A few weeks ago, my family sailed on Icon of the Seas out of Miami. Royal Caribbean gave us a free airport transfer at 7 a.m. on debarkation day due to traffic congestions in the port area. But for me and two other members of my family, our flight home didn’t leave until 4 p.m. I didn’t love the idea of sitting at the airport for all of those hours, especially since we couldn’t check our luggage in that far in advance or enjoy an airport lounge for that many hours.
In the past, when we’ve sailed out of Port Canaveral, I’ve booked a day room at Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport. The hotel offers the day room booking directly through Hyatt. It has worked out great for us to get some sleep after a cruise and before an evening flight.
So, as I was searching for a similar option near Miami airport, I came across the website Dayuse.com.
Booking a Room through Dayuse.com
I know the idea of renting a hotel for a few hours sounds like it’s just for people having an affair or something scandalous. But, especially near airports, a day-use hotel can be very useful for extended layovers.
I browsed various hotels on Dayuse.com. Many were available near Miami airport with early morning hours I could use.
I decided to book Garden Hotel Miami Airport, Trademark Collection by Wyndham. The reviews on Dayuse.com were decent, and it had 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. time slot available for $79 ($84 with tax). I didn’t have to pay in advance, I simply had to pay at the hotel. I saved my reservation number and boarded my cruise for the week.
What Went Wrong
After the cruise line bus dropped us off at the airport, we hopped on an Uber for the short trip to the hotel. There were a few people in line at the desk in front of me, so I told my tired kids to have a seat in the lobby while I got our room.
When I got to the front of the line, I showed my reservation number to the hotel employee. She responded that they were sold out for the night prior and had no rooms available for us. Wait, what? She said the cleaning staff didn’t arrive until 9 a.m. I suggested that we could wait until shortly after 9 a.m. until the cleaners could clean a room real fast for us, but she said that wouldn’t work.
As I made my way to the lobby chairs to tell my kids that we had no room, I noticed another tired-looking couple in the lobby. They said they also booked a room through Dayuse.com and were told the same thing as me. Furthermore, this hotel was still showing up on Dayuse.com at that very minute as available!
I figured I’d call Dayuse and they would apologize and fix it. I expected them to find us another nearby hotel.
So, I called the number on the Dayuse website, only to find out that nobody answers on the weekends. I then sent a message through the website as well as a DM on Twitter. We waited for a bit on some sofas in the hotel courtyard. But, I got no responses from Dayuse. Nothing.
The other couple in the lobby found a nearby hotel on the website that showed availability. But when they called that hotel, the worker said that no rooms were available until late morning. We decided to head back to the airport.
Further Communication from Dayuse
The next day, after we were home, I received an email from Dayuse:
I will certainly be following-up with the Hotel to understand why their inventory had been left open and to request further training for the Front Desk staff regarding the DAYUSE offer, policy and contract.
The Hotels receive notifications of new bookings and have access to their inventory and upcoming reservations. It is very problematic that your reservation went through and we were not contacted by the Garden to indicate there would be an issue.
I deeply apologize for the inconvenience you suffered and we hope to be in touch soon with a resolution.
I responded, asking for reimbursement for my Uber ride. I received an email yesterday asking me to send my Uber receipt. Hopefully I’ll get reimbursed eventually.
Final Thoughts
Not having a place to sleep and recharge after our cruise is not the worst travel problem we’ve ever had. We survived, although we were a bit grumpy from lack of sleep and hassle of the wasted time.
I probably won’t be using Dayuse.com again. I’m not counting on getting reimbursed for my Uber ride, but I’ll update this post with the outcome. If you do decide to use Dayuse or another day rental site, I recommend you call the hotel right before you get in a taxi to confirm they actually have the space for you.
Have you used Dayuse or another hotel day rental site?
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
I’ve only booked day rooms directly with Hilton and it’s worked out pretty well. Thanks for the warning.
Another option is checking out ResortPass.com. I’ve used it for renting a cabana by the resort pool (and it included some drinks and snacks) but I think I’ve also seen that you can reserve a room for a time period as well. It worked really well for me!
DANG! that’s very informational, not only for the dayuse.com as a option, but how it worked out for you! I hope you follow up and let us know how they ultimately end up handling it for you. Very GTK!
Rent a cabana at a pool. Nice ones will have a bathroom and shower.
Yikes, that’s incredibly frustrating. Thanks for the write up.
I had seen that website and wondered if it was legitimate. I will pass on it for now. Thank you for sharing your experience.
@smitty06 It seems to be legitimate, just didn’t work in our case.
I have used day use many time with success – I guess its worth confirming with the hotel the day before? Why couldnt you use the facilities? I know thats more of a day pass thing.
@Momma To Go This was a small hotel that didn’t really have many amenities. We just wanted to sleep and charge electronics. I’m glad you’ve had success with it!