Novel Way to Wind Down: Book the Lounge Chair

You might say working is the new black. If you don’t have a tale that involves a marathon project that culminates in a 14-hr night flight that ends with stepping off the plane to a horror story taxi cab ride that takes you to a meeting where you are the presenter who must win signatures that allow the project to move to the next step, then you do not belong to this elite club.

But for those that do and promise themselves that vacation reward that makes it all worth it, ResortPass.com offers a twist: the daycation. The staycation is what work-weary would-be travelers do when they want to relax but don’t want to have to go to the Maldives for it. The concept allows those in the know to pay around $30 for a day at a nearby resort without having to plan, pack, travel, wait, check-in, unpack and consult a map before they can relax.

Santa Monica, CA-based ResortPass.com has amassed a collection of luxury hotels and resorts that are willing to offer day passes and expanded partnerships with Kimpton, Rosewood, Hyatt, Omni Hotels, Loews, Fairmont, Hilton, Innisfree, Highgate, Sydell Group, Trust Hospitality, SBE, Host Hotels, and others. The start-up has welcomed over 300 hotel partners across 24 U.S. states and is on track to triple this number in the next 12 months.

Locals and travelers can enjoy leisure amenities at amazing hotel properties without needing to book a room. Founder Amanda Szabo claims the idea came to her as someone who used to sneak into hotels to enjoy the pools around her area of work in San Diego. In 2016, she put partnerships and technologies together in an app that allows hotels to monetize hotel space that often goes unused and give non-guests a chance to test drive the property – at least from a leisure seeker’s point of view.

Prices for basic access to pools, hot tubs, fitness centers might hover around $25 and go up to $300 for access to in-demand private cabanas, which often include food and drink services.

Similar concepts can be found with , DayAxe, Daycation and DayPass. Currently, ResortPass.com hotel partnerships can be found only in the U.S.

“Since many overnight guests don’t spend their entire stay on property, hotels and resorts can tap into the day pass guest. Segmenting out amenities, and making them available to book, drives an easy new channel from local residents looking for a day getaway, visitors staying at an Airbnb nearby, or even overnight guests who want to add extra experiences during their stay,” says Szabo.