The hotel experience is generally to stay the night, but some hotels let you book a room for specific hours during the day. This can be useful for people who want to take a nap, shower, or relax in a private space while waiting between flights. But 99% of the time it is for secret lovers to have a tryst during their lunch break.
Finding a room
The first step is to find a hotel that lets you book rooms for a few hours during the day. Unless you’re in a major city or close to an airport, your options will be limited to none. The site which has the most inventory is HotelsByDay. Start your search there. I know of a couple other sites, dayuse.com and dayrooms.com but they have fewer options. If you’re lucky enough to find a decent room in your area then you can book it. Hotels will give you a window of time when the room is available. You can check in at any time during that window, but you must leave by the checkout time in the evening. If a room’s availability is from 10AM-4PM then you would have no problem coming in at noon and leaving at 2PM for your illicit affair.
You have the option of either paying ahead with credit card or paying at the hotel when you check in. If you’re trying to hide your rendezvous from prying eyes on your credit statement. Look into the pay at the hotel option and call ahead to see if you can use cash or perhaps a gift card. Sometimes this costs a bit more but you will keep your privacy secure.
Checking In
You can check into your hotel like normal, but you will need to specify that you have a reservation for their “day rates”, because it’s a different reservation than what they normally use. The hotel clerk will know that you are using the room for a romantic interlude, it is pointless to pretend you are using the room for any other reason. Accept their silent judgment and move on.
And please remember to tip the maid for the disgusting mess you leave behind.