MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT—The first thing David Lee and Kassy Yang noticed when they popped into the new lounge in Terminal 1 on Friday wasn’t the robot bartender.
It was something only parents in this digital-device era could appreciate: unfettered access to their phones. Their kids, ages 8 and 12, were too busy playing “Mario Kart” and “Crash Bandicoot” at the lounge’s videogame stations to commandeer their phones for some preflight screen time.
The Portal Lounge is, by design, not your grandfather’s airport lounge. Yes, there is a (small) buffet, and bartenders (robot and real) pour that lounge-libation staple, an Old Fashioned. But the focus is on entertainment.
It’s the latest concept from a husband-and-wife team on a mission to amp up airport downtime.
Emma and Jordan Walbridge, with backgrounds in hotels and medical-device sales, respectively, opened their first airport videogaming lounge at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in 2018. Called Gameway, there are now 11 of them at airports across the country and two more are due to open this year.
Portal in Minneapolis is the latest iteration of the concept with a few more bells and whistles.
They zeroed in on videogames after regularly visiting lounges on business trips and finding them too staid. “I always felt like I was in a library,” Emma says, with some guests shushing others or throwing a side-eye.
She has played “Mario Kart” for years and Jordan has played “Halo” since he was in the Army overseas. And they have plenty of company. Two-thirds of adults play videogames one or more hours a week, according to an industry survey out last week. They don’t call videogames the world’s most profitable pastime for nothing.
Then there’s me. I barely know the difference between Nintendo Switch and Xbox, and the last videogame I played was on the Wii. My kids were never gamers, either. So I traveled to lounges in Chicago and Minneapolis last week to see what the fuss is about.
Getting my game on
The Gameway across from Gate A5 at Chicago’s Midway Airport opened earlier this year and wasn’t busy during my recent visit on a Wednesday afternoon.
At first glance, it looks like a neon-lit airport sundry store with a refrigerator case of soft drinks, water, beer and seltzer and rows of candy and salty snacks. (Some visitors only pop in for a drink or snack for their flight.)
One thing is clear: These lounges aren’t designed solely to babysit restless kids. Families are a target market, of course, but they are also intended for frequent fliers and even attract airline pilots. Gameway would go out of business if it relied solely on families since their travel schedules are seasonal, Emma Walbridge told me.
Travelers visiting Gameway can pay a fee to game or use Priority Pass, a lounge benefit that comes with certain credit cards. I had Priority Pass, which gave me an hour of gaming and a drink and a snack for myself and two guests. Guests can also bring in their own food.
I plunked down at a gaming station and embarrassed myself playing “Mario Kart” over a lunch of Diet Coke and Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream chips.
The patient Gameway manager, who used to work at GameStop, assured me it just takes practice and encouraged me to play at home. Another employee did her best to introduce me to “Minecraft” though I gave up after five minutes.
The company hires extroverted gamers who appear to love their jobs. Gameway calls them wranglers because they are trained to lasso curious travelers heading for their gates.
It worked on Raycer Martin, a 19-year-old student and wine-bar chef from Arizona who plays videogames to relax after his night shift. He initially walked by but returned to check it out on a two-hour layover.
“At first it does kind of look a little goofy, a little silly,” he says. “I was super quick to judge.”
He paid $25 for an hour-long session of “Apex Legends” on a PC and loved it. It beat his usual airport routine of charging his phone and scrolling.
“I love being on a game and just zoning out,” he says.
Leveling up
Videogaming is the main attraction at the much bigger Portal lounge in Minneapolis, which opened over Memorial Day weekend in the D concourse. But it’s just one attraction. The food is more lounge-like with build-your-own bowls, buffalo cauliflower, salad fixin’s and a couple of desserts.
Adding to the futuristic feel, a robot bartender takes center stage pouring drinks. It is from the same company as the makers of the Bionic Bar on some Royal Caribbean ships.
At 3,800 square feet, Portal isn’t on par with, say, an American Express Centurion Lounge. It’s more like one of those smaller Escape lounges. RC is the cola on tap. There’s music, outlets galore and plenty of seating. But no dedicated bathroom.
The gaming lounge is in the back and bright like at Gameway. There are 17 stations with Nintendo Switch, Xbox, PlayStation and custom-built gaming PCs.
Many were filled during my Friday afternoon visit with travelers of all ages. Most guests enter for free with Priority Pass, but you can also buy a day pass for $70 that includes drinks, food and gaming.
David Lee says his children don’t play videogames at home or have phones, but he and his wife treat them to screen time on vacation. The Minneapolis IT professional calls Portal the most unique lounge he has come across in his travels, and he sneaked in a few games of “Mario Kart.” The kids were thrilled to play before their flight to Asia. His wife was just happy to have her phone to herself.
I loved the vibe in the lounge, too. And I get its appeal, especially for travelers looking for more than the same-old lounge setup.
But before my flight, I headed for the Delta Sky Club. No one there tried to make me a “Mario Kart” devotee.
