Is this Minneapolis? I’ve stayed at that hotel attached to the airport and it was super easy. If you can afford it, why not? If it means your car is already parked, all you have to do when you wake up is roll out of bed and walk to the TSA.

If you are up that early anyway, I'd say don't bother.

I often do it when I'm in another country and traveling home and have an extremely early flight, but if you are in your own house and usually get up early anyway ... don't bother with the hotel.

Which airport is it?

Thinking about Uber pickup, possible traffic delays and blocked lanes, I would pay the $350. I wouldn't sleep any better at home thinking about the above.

No.

But I would wake up at the same time a few days ahead and see if there are Ubers available so I can be sure to call for one at the right time. Or pre-arrange a ride otherwise.

I wouldn’t at that price.

But my family loves sleeping in would love getting a “head start” on vacation.

It would also force us all to be packed and ready to go the night before, which we struggle with.

Anonymous wrote:In my opinion, it’s never worth it. You get to the hotel, which is not nice, and then you spend the whole night in an uncomfortable bed listening to hallway noise and waking up every hour to see if it’s time to go to the airport. It’s still an early start with the added stress of being in an unfamiliar place.

+1
And you still have to pack up all your stuff, get out of the room, wait for elevators, etc. It doesn’t actually save that much time, and I never sleep well in airport hotels

Yes, we’ve done the hotel stay near the airport the night before an early morning flight but partly because our child was young then (3 years old) and the drive to the airport was about 45 min. It definitely helped!

Anonymous wrote:No way for a 30 minute drive. It if were 1.5-2 hours then I think it's worth it

+1

30 minute drive? Definitely not. 60 min or more, maybe. 30 min is nothing to us.

I hate waking up at 3 or 4 am for an early flight so I would definitely consider it, especially if one of the teens is hard to wake up.

That said, I agree with the PP that said there won't be much/any line at security that early, so you don't need to wake up in the actual middle of the night if you're packed the night before.

Anonymous wrote:No way for a 30 minute drive. It if were 1.5-2 hours then I think it's worth it

+1

Of course!! I absolutely would and have

The biggest stressor will be waiting for a uber. If staying at the airport hotel makes it less stressful, then do it.

We’ve flown out of several airports outside of DC (Philly, JFK, etc.) and we drive to a hotel the night before. I definitely makes it easier imho.

It would never even occur to me to get a hotel for a 7 am flight when you live nearby. Be packed, get up at 4:15 or, out the door by 4:30, and at the airport by 5, which gives you a 2 hour cushion, and at that hour the lines are going to be short anyway. (I'd personally push that timeline back by 30-45 minutes, but I know most people are more conservative than I am about timing.)