Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few things to know about HotelsByDay, daytime hotel rooms, and frequently asked questions about our service.
If your question isn’t answered on our FAQ, feel free to contact us.
Table of Contents
- About HotelsByDay and Hourly Amenities
A day use room is a room available for early morning check-in and late-afternoon check-out. For example, a popular time band on HotelsByDay lasts from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
We don't believe in rushing. Which is why we offer flexible time bands ranging from 3 to 11 hours. HotelsByDay's time bands are predetermined and thus you cannot book a room 'by the hour.' Not only do we offer more convenient, lengthier time bands, but they come at a better value than booking by the minute, hour, or night.
When you need a room for a few hours to a day, simply search for the location and date you need. Browse hotels based on rates, available time-bands, amenities offered and more.
Most hotels provide HotelsByDay guests with all available amenities. However, some hotels may have restrictions on some amenities (e.g. free breakfast) and are subject to each individual property's choice. Please check with your hotel's front desk.
- Booking with HotelsByDay
You sure can! If you find matching time blocks and you need them, we'll be pleased to accommodate you with consecutive bookings. Keep in mind that you will be asked to create a new reservation when booking an additional time-band.
Two adults are considered the maximum. Most hotels will consider a 10-year-old child as a full paying guest. For more details, please check for the red colored person icon next to the product, with a number next to it, which signifies the number of people that fits on that booking.
Generally, day use rooms are 'run of the house' - meaning that whatever room is vacant will be assigned to you. If you have a specific room request, we suggest you write on the 'message' section during your booking, or simply request it at check-in.
The minimum age to book a hotel room is 18 years old. However, some hotels are more strict and will not allow any person under 21 to check-in. To be safe, we ask that you be at least 21 years old to make a booking.
You should receive an email from us immediately upon confirmation. If you do not see it in your inbox, we suggest checking your spam folder as it may have inadvertently been labeled as spam.
- All bookings with HotelsByDay are for check-in and check-out on the same day.
- Check-out times are fixed. All late departures are subject to extra fees, at the discretion of the hotel.
- You can check-in anytime during the allocated time-band, all the way up to the last hour of your stay. If you show up after the cut-off time, the hotel reserves the right to refuse you.
- Room assignments are made at check-in.
- All rooms are guaranteed to accommodate two guests. Extra guests are allowed at the discretion of the hotel.
- You should be 21 or over to book. It is the hotel’s choice to honor the booking if you do not meet age requirements.
- Copy of the booking, along with matching governmental issued photo ID & credit card required at check-in.
- Frequent Travel Club points will not apply to any HotelsByDay booking.
- Some hotels reserve the right to charge a 'Resort fee’ — includes use of Wi-Fi & other amenities. Please verify upon check-in.
- A temporary hold for incidentals will be charged on your credit card upon check-in. The hold will be removed 5-7 days after you check-out from the hotel.
- Housekeeping is hard work. Be mindful, and tip when you can! :)
- Some hotel rates are guaranteed by credit cards and some are not. For the ones that are not, you can book and cancel at anytime, at no charge on our platform. You will be asked to pay at the hotel prior to checking-in, alongside a certain sum as a deposit.
- Some hotels accept cash payments, please inquire at check-in. Gift cards are not accepted.
- Cancellations for 'pay at hotel' bookings are free of charge and recommend your cancel your day use reservation by clicking on the following link: Cancel My Reservation
- Cancellations can only be processed via the link above—not by phone or email.
- If you do not appear for your reservation, a hotel may prevent you from booking in the future. Please always cancel your reservation via the cancellation link if you foresee that you cannot make it.
- Non-refundable bookings may be charged by the hotel immediately following your booking on HotelsByDay.
- Should your card decline or be invalid, the hotel maintains the right to assign the room to someone else.
- The name of the person who checks-in at the hotel must match the name of the person who made the reservation and also the name on the credit card used to book the reservation. If the names are different, the hotel will not allow the person to check-in.
- Please note that Non-refundable bookings may be charged by the hotel immediately post booking on HotelsByDay.
- Existing Reservations
You have two options to book with HotelsByDay:
- You can "pay at the hotel" which grants you free cancellation up to the same day.
- You can also select a "non-refundable" booking. This means that you'll need to provide credit card details to book a day room. Once booked, the hotel will not allow us to change the date, cancel, or refund the stay.
Only if you booked a refundable room. If this is the case, we ask that you cancel your reservation and book again for the correct date. You can cancel your booking by clicking on the 'Cancel Reservation' link at the bottom of your booking confirmation email.
No - our bookings come manually and are entered into the hotel's reservation system ONLY on the day of your check-in. All you have to do is to show up with a copy of your reservation, as well as a valid ID & credit card that matches the name on your reservation.
Please note that regardless if you pre-paid for the room or not, the hotel will momentarily charge your credit card for incidentals. They will refund the hold within four business days post-stay.
Yes. The hotel is under contract to keep your room until one hour prior to your day room check-out time.
It's possible but you must request it at the front desk. If the hotel has the availability for a night stay, then you will simply be asked to pay for the supplemental nightly rate.
Essentially, a day room is guaranteed for the hours listed on our platform, which have been extensively negotiated on your behalf. Any changes to the booking times are subject to the hotel's confirmation. Please note that if it weren't for HotelsByDay, the only other early check-in alternative would be 3 p.m.
- Billing and Payments
For 'Pay at hotel' bookings there are no card details taken at the time of the booking non the website, and you will pay at the hotel upon check-in.
However for 'non- refundable' bookings, a card is required and payment is processed at the time of the booking.
In both cases, you are asked to check-in at the hotel with a matching ID and Credit Card, matching the name on the reservation.No. Prepaid cards are not accepted by any hotel, due to security risk. A valid ID and credit card must always be presented at check-in of your day stay booking.
Yes, most hotels accept cash, however you still need to show a matching credit card and ID to cover incidentals, in case of breakage. Upon check-in, let the receptionist know you'd like to pay in cash. Don't forget that you also need to cover incidentals by credit card, which are usually around $100 per booking, depending on the hotel.
No. Checks are not an accepted form of payment for daytime rooms at hotels.
It's preferable to use the same credit card, but most hotels will accept a different card as long as the name on the reservation matches your ID and name on the credit card. Please note however that a hold will be put on the credit card that you provide at check-in to cover the hotel from any incidentals during your stay.
Incidental charges are just a hold in your credit card in case of any problem during your stay. The charge shows up as a 'hold' on your credit card statement and does not leave any paper trail.
Granted there was no issue during your stay, the incidental gets automatically refunded back to you within four business days.
If you still have trouble please contact us at [email protected]
Hotels place a hold on your credit card in case there is any incidentals during your stay. If all went smooth, then this hold gets automatically refunded on your credit card, with no paper trail of such charge.
On most transactions, hotels will charge you the day stay as well as an incidental hold for approximately the same amount of the stay, in case of incidentals. This hold gets refunded back to you when & if your stay went smoothly.
- General Questions
Absolutely! Whether you're staying in a room overnight or during the day, for one day or twelve, you should tip the housekeeping staff accordingly. Housekeeping is hard work. Be mindful, and show your gratitude by tipping when possible! A handwritten note goes a long way, too. :)
Many hotels offer a discount on day stay parking versus night stay parking, however, hotel parking accommodations vary. Please check our hotel description for the hotel in question to see a list of amenities.
Parking is one of the features that Hotels lists prominently in the list of amenities on the Hotel description page. In most cases, you cannot reserve a parking spot and it is allocated on a first come-first serve basis.
Most airport hotels provide shuttle transfers to and from the closest airport. If the shuttle is free, it will be listed under amenities in the hotel's description. In most cases, you can reserve a shuttle transfer by calling the hotel directly.
Allergies are taken very seriously by our team at HotelsByDay. If you face one that may impact your hotel stay, please contact us immediately so that we can warn the hotel about it. You can send an email to us at [email protected]
HotelsByDay takes your privacy very seriously. We will never share your data with any third party other than the hotel you booked. Furthermore, we are GDPR-compliant and can anonymize your data upon your request.
- MasterKey Loyalty Community
#MasterKey is our loyalty program that grants you up to 5.5% back in loyalty points for every realized booking on HotelsByDay.
You can also purchase points at an even greater discount to use for future bookings or gift to a friend! Find out more details & sign up here: https://www.hotelsbyday.com/en/masterkey-point-programSince May 2021, being part of the Hotels By Day #MasterKey loyalty community means that you will be granted up to 5.5% in points for every realized booking. Once you reach the same amount of points than the cost of the service, you will be able to redeem the service solely with points!
Find out more details on this page: https://www.hotelsbyday.com/en/masterkey-point-program
Hotels By Day believes in giving back. In that spirit, we grant our guests up to 5.5% back in loyalty points for every realized booking. Once you accumulate as many points as the cost of the listed service, simply redeem points in exchange for a free stay.
Find out more details & sign up here.No you cannot. You can only redeem points for Hotels By Day services. We hope that in the near future we will be able to allow you to redeem Hotels By Day points for other services (ie - more travel, or food?), but at this time, points can only be redeemed for services, not cash.
Yes, you can. And by purchasing points in advance, you get a further discount on booked services.
This way, you add points to your wallet and unlock even more value to your day stay.Simply put: No. They never expire. And as long as you accumulate (or purchase) as many loyalty points as the cost of the listed service, you can redeem them anytime for a free stay.
Please note: you cannot redeem points for cash. You can only redeem them for a Hotels By Day service.
More details here.Your loyalty points will show up in your dedicated private dashboard.
To view your dashboard, you must log in here.