How Airport Lounges Can Regain Their Luster

Once upon a time, the average airport lounge was a heavenly oasis. Far from the noise and the ruckus of the loud and crowded airport terminal, these places were perfect for grabbing a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) and relaxing your layover away.

While it’s true some airport lounges offered more amenities than others, nearly all were worth visiting—at least if you had a Priority Pass subscription or elite airline status. With free internet access, free drinks and sometimes free food away from the crowds and the noise, these were no-brainers.

Fast forward to 2018—a year when all but the most elite airport lounges are hardly worth visiting. Thanks to the recent surge in credit cards that offer airport lounge access, it seems like there are often more people crammed into lounges than there are at your gate.

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Free snacks and drinks are nice and all, but not if you can’t find a place to sit. Here are three ways airport lounges can regain their luster and become great again:

Dramatically Limit Guests

While there are many travel credit cards that offer airport lounge access but limit the number of guests you can bring in, some of the most popular cards will let you bring the whole gang. I’m speaking mostly of the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card, a popular travel credit card that hit the market in 2016.

If you have this card in your wallet, you can bring every person you’re traveling with into a Priority Pass lounge–even if your crew rolls 20 deep. With a card as popular as the Chase Sapphire Reserve having no limitations on guests, it’s no wonder these lounges are often bursting at the seams.

Build More (or Bigger) Lounges

My husband and I have had the Platinum Card from American Express for years, and we keep it mostly for Centurion Lounge access along with the fact we can visit Delta Sky Clubs when we fly Delta. Out of the last 5-6 times we’ve visited Miami and stopped into the Miami Centurion lounge, it was so busy there wasn’t a place to sit. One time, we stood against the wall just long enough to eat our free food before leaving to find more space at our gate.

Some airport lounges are so undersized that it’s laughable they don’t take steps to make them bigger or build another, better lounge in the same airport. The more people they cram into these lounges, the less likely it is that people like me will continue paying for the privilege of entry.

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Better Food and Snacks

If you’ve ever been to the Mera Business Lounge at Cancun International Airport, you know just how underwhelming Priority Pass lounges can be. This particular iteration had scarce, mostly inedible finger foods and maybe 4-5 drinks to choose from when I was there. They were out of coffee, and they didn’t seem to care.

To keep attracting the masses, airport lounges need to have better food and drink—you know, a reason for people to visit in the first place. If your favorite lounge is crowded or they no longer offer the food and amenities you pay for, why bother making sure you have access?

Credit cards that send more and more people into crowded lounges are the reason we can’t have nice things, but airport lounges could regain their shine if they wanted. By limiting visitors, expanding their offerings, and serving better snacks and drinks, airport lounges could become restful relaxation havens once again.