I just stumbled across an interesting start-up called Recharge, which is financially-funded by JetBlue. Inspired by renting out hotel rooms for an hourly-charge, Recharge is a service that allows you to have access to an upscale hotel room in New York or San Francisco for 66 cents to $3 per minute. Some sample upscale hotels in New York include the W Hotel and The Pierre.
Photo credit: Recharge
While the first thought that comes to mind is a naughty one when I think of the reasoning behind the need for a hotel room for less than an hour, the actual intended use of this service does make sense.
Perhaps you’ve spent a long day touring a city and a last minute meeting or event popped up and you need a quiet place to shower and freshen up… or if you’re a family traveling with kids and  little one needs a little bit of a break or a power nap in the middle of sightseeing.
According to the TechCrunch article that I stumbled across, the average stay is 2 hours, which means a cost of $80-$360.
My Take
While it may seem reasonable for some, I am not sure I would take advantage of this service. Sure, paying under $15 for a room to take a 20-minute shower before a big event absolutely makes sense, but I can’t imagine shelling out $360 myself (at a $3 per minute property) for 2-hours in a room.
In that case, I’d rather book a cheaper mid-range hotel room and have it for the whole night (bonus if I can even receive points, a stay credit, and elite benefits).
However, I do understand that there is a market for this, and I definitely can see the app expanding to more cities.
Would you ever consider using Recharge to book a room by the minute? Please feel free to share your thoughts.
The ONLY reason to pay those kinds of prices for an hour or 2 is the naughty one you mention.
You can get a room for the entire night even in Manhattan for <$200/night.
$3 a minute is absurd. I know some hotels have day rates.
I would just keep my hotel for another night. Or if I had a redeye flight I’d just take a shower at the airport or get a hotel room at an airport hotel for that night. I’d be right at the airport and could shower right before leaving for my flight and I wouldn’t both checking out in case if my flight had a severe delay, I would just go back to my hotel and rest for a couple more hours.