Planning to stay at a hotel? Now pay for your room on an hourly basis

The thumb rule of hotels charging their customers for a whole day will soon change as some hospitality chains are now offering cheaper rates for shorter durations, according to a report in the Times of India.

The latest move would benefit travellers who needs an accommodation for a few hours en route to their destination.

The report quoted an example saying, booking a hotel through Frotels.com for a two-hour package at Hotel Imperial Palace at Andheri in Mumbai works out to be Rs 630, as opposed to Rs 2,637 per room night.

Branded hotels are stepping into the segment of shorter stay, especially the ones near airports and in pilgrim towns.

The popular hotel chain, Lemon Tree adopted the initiative this year. A report in TOI quoted Devinder Kumar, general manager, Revenue Management and eCommerce, Lemon Tree saying, "We decided to adopt this strategy because in most of our business hotels, 60% to 70% of departures happen early morning and likewise arrivals happen in the evening".

Another hospitality startup, FreshUp is all about shorter stays. It offers two or three hour packages per person for about Rs 299.

Websites such as 6-hourly, Frotels, Mistay, 9to5.com also offer packages for shorter stays.

Experts feel that the new trend would soon pick up and become popular in the industry.