Tourists sleep at Singapore Changi airport to avoid $400 hotel room rate

In a TikTok post on Oct. 5, user @sheridan.tate8 said hotel rates in Singapore had "skyrocketed" during Formula One (F1) weekend that took place from Oct. 3-5, so she and her partner chose to sleep at Changi Airport instead.

The pair had arrived by ferry from Indonesia's Bintan Island and decided against booking a room.

"We did not want to pay $400 just to rest our heads," they said.

Their video documents arriving at Changi around 9 p.m., browsing shops then hunting for a place to rest, Hindustan Times reported.

"We are having a tough time finding somewhere to rest our heads, which is understandable because we are not supposed to sleep here," she says.

They eventually found an area where other travelers had set up makeshift beds, unrolled their own bedding, and slept there.

Both admitted the rest wasn't great, about five hours or less, but concluded, "Not the best night of sleep... But we did it. We didn't have to pay for a hotel."

Their video has triggered a debate on social media, with some criticizing their acts.

"Soon Changi airport will not be No. 1 anymore because there are many people making it like their bedroom," a netizen wrote.

Another wrote, "Singapore airport is not for homeless people to sleep."

Others were more supportive, with one claiming, "I used to work at the airport. You can sleep anywhere. Ask them for blankets. They'll happily give you.