Agoda, Booking Holdings’ Asia headquartered digital travel platform, has introduced a beta version of its day use feature available from 7,000 hotels in South Korea, giving people the choice to book a room for just a few hours.

The new feature provides greater flexibility and value for people who do not require a full night’s stay, allowing them to book their desired room and only pay for the hours they need it, while still enjoying the luxuries that come with a traditional overnight hotel stay.

The day use option will also benefit accommodation providers who might find their rooms empty during a large part of the day. Hoteliers can maximize their revenue by increasing occupancy in the day and leverage the opportunity to expand their customer base with different types of day users.

To book a day use room, Agoda users can start by searching for any destination in Korea on the Agoda mobile app, select the “day use” tab, enter the check-in date and browse through a wide range of properties across the country, including in cities such as Seoul, Jeju Island, Busan, Daegu and Incheon. Day use rates are available for two- to ten-hour blocks, depending on the hotel’s availability. Users can select from available check-in timeslots before 11:00 pm.

Agoda’s day use booking options are now available on mobile

“At Agoda we are constantly improving our offering to meet the changing demands of travelers. This is the first time we are launching day use rates and we expect great response, as we develop products and provide innovative solutions by assessing the needs of local markets. The new day use feature will appeal to a wide range of travelers, whether they are in transit and need a place to rest for a while, families, couples or groups of friends looking for a ‘daycation’, people who need a quiet space to focus on work, or leisure travelers looking for a short stay in a unique, themed hotel,” said Omri Morgenshtern, Chief Operating Officer, Agoda.

“For our hotel partners, this also means maximizing the utility of their rooms which are unoccupied in the day, and hence helping them to drive revenue not only from the bookings, but also potential spending at the restaurant, spa or souvenir store during their daytime stay. Hoteliers can look forward to also converting these day use customers into returning visitors who might book an overnight stay.”

Korean users can look forward to a full roll-out of the day use feature in the next few weeks. Agoda will continue to work with accommodation partners to increase the selection of day use rooms and secure great prices, as well as look to expand the day use offering in other destinations in the coming months.