It’s a Monday afternoon in Brooklyn, and I’m by the pool on the fourth floor deck of The William Vale. I’m not an overnight guest—I’ve come on a ResortPass.
Coiled in the shady corner of a daybed, laptop open but screen not necessarily bright enough to make out what’s on it, I’m feigning work but really letting my head loll back as a happy breeze cuts the baking heat. Between the hours of 2 and 8 p.m., I’ve got a share of the pool at the five-star Williamsburg high-rise. The daybed cost extra.
ResortPass is the type of idea you can’t believe somebody didn’t make work sooner. The basic premise: that you can pay a fee to access the pool (other facilities like the spa or gym may or may not be on the menu) at a property without booking a room and staying the night. What comes with the experience varies from hotel to hotel, on a sliding scale where a high price often—and, certainly, should—begets complimentary extravagance in the food and beverage department.
ResortPass CEO Michael Wolf says the name of the game here is making hotels accessible to people year-round, whether they’re traveling or not: “Hotels are really good at attracting travelers to their properties, because the core business strategy is filling up their rooms. But overnight guests overestimate the amount they’re going to use the amenities dramatically because they are also there to work or explore or do nothing.” Enter day guests, locals who may want to sit by a pool or otherwise enjoy a property in their own neighborhood, that they therefore have little reason to stay the night at.
How much does ResortPass cost?
Wolf says that 70% of the approximately 1,600 participating properties offer passes for $65 or less. Most passes at this price point only include the bare bones amenities, guaranteeing access to the pool deck and a swim but little else—deck chairs and shower access might cost extra, so read the fine print. In New York City, ResortPasses with pool access—to places like Virgin, The Dominick, and Arlo Williamsburg—are almost exclusively $100 or more with the exception of Long Island City’s The Summer Club at Ravel Hotel ($75). When you get to five-star The William Vale, the number shoots up to $150, with my lounge bed bringing the total to $300. In comparison, nightly rates here will cost you around $600, on average.
According to the ResortPass website, cabana or day bed reservation fees include guests up to the maximum number of people specified. That means your guests do not need to book their own passes. When I arrive at The William Vale the attendant tells me my lounge bed could fit up to three people comfortably and to just have any guests give her my name when they arrive (I had no such guests, I was alone.)
When asked about the relationship between a DayPass rate and a hotel’s overnight rate, Wolf says, “There’s a huge variance based on market and property, and more than anything on what’s included. It can go up to three or four times the price of a room at some of these luxury properties because they might include lunch or drinks.”