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This is going to sound crazy to you, but there is a new trend in the hospitality industry that all seniors should know about. A growing number of luxury hotels around the world are renting guest rooms by the minute. All you need is an app and a credit card.

Of course, you are thinking what I did when I first heard about this new concept. Fancy hotels must be officially opening their doors for romantic reasons. That may be the case, but the fancy participating hotels say otherwise. They get plenty of legitimate requests from clients who need rooms for a few hours. Some have three to five hour travel layovers, others need rooms to rest between shopping sprees, business appointments, and sightseeing trips.

This must be serious business. Some of the hotels involved are the Surrey and the Pierre in New York City and the Taj Campton Palace in San Francisco. Rising operating costs are also another reason hotels are anxious to rent out empty rooms.

The major companies with apps in this business are: hotelsbyday.com, dayuse.com, and recharge.com. Prices vary all over the place. The New York Times did a big story on this topic that is worth reading. I was very interested in this story because two years ago I was desperate for a room at CES in Las Vegas. I checked out of my room early on the third day of the show. My flight home was a red eye later that night. By noon, I was feeling ill. I needed to lay down. There was no place to go. I ended up getting a massage in a fancy spa. I slept through it, but I felt much better after.

I would have paid a pro-rated amount for a good nap in the hotel I had checked out of, but those options weren’t available then. I think I like the new short-term arrangement.

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