Rent hotel rooms by the minute: App ties up with 16 NYC hotels

Good news for lazy business travelers and cost-conscious philanderers — an app that allows the reservation of hotel rooms by the minute is launching in New York City.

Recharge Lab Inc. has been operating in San Francisco since 2015, Bloomberg reported, and is now adding 16 New York City hotels to its books.

Prices in New York are between $0.83 and $2 per minute, along with a 14.7 percent lodging tax. That calculates to be between $20 and $46 for a 20 minute stay, and between $85 and $207 for a 90-minute visit. Arlo Hudson Square, as well as the Quin,  the Pierre and 1 Hotel Central Park are signed up.

Consumers can download the app for free, find the hotel they want and book from their phones. The billing cycle starts 30 minutes after booking, or when the guest collects the key if that happens first, and ends when he or she hits “check out” on the app.

“Imagine if you could only park your car for 24 hours, and that was just the only option. All we’ve done is put a parking meter on some of the greatest hotels in the world and allowed travelers to decide on their clock when to come in and come out,” Manny Bamfo, the CEO and founder of Recharge Labs, told Bloomberg.

The app is proving worthwhile for hoteliers, with some hotels in San Francisco making six-figure profits with by-the-minute reservations, Bloomberg reported. [Bloomberg] — Miriam Hall