Hoteliers across the world are increasingly offering rooms for ‘day use’ – letting guests book a room during the day without staying overnight. It’s a growing market fuelled by amorous liaisons, business travellers in need of somewhere to work, and those with long layovers looking for something nicer than a contract airport lounge. British hotels, for example, raked in PS10m through Dayuse last year.

But many day rooms don’t advertise day rates on their website, and even those that do often struggle to sell them, with potential customers being confused or booking them for the wrong days or in place of an overnight stay. New app Hotels By Day (website and both iPhone and Android app) is hoping to fix that by making it easier for people to find, book, and pay for day rates.

Day Rooms: Your Oasis for Tranquil Daytime Escapes

Hotel day rates were once the preserve of wealthy homes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where they offered privacy and luxury to families who had few other options for meeting with friends or conducting business. They usually contained prized possessions, and in larger houses were used to relieve Drawing-rooms or as a more informal Sitting-room for guests.

Today’s day rooms are a less luxurious but still appealing option, with hotels offering spa facilities and even beds to guests who don’t want or need an overnight stay. And it’s a great way for hotels to tap into additional revenue that doesn’t require them to change their operations or rooms, as well as to drive footfall at other on-site services like restaurants and bars.