SFO Is Getting Private Bedrooms, Showers And A Speakeasy Lounge—Here’s What Travelers Will Actually Get

San Francisco International Airport is getting private bedrooms, showers and a speakeasy lounge, with an expected opening in September 2027.

The agreement reveals that the airport awarded Hotelzo LLC, an affiliate of Cool Airport Company. It’s a lease for two post-security facilities operating under the “Wait N’ Rest” brand.

What SFO Is Actually Getting

The spaces will be located:

• In Terminal 3 near Gate E3, and will be just 1,300 square feet offering private rooms, showers and a limited amount of travel-related retail. There will not be a lounge, bar or restaurant.

• In Terminal 1 near gate B6 and will be 3,054 square feet offering private rooms, showers and The Lost Gate lounge serving food and cocktails.

The lease limits The Lost Gate to no more than 40% of the premises. That means the actual lounge can’t exceed 1,222 square feet, and some of that will be consumed by its bar, work pods and circulation rather than seating.

Airport documents describe the lounge as sitting behind an opaque storefront and being “primarily available” to customers using the private rooms. So it’s not really going to be like another ‘The Club’ and more of an upscale a day room facility with attached common area.

Private Rooms Can Be Booked By The Hour Or Overnight

The lease requires Hotelzo to offer private rooms suitable for sleeping, relaxing or working. Each room must include television or private music.

Rendering via Hotelzo

Customers must be able to reserve rooms by the hour as well as for an eight-hour overnight period. The facilities will also provide:

• Showers with towels, shampoo, conditioner, soap and private changing space
• Mobile reservations, check-in and checkout
• An affiliate, day-pass and membership access structure
• At least 16 consecutive hours of operation every day, including holidays

The Terminal 1 lounge can serve food, nonalcoholic drinks, beer, wine and cocktails. It may also offer work pods with desks, power and high speed wifi. Premium alcohol can be sold separately, but the lounge cannot operate a grab-and-go food business.

It’s not clear how many bedrooms or showers there will be, what pricing will look like, or whether they’ll make it Priority Pass-accessible.

Rendering via Hotelzo

They’re Marketing The Lounge As A “Speakeasy”

Hotelzo describes The Lost Gate as a speakeasy with Nikkei-inspired food and cocktails. Its artist concepts show an intimate, darkly-designed bar and lounge alongside private bedrooms. There may ultimately be a speakeasy-style bar serving Japanese-Peruvian dishes.

Hotelzo still has to submit detailed architectural plans, materials, finishes and schematic renderings to SFO’s design-review process so we’ll see what the final version looks like.

Rendering credit Hotelzo

This Beat Plaza Premium’s Aerotel For The Space

SFO airport received proposals from three operators, and scored them as follows:

• Hotelzo LLC: Wait N’ Rest and The Lost Gate — 85.67 points
• PPL Holdings (USA) LLC: Aerotel — 79 points
• Rest & Leisure LLC: Sleep & Shower and Sonoma & Sleep — 70.67 points

PPL Holdings is part of Plaza Premium Group, whose Aerotel brand operates airport hotels and sleep facilities at airports including Singapore Changi, London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur.

Proposals were ostensibly judged primarily on concept, design and capital investment, customer service and quality controls, with only 10% of the score assigned to the business plan. The rent formula was established by the airport rather than used as an auction in which the highest financial offer won.

Three proposals were originally submitted in November 2025, but SFO rejected all of them after problems with its electronic RFP portal, a revised disadvantaged business form and confusion over where deposits should be mailed. The airport reissued the competition with the same terms, and the same three companies submitted again.

A Large Bet On A Small Space

The two facilities total only 4,354 square feet. Hotelzo’s proposed investment is approximately $1,000 per square foot, or $4.354 million, although the lease permits a lower investment if the finished project still meets SFO standards and wins design approval. The lease term lasts 12 years after the development period.

Hotelzo pays the greater of:

• A $350,000 first-year minimum annual guarantee; or
• 12% of private-room, shower, lounge-admission and retail revenue, plus 8% of lounge food-and-beverage sales

Hotelzo projects that the facilities will produce $44.56 million in gross revenue during their first five years.

Of that:

• Terminal 1 is projected to produce $37.46 million
• Terminal 3 is projected to produce $7.10 million
• Combined first-year revenue is projected at $7.43 million
• Combined fifth-year revenue is projected at $10.58 million

That means roughly 84% of first-year revenue is expected to come from the Terminal 1 facility.

Those numbers are aggressive for just 4,354 square feet. They presumably require high utilization, substantial private room pricing or a meaningful bar and lounge business.

Opening Is Targeted For September 2027

SFO airport documents suggest both facilities will open in September 2027, but I’d be surprised if they hit that date.

Documents suggest Hotelzo receives 210 days to complete and open a facility after the airport delivers the space. If both locations are delivered simultaneously, the second facility receives 240 days.