Tuesday, June 26, 2018

New Services That Bring Hotel Amenities to Travelers Not in Hotels

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3 New Services That Bring Hotel Amenities to Travelers Not in Hotels

If you’d rather save money and stay in a bed-and-breakfast or Airbnb, but don’t want to give up amenities like room service, a fitness center or spa, these new services are for you.

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The pool at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa in Montelucia, Ariz., one of the spots that the ResortPass can provide access to.CreditResortPass

By Elaine Glusac

June 25, 2018

Home sharing services like Airbnb can be great money savers. But the greatest money savers tend to require skipping common hotel amenities like fitness centers, spas, pools and room service. Now, naturally, there’s an app for that.

Make that apps, plural, including the following new ones that offer non-hotel guests access to hotel services.

At the beach and craving a burger but don’t want to leave your patch of paradise? Bring up EazyO on your phone. The service delivers restaurant food to your beach chair at a touch of the screen using stored payment information and GPS location technology. Currently only available in South Florida, and only available for the iPhone, EazyO lists menus from major hotels like the Fontainebleau Miami Beach and area beach concessions.

Dayuse offers users the opportunity to book hotels during daylight hours, usually with the provision that day users arrive after 9 a.m. and check out in the late afternoon. With over 4,000 hotel listings in 24 countries, the service touts itself as a place to check-in before your accommodations allow — with particular appeal to jet-lagged fliers — and a way to gain access to hotel pools, gyms, spas and meeting space. The app is free, and available for the iPhone and Google Android devices.

ResortPass sells access to the pools, cabanas, gyms and spas of over 80 resorts in seven sunny states, including California, Arizona, Florida and Hawaii. Options include the trendy Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Ariz. (prices start at $35), the luxury-level Monarch Beach Resort in Orange County, Calif. (from $50) and the Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa at Keauhou Bay in Hawaii (access starts at $45). ResortPass is a webapp, so you don’t have to download anything — just visit their website to search and book.

The service takes aim at staycation locals as well as home-share or budget travelers. Its founder Amanda Szabo got the idea to launch the service in 2016 when she was living in San Diego and craving a pool day at one of the city’s many resorts.

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“I did sneak in once and it was very uncomfortable when the whole point is to relax,” she said, of her light bulb moment. “Being at the hotel and seeing how empty it was on that particular day, I thought, take my money, I’ll pay you.”