram lifestyle blogger and TikTok user Bianca Cortez (@beyondcasualb) uploaded a video of herself renting and using an Escape Pod, a small private pod that airport guests can rent to, according to the company’s website, “escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy airport terminal.”
The pods, made along with other private work-from-home spaces by the company Jabbrrbox, are located at several different airports, including the Oakland International Airport where Cortez rented one.
“What I thought was gonna be a regular video kind of blew up. And a lot of people felt a certain type of way about me spending $30,” Cortez said in an interview with the Daily Dot.
Cortez said she paid around $32 for one hour of use of the pod.
In the video, the TikToker shows a bench and small desk where she ate her Subway sandwich inside the pod. She also showed a screen where guests can change the lighting of the pod, check the status of their flights, charge their devices, and take photos.
@beyondcasualb Would you rent an airport pod? #Totinos425 #PepsiApplePieChallenge #tipsandtricks #traveltiktok #travellife #traveltips #fyp #fypシ #traveldiaries ♬ Sunny Day – Ted Fresco
Cortez said she liked the pod, explaining to the Daily Dot that as someone who travels a lot she just “wanted a quiet space.” She explained to a comment that she liked having her own space “in peace and quiet” and thought the pod was worth the price.
“I paid for the private space,” Cortez told the Daily Dot. “I would do it again.”
Other TikTok users weren’t as convinced the pod was worth using, arguing that it was too small or too pricey.
One user wrote that “prisoners get more space” while another one expressed concern about the price commenting on the post “$30 dollars for a desk you can get exactly the same service outside of it for free..”
But Cortez wasn’t the only one who thought the pod was worth its price tag. Some users agreed that access to quiet spaces when traveling or working can be useful.
“As someone who used to fly a lot for work and needed quiet spaces to work and take calls, these pods are awesome,” one user wrote. Others said private pods can be good for fliers who are more introverted.
“Everyone who thinks it’s a waste of money doesn’t experience social anxiety,” one user noted.
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