2 of the Best Public Bathrooms in America Are Apparently in Airports
In this week's weird news about airports, not one but two different airport bathrooms are up for a very prestigious award.
According to View From the Wing, a new restroom at Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) and a bathroom at New York-LGA's Terminal B have been nominated as finalists in the 2019 America's Best Restroom contest, which is hosted by the business-support company, Cintas Corporation. The contest is now in its 18th year.
Yes, seriously.
The two domestic airports (well, specifically, their bathrooms) are going head-to-head with eight other restrooms in the US that have been selected for their cleanliness and design.
"... Each of this year's finalists offer cleanliness and unique design elements worthy of any Instagram selfie," said Sean Mulcahey, marketing manager at Cintas, in a statement. "These finalists understand the importance of ensuring patrons leave the restroom with a positive, lasting impression."
The sparkly new bathroom in Seattle was built as part of the Seattle Terminal Modernization Project, the same one that brought you Alaska Airlines' fancy new lounge. It has quartz multistation stalls; environmentally-friendly flush fixtures that use rainwater; separate sinks in the ADA-compliant stalls; and, of course, automatic soap dispensers.
As far as the bathroom that shines like the top of the Chrysler building at LaGuardia, you'll find it in the new Terminal B. Speaking from experience here, it's actually very pleasant and clean — it felt closer to a hotel bathroom than one you'd find at one of the worst airports in the nation.
And Cintas agrees. They said, "The stalls are deeper and wider to allow passengers to easily bring in luggage and close the door behind them ... They're designed to be as hands-free as possible." They even have live orchids and custom mosaic tiles.
Competitors include the Nashville Zoo, where one men's restroom has floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking a python exhibit; and the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City, where restrooms are covered in a pixilated, orange-and-turquoise print of cherry blossoms.
You can vote for your favorite here, but hurry! Voting closes on Sept. 13. The lucky winner will be announced this fall and will win $2,500 in facility services "to help maintain their award-winning washrooms," according to a statement.
Oh, and a coveted spot in the America's Best Restroom Hall of Fame, of course.
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month