Forget boring airport lounges. This new one has a robot bartender and Mario Kart

Airport lounges have spent decades promising travelers the same thing: a quieter place to sit and wait. But a new concept opening next week inside Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport is betting that modern travelers, especially millennials who grew up gaming, want something far more immersive for their layover. Portal Lounge, a new tech-forward independent lounge concept from Gameway founders Jordan and Emma Walbridge, officially opens at MSP on May 28. The lounge combines gaming, chef-driven food and drinks, immersive design, and interactive technology in an attempt to reimagine what travelers actually want from airport downtime. The opening represents a major expansion for the Walbridges, whose gaming-focused airport brand Gameway currently operates in nine U.S. airports, with plans to expand to 11 locations by the end of the year. While Gameway centered on dedicated gaming lounges for travelers during delays and layovers, Portal Lounge scales that idea into a full hospitality experience. From mall gaming center to airport lounges The roots of both concepts trace back nearly a decade. “We decided that airports really needed a form of entertainment and a source of fun,” Emma Walbridge tells Fast Company. “People talk about millennials needing experiences, and they do and they want it at airports now as well.” [Photo: Gameway] The couple first came up with the idea for Gameway after visiting a gaming center in a shopping mall in England. Jordan Walbridge initially explored whether the concept could work as a stand-alone business, but Emma, who previously worked in hospitality and hotel management in England, quickly recognized the limitations of a traditional location-based gaming model. “I said to Jordan, I’m actually hospitality born and bred,” Emma said. “I was like, this would do great if it was in airports.” That insight ultimately helped shape Gameway’s success. The company’s first location opened at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in 2018, wh