A day room (or day use) is a method of booking a hotel room for same-day use.[1]
History
Historically, the use of day rooms dates as far back as the hotel itself. In literary history, has been associated with the idea of renting rooms on an hourly basis.[2] For a time, this practice had a negative connotation for hotels and motels.[1] In Japan, this practice is commonplace, but exclusive to a specific type of hotel called a love hotel.[3]
Long layovers and unpredictable travel plans re-created the demand for day rooms in modern times. In the United States, jobs that require travel became more popular in the 20th and 21st centuries.[1] The practice of renting a hotel room for a day is also common among travelers and vacationers who go on cruises, as well as commuters visiting cities for conferences and those with long layovers, due to the fact that cruise ships typically depart and arrive at early hours of the morning.[4] This is usually more affordable than booking a hotel overnight.[5]
Day rooms are now being used for charitable work as well.[6] Homeless shelters in the United States typically allow the homeless to sleep at night, but do not allow individuals to stay in the shelter during the day. In Montana, missions are investing in day room facilities to allow the homeless to work on computers, dress, and prepare for interviews.[6] One facility in Montana provides bunks as well as common areas and showers to help impoverished individuals get back on their feet.[6]
Contemporary day rooms
Modern hotels fill daytime occupancy by offering day rooms. Day rooms are booked in a block of hours typically between 8 am and 5 pm,[7] before the typical night shift. For example, the Four Points, a Sheraton hotel in Los Angeles, began offering day rooms.[7] Also, the Rodeway Inn and Suites near Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida offers day rooms.[8]
Technology
There is a technology movement surrounding travel and time-saving that implements daytime hotel use. Several companies offer mobile applications that divide the time by hours or day use for travel purposes.[9] In San Francisco, a company has created a mobile application that divides time in a hotel by the minute.[10] In the Netherlands, the initiative VoorDeThuiswerkers was set up during the lockdown to help home workers and hotels through the corona crisis.[11] Hotels converted their rooms into workplace for a day, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many rooms were empty.
As of 2016, new businesses are built around the concept of helping travelers find day rooms.[5] The IT movement in this direction typically list hotels and motels that offer day room services and provide booking information for those facilities before evening bookings.
Notes
- 1 2 3 Muther, Christopher. "Day-use hotel stays coming to Boston". No. 4 March 2015. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ↑ Mathias, Bettina (2006). The Hotel as Setting in Early Twentieth-century German and Austrian Literature. Harvard University Press. pp. 41, 62, 79.
- ↑ Bertrand, Zaza (30 November 2016). "Brief encounters: Japan's love hotels – in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ↑ Plunkett, Jack W. (2007). Plunkett's Airline, Hotel & Travel Industry Almanac 2008: Airline, Hotel & Travel Industry Market Research, Statistics, Trends & Leading Companies. Plunkett Research, Ltd.
- 1 2 Price, Emily. "Book Hotels at a Discount for the Day with Dayuse". Lifehacker. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
- 1 2 3 mike.smith@mtstandard.com, MIKE SMITH. "Closer look: Rescue Mission details plans for proposed warehouse-district shelter". Montana Standard. Retrieved 2018-05-21.
- 1 2 Booth, Darren (18 December 2012). "Long Layover? Many Airport Hotels Offer Day-Room Rates". CNBC. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ↑ Owen, Chris (5 November 2015). "Pre-Cruise Hotels". Chris Cruises. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ↑ Plautz, Jessica (10 February 2015). "Startup aims to end the stigma of booking hotels by the hour". Mashable. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ↑ Loizos, Connie (24 March 2016). "Recharge lets you book a hotel room — for minutes at a time". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ↑ "VoorDeThuiswerkers.nl verhuurt leegstaande hotelkamers aan…". De Ondernemer (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-03-27.