What It’s Like Using DayUse for Daytime Hotel Stays – My Experience in Hong Kong

I recently covered in another post my experience with Yotelair in Singapore Changi International Airport. This post is on a similar note, going into an alternative to Yotelair in cities hotels of this type aren’t available at the airport. I’ll be sharing my experience using the app DayUse for a hotel room by the hour in Hong Kong.

What Is DayUse and How It Works

The concept is a simple yet clever one. Hotels occasionally have rooms empty during the day while waiting for guests to arrive. So, instead of leaving them vacant for large chunks of the day hotels can put them up for sale on marketplaces such as DayUse.

The DayUse app then allows you to look up such hotels and book a room for the time that you need it in the daytime. While traveling this can be a very useful tool to have at one’s disposal. Let me explain why I used it.

Why I Tried It in Hong Kong

During my trip from Rome to Busan, via Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and Hong Kong, with my wife and two year old son, I needed to get creative with solutions for him to rest in the afternoon after our hotel checkout time and before our late night flights. We used the flight on our third night at each destination as a hotel to avoid paying extra 3 hotel nights.

However, it soon became apparent that our son wouldn’t be able to hold up well until departure time of the flights. Therefore, in Abu Dhabi I got a late checkout, in Singapore I booked a stay at the Yotelair at the airport, and in Hong Kong I tried DayUse’s service.

I downloaded the app and quickly found some hotels in the area we were staying in Hong Kong (Tsim Sha Tsui). I selected the number of hours I wanted to stay for and that was it.

It must be said you need to look carefully at the hotels offered as not all are top notch.

Pros and Cons of Using DayUse

In favor of using the app I must note:

1. The app is very easy to use. It is easy to find a hotel and book it selecting the hours that you want the room for.
2. Selection, at least in Hong Kong, was fairly good. Considering I booked only the night before I needed the room.
3. Payment was easy, I used Apple Pay, and paid in my own currency (Euro). Which was nice, didn’t have to pay a commission on this transaction.
4. Offers a solution to rest before late departures in cities where the airport doesn’t have a hotel that works like the Yotelair chain does.

There aren’t many cons, but if I really need to list one here’s which it is:

1. Not all hotels are great value for money. Specifically the hotel we booked was supposedly a 4 star hotel but it didn’t feel like it at all (Soravit Granville Road, Hong Kong). The room was stuffy and didn’t feel very comfortable. So look for rooms carefully.

When It Makes Sense for Travelers

If you find yourself in a situation like mine, it makes total sense to use a solution as DayUse. It saved me and my wife so much energy instead of going from mall to mall in the city killing time. Alternatively if you have a long layover between flights this can also be a good use case.

Final Thoughts – A Smart Alternative to Airport Lounges

Although the hotel wasn’t fantastic, it did serve the purpose we got the room for. Our son got some sleep and was then ready to fly to South Korea at 2AM the next morning from Hong Kong International Airport. The cost of 4 hours, for the hotel we chose was approximately 80 Euro which I think is a fair fee all things considered.

Whether you have airport lounge access or not this can be a good use of money, particularly if you’re traveling in economy class either late at night or on a long flight and want to get onboard with a fresh mind and body.