Proposal:Lounges 3

Lounges 3
Proposal status:	Proposed (under way)
Proposed by:	Lega4
Tagging:	`amenity=travelers_lounge`
Statistics:
Draft started:	2024-10-30
RFC start:	2024-10-30

Proposal

This is the follow-up on existing proposals (Proposal:Lounges and Proposal:Amenity=lounge). Given the feedback, `amenity=travelers_lounge` is proposed. The tag is designed to clearly mark lounges (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_lounge): comfortable waiting/recreational area usually requiring either some form of membership or fee to enter. These facilities usually can be found in big transport hubs such as airports and big train stations.

The proposed tag would be applicable to the following database elements:

Nodes: Minimal way to indicate presence of a lounge at the given coordinates.
Areas: For indoor mapping, this can be used to mark existing indoor=room as a lounge. Also this can be used if a lounge is located in a separated building.

Rationale

There are more than 1600 airport lounges around the globe accessible with Priority Pass program, as well as many others participating in different membership programs (e.g. more than 100 in Russia via Every Lounge or 15 rail lounges in Germany via DB). Many credit cards providers advertise their product highlighting the advantage of providing free access to the lounges. So there is definitely a lot of public interest in those.

The chosen tag amenity=travelers_lounge is not as straightforward as previously proposed `lounge`, but is more specific, minimizing confusion while aligning with the existing OSM naming conventions. While the tag might look similar to amenity=lounger or amenity=hookah lounge, the meaning in very different, so it cannot be confused during mapping. Proposed tag emphasizes the facility's primary function, which is distinct from bars, restaurants, hookah places or general waiting areas.

Today amenity=lounge is the de-facto used to tag lounges in the airports and train stations around the world and has a documented wiki page. If the proposal is approved, usage of `travelers_lounge` would be recommended instead.

Tagging

Definition

Lounge is a comfortable area, typically located in a transport hub (airport or train station). Usually it also provides some extra amenities such as Key:shower, or cleaner Key:toilets, better Key:internet access as well as Key:bar and Key:food.

What makes a lounge distinct from bar/restaurant/waiting area is:

Limited access. Most of the known lounges limit access to the members of different programs (such as Priority Pass, Every Lounge), so membership=yes/required should be used. Some of the lounges might allow non-members to pay-to-enter (fee=*, consider also adding charge=*). If the lounge does not allow pay-to-enter, access=private+private=members must be used.

Additional Tags Used in Combination

Tag	Description
`name=*`	Almost always lounges have a name.
`operator=*`	Use when lounge is part of some network or affiliated with some transportation company (American Express, Delta, American Airlines, KLM, DB).
fee=*	Add if the lounge allows pay-to-enter
`charge=*`	If the lounge allows pay-to-enter, specify the amount.
`access=*`	If the lounge does not allow pay-to-enter, but only allows members to access, set `access=private` and `private=members`
`private=members`	If the lounge does not allow pay-to-enter, but only allows members to access, set `access=private` and `private=members`
`membership=*`	Specify whether some kind of membership is `required` to enter or if lounge accepts pay-to-enter as well as some members (`yes`)
description=*	Add more detailed information about the lounge and access

Comparison with current tagging schemes

Tag:room=lounge (321 occurrences)
- Often incorrectly used for prayer rooms (should use Tag:amenity=place of worship instead)
- Where it's used for lounges, in only describes *room* specifically, which makes it not intuitive to use on nodes. So current proposal supersedes this usage and using `amenity=lounge` would be preferred for indoor mapping (Tag:indoor=room).
Tag:amenity=bar
- While many bars have "Lounge" in their name, it does not mean the place is an `amenity=lounge`.
- Mapping lounges as "bars" (unknown amount, hard to query, but at least 1) leads to confusion from both sides: someone looking for a bar will be disappointed if he gets to the lounge's entrance, same as someone looking for a lounge is not necessarily is seeking for a bar.
Tag:public transport=lounge
- Has just 22 usages worldwide (mostly for lounges at train stations in Europe)
- Was never as popular as `amenity=lounge` (tag history)
amenity=lounge
- De-facto used today tag with clear definition and more than 120 uses worldwide. However the previous proposal to formalize it was rejected due to being "too generic", so let's try to use more specific term.

Elements tagged

Nodes: Minimal way to indicate presence of a lounge at the given coordinates.
Areas: For indoor mapping, this can be used to mark existing indoor=room as a lounge. Also this can be used if a lounge is located in a separated building.

Examples

Frequent-flyer lounge, LH at FRA here
Air Canada lounge at LHR
Virgin Australia lounge in Perth airport

Rendering

Ideally the lounges should be rendered in the consumers and OSM Carto with some distinctive icon. I think couch icon (from `shop=furniture`) is a good and easy option unless we can find or design the better icon. Many public icons refer to lounges as some kind of chair/couch with possible a small table with drinks on it. As the main point of lounges is to provide a relaxed space, couch seems quite suitable. Also it's unlikely to have any furniture shops around the lounge (typically in airports or train stations), so it won't be confused with the shop.

Possible icon to be used for lounges

Features/Pages affected

External discussions

Please discuss the proposal in Community forum https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/rfc-feature-proposal-amenity-lounge/119794

Comments

Please discuss the proposal in Community forum https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/rfc-feature-proposal-amenity-lounge/119794, or alternatively comment on the discussion page.

Proposal:Lounges 3

Contents

Proposal

Rationale