• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 21, 2013

Sometimes checking in at the airport can feel like the start of a sentence at a maximum security prison, what with the luggage searches, frisking for weapons, x-rays and of course shoe-bomb checks.

SpringHill Suites by Marriott is trying to make the experience feel a little more like home. Or at least a little less jail-like.

Working with several agencies, Security Point Media, and the Transportation Security Administration, SpringHill Suites rearranged some of the furniture—and brought in some of its own-- at one check point at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, as part of a three-month pilot program, to help travelers feel a little less stressed while enduring the somewhat squirmy experience of getting through security to the plane.

The lodging company has dubbed the pilot program at DFW “The Next Level Experience.”  The company is hoping to “transform” the point where passengers partially undress under the glare of uniformed agents and dispose of any liquids they may have errantly brought with them  into a “stylish comfort zone,” that is “reflective of the overall experience of staying at a Spring-Hill Suites.”

The redesigned space features roomy and colorful couches where passengers can sit to re-lace their non-exploding footwear. Video screens have been installed with informational and entertainment content for those waiting in line and high definition audio plays music heard at the Suites as well as instructions for passengers that are normally conveyed by shouting TSA agents.

“SpringHill Suites delivers stylish spaces that allow guests to relax and refresh and the idea was to extend that same hospitality to the airport security area where so many travelers’ journeys begin,” stated Craig Fowler, Senior Director of Brand Marketing, Select Service Brands, Marriott International.

The check point has lots of branded messaging and the tagline, “Experience so much more than you expected.”

Security Point Media directed the conversion of the check point space, working with media and creative agencies MEC, Kinetic, mcgarrybowen and Ferocious Cow. The program was executed by Aviator, Kinetic’s aviation media specialist division.