If you find yourself with an early morning flight arrival and/or you simply need a place to work for the day when visiting another city, you may set out in search of a day use rate. Many hotel chains offer some way to book a room for daytime use without an overnight stay. In this post, we cover the key details of various program day use rates: how to book them, what they include, and whether you’ll earn hotel points and/or elite night credit.
Day use basics
A day use rate is a rate you pay for access to a hotel room during the day. Day use rates do not include an overnight stay. Instead, you usually get access to a room for specific hours, like 8am to 5pm or 9am to 6pm (some programs offer both longer and shorter windows for different prices).
My understanding is that you’ll typically get access to the hotel’s major amenities, like the fitness center, business center, swimming pool, etc. In some cases, you’ll even get elite benefits like lounge access. In the case of a long layover, a day use rate could be worthwhile.
Similarly, if you’ll be arriving very early in the morning, it might make sense to book a Day Use rate for the day of arrival if you want to guarantee access to a room when you arrive. For instance, many flights to Europe operate overnight and arrive early in the morning. If you book a room checking in on your arrival date and you arrive at the hotel in the morning hours, you may have to wait a while for a room to become available. Booking a day use rate might make sense so you can have access to a room and the hotel amenities upon arrival (though you may have to change rooms, particularly if your overnight reservation is upgraded). You should probably reach out to the hotel in advance if keeping the same room is your preference.
Below we have collected the official day use rate information for major hotel chains. It is worth noting that you may also be able to book a day use rate by contacting a specific hotel directly. Even if they do not offer a day use rate bookable online, some hotels will still offer a day use rate when contacted directly, particularly during times of low occupancy.
Accor
Short story:
- Find day use rates here: https://all.accor.com/a/en/offers/room-for-a-day.html
- Hours vary — could be 9am to 6pm, 10am to 4pm, 10am to 5pm, etc
- Very widely available outside the US
More info:
I searched a handful of European cities and a couple in Asia and all of them had numerous Accor properties with day use rates. I did not have the same luck in the US, though given Accor’s much smaller US footprint, perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising. In London, there was a long list of properties to scroll with day use rates available.
Hours of access seemed to vary widely from one property to another when it came to the day use rate. I saw everything from 9am to 6pm to 11am to 7pm (with a lot in between). You have to select a property and view the available rooms, then click “Pricing conditions” to get the full rate information, including the hours during which you’ll have access.
One particularly nice and unique feature of booking day use rates through Accor is that you should be able to use Accor Live Limitless points to cover the charge. Accor points are worth 2 Euro cents per point and can be applied at the time of making your reservation or at check out, so you could theoretically book the day use rate with points either way. Since Accor doesn’t offer any way to get outsized value for points, this is as good as any other Accor redemption. Given the fact that so many transatlantic flights land in Europe early in the morning combined with Accor’s strong footprint there, I could see this being particularly useful for travelers to Europe.
Hilton
Short story:
- Easiest site for searching day use rates
- Some properties participate, but most do not
- You should earn points and elite credit for the stay. Most also report getting elite benefits like lounge access for Diamond members when available.
- How to book it: Simply enter the same date for both check-in and check-out on either the website or the app (i.e. enter September 15 check in and September 15 check out and the search tool recognizes the stay is for “0 nights” and displays day use rates).
More detail:
I have anecdotally found the Hilton Day Use rate to be a bit more widely available within the US than through most other US-based programs. That’s still not to say that Hilton Day Use rates are widely available — they aren’t, but they are more widely available than day use rates through other programs.
Searching is easy: just enter the same check-in and check-out date in the search bar and the system recognizes that you’re booking a day use stay and displays availability for that rate if available.
The hours when day use rates are available differ from property to property. For instance, the Conrad London St James offers day use rates from 10am to 4pm.
The Hilton Washington-Dulles airport offers day use rates from 9am to 5pm.
The Hilton Milwaukee offers your choice of 7am to 3pm or 9am to 5pm and notes a late departure fee of $200, so keep an eye on the clock lest you overstay your welcome in Milwaukee.
You should earn both Hilton Honors points based on the rate plus elite night credit for the stay even at the day use rate, though note that your mileage may vary to some extent. I read numerous reports about some of the London Hilton properties marking stays as ineligible for points / elite credit, though most reports overall indicate that you’ll earn points and elite night credit. One member of our team booked a day use rate at the Hilton CDG Airport for 100 euro and earned Hilton points as expected.
It is also worth noting that some credit cards offer quarterly Hilton credits or resort-specific credits. Day use charges should trigger those credits at qualifying properties.
Hyatt
Short story:
- Enter special rate code “OFFICE” to find the “Work from Hyatt” rate
- Includes use of the room from 7am to 7pm
- Day use rate isn’t always much better than overnight rate even when available
More detail:
Hyatt launched their “Work from Hyatt” program (a clever take on the “WFH” acronym that had become commonplace shorthand for “work from home”) during the pandemic. Unfortunately, a lot has changed since this program launched.
For starters, fewer properties seem to participate in this offer anymore. You need to enter “OFFICE” in the special rate code box to search.
Unfortunately, it isn’t immediately clear in search results which hotels have availability for the OFFICE rate. You have to click through on each one to see.
In some cases, this can be a great deal as compared to overnight rates. As you can see below, one property I searched offered an office for the day rate that includes use of the room from 7am to 7pm, 10% off food and beverage, 4 complimentary bottles of water, Wi-Fi, and use of hotel amenities for $139, which is more than $300 less than flexible overnight rates.
However, in other cases, the price for a day rate is more than the advance purchase rate for an overnight stay.
Furthermore, you will not receive elite credit for the OFFICE day use rate, so you may be better off booking an overnight rate (particularly if you are a Hyatt Globalist with access to a 4pm checkout). When Hyatt originally launched this OFFICE rate during the pandemic, members did get elite night credit, but that changed at some point and day use rates no longer earn elite night credit. You do earn Hyatt points for your room rate.
I believe that Hyatt Globalists do receive lounge access even on the OFFICE rate at properties that have a lounge.
IHG (no direct day use rate)
Short story:
- IHG doesn’t offer a direct way to book day use rates
- Book IHG properties via dayuse.com
There’s not much to say here. IHG doesn’t offer a chain-wide way to book day use rates. Instead, you’ll need to turn to a site like dayuse.com that sells day use rates at a range of hotels. I do sometimes see IHG properties available on that site.
Marriott
Short story:
- Enter code “ZDY” to search for day use rates
- Can be booked on the website or in the app
- How to book it: Set check-out date for the day after your stay (i.e. if you want a Day Use rate on September 15th, enter a check-in date of September 15th and check-out of September 16th, but enter ZDY in the offer code box to see Day Use rates)
- Few hotels participate, but some do
- More information can be found here
More detail:
Marriott Day Use rates can be found by entering code “ZDY” when searching either at Marriott.com or in the Marriott app. Note that many properties do not participate and it may be harder to find a day use rate if you have a family of four than it is for one or two people
Marriott Day Use rates are eligible to earn Marriott points, but they do not earn elite night credit.
I’ve found a limited number of data points regarding elite benefits like lounge access for Platinum members. The few data points I’ve seen have been positive regarding access to the lounge as a Platinum member or higher (in situations where status would entitle a member to lounge access on an overnight stay).
That said, official Marriott Bonvoy terms and conditions indicate that elite members receive benefits when staying on a Qualifying Rate. A Qualifying Rate is described as a stay of one or more nights. Your mileage may vary on the interpretation there, but I am happy to report that I checked in to a Marriott property with a lounge for a day use rate just this morning and I did indeed receive lounge access.
Part of the reason I’ve found limited data points regarding Marriott elite benefits on day use rates is probably because of the overall limited availability of the day use rate. This screen shot shows two hotels with day use rates available near JFK, but the vast majority of nearby Marriott properties have no day use rates available.
That said, some properties include the option to book a room with executive lounge access like this example in London.
When available, Day Use rates can be a significantly better deal than booking an overnight stay if what you really need is access after an early morning arrival. For instance, the Courtyard New York JFK often has day use rates available. While $163 with tax might not sound like a deal for day use, it isn’t bad when you consider the price of an overnight stay at JFK airport hotels these days (see the overnight rates that follow the day use rate below!).
Wyndham
Short story:
- Wyndham’s website indicates here that it is possible to book a day use rate for 6 hours between 8am and 8pm: https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/hotel-deals/work-from-wyndham. However, I haven’t found a day use rate available in a handful of searches.
- Some available on dayuse.com
More detail:
Despite it being advertised on the Wyndham website, I couldn’t actually find day use rates in my searches using their link / rate code.
I have seen some Wyndham properties on dayuse.com.
Resort pass
Short story:
- Good if you just want access to amenities like a swimming pool, spa, etc
- Good coverage in areas with resorts, less useful in other areas (though there are pools and spas even in cities like NYC)
- We sometimes see card-linked offers that could make for a nice savings
More detail:
Resort Pass offers various day passes with a focus on resort amenities like swimming pools and spas. The passes available vary tremendously by property, with anything from day passes for one person to family passes, poolside cabanas for a group, massages and other spa treatments and a lot more.
This could obviously be useful if you’re staying off-property or at an Airbnb but you want to enjoy resort amenities for a day or two.
While the focus is obviously on resort locations, I was surprised to find passes available even in some larger cities like New York, where I found passes to access rooftop pools and plenty of spa deals.
Resort Pass typically does not include use of a hotel room but rather focuses on use of amenities, so this may not be an ideal solution if you’re looking for a place to sleep or work or you’re arriving with luggage.
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My family recently stayed at a DoubleTree near the Manchester (UK) airport for an epic nap following an early morning arrival d/t an overnight flight. A bit over $100, and 100% worth it. Would recommend.
I also am pleased to report that I got my full point earnings on the stay. (Base, promo, and gold bump).
Resort Pass does offer Day Rooms as well, but it is unfortunately difficult to search for. Last time I looked there was no option to filter for them and you often had to click the “View All” button on each property to look for it.
My anecdotal experience is that I was able to find more than a dozen properties in the Phoenix area that offered Day Rooms and they were usually at reasonable prices. Phoenix however is well represented in the resort category, and I imagine their site wouldn’t be useful in many large northern cities that lack the sunshine and palm trees one often thinks of as a “resort”.
Dayuse.com is too unreliable, I’m surprised you recommended them honestly.
I didn’t recommend them. I mentioned Dayuse.com because it’s a site for booking day use rates. I’ve never used them myself. What do you mean by unreliable? What has your experience been?
Great post, thanks!
Super useful post. Thank you!!
This is so helpful. I did not know this was a thing. LOVE FM! My friends are so
Impressed I know these things.
Chuck took the words out of my mouth! Thank you for a great article!
Ditto On this…Thanks guys
In the past, I have been able to earn elite qualifying nights with day rates for Marriott. YMMV.
Really appreciate you taking the time to do this post. It’s bookmarked for future use and it’s exactly why I read FM (and you even included ResortPass which can be a fantastic value in certain circumstance). Thank you Nick!
Very helpful, thank you. We often arrive from a cruise by disembarking before 9 am and wait most of the day for a flight. Your assessment of Hilton is consistent with mine; they seem to have what I want at a reasonable price much of the time. Some of the properties are dropping their mandatory resort fees for day use which is super appreciated and often convinces me to stay at that property.
Married men everywhere thank you for this article 😉