7/27/2004 » Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneur and former i-banker Arshad Chowdhury has launched a mid-day nap salon in the Empire State Building for rushed midtown workers. The tired masses pay $14 for a 20-minute nap in a comfortable chair. White noise generators keep the environs humming like a quiet airplane, and you can wash your face at a Wake Station™ (sink) afterwards. Why the concept has gotten buckets of ink (New York, Fast Company, Salon, Fortune, NPR):

• It’s ‘yoga for dogs.’ It’s a goofy human interest story. At first glance, it seems like another offbeat luxury service for New Yorkers with more money than sense.
• The Spaceballs factor. The futuristic chairs resemble the helmets in the Star Wars spoof Spaceballs or something out of Woody Allen’s Bananas.
• It’s not free. A nap in Bryant Park costs $0. And dot-commers are entirely familiar with bedding down beneath a desk, on a couch or stretched across office chairs.
• It’s counterintuitive. The deal: spend 20 minutes fighting midtown traffic to take a 20 minute nap. Then repeat in reverse.
• Nappers seem like slackers. Unlike in tropical countries, midday nappers have an undeserved reputation for sloth.
• It’s the Empire State Building. Whether fear of heights, terrorism, King Kong, or plane crashes, the building somehow doesn’t say ‘re-laaax.’

But, for a certain well-paid slice of New York, the concept makes a lot of sense. There’s nothing like a short nap to clear your mind and restore your productivity. As long as nobody sees you doing it.