I came across an advertisement today that caught my attention as the ad was promoting daypasses for hotel swimming pools (including major chains) at popular global travel destinations.
Prices appear to be very moderate and even include a f&b credit to be consumed on the premises as an encouragement for the visitor to spend money at the hotel outlets.
The site in question is called DayPassApp (see their website here) and while the locations are limited I find it interesting to check which hotels signed up for this service as it’s not only independent ones but also known brands such as Alila, Fairmont, Hilton and Ritz Carlton.
Here are some examples:
In Bali, they have quite a few, including the Alila, which is a personal favorite of mine: 
Bangkok also has quite a few, but the main brands include the Hilton/Doubletree Sukhumvit Soi 22:
If you’re planning on visiting Dubai, then there are hotels such as Fairmont The Palm and Ritz Carlton:
And even Singapore has two properties listed, one of which is the Fairmont (not that it’s a great one, and it’s also expensive):
In some of these cases, I think the price is way too expensive for what it is while others are a pretty decent deal. For example, Singapore with S$69 and no F&B credit. Contrary, you have the Hilton Bangkok for 400 Baht incl 200 Baht F&B credit.
That hotels sell access to pool and fitness centers is nothing new. You sometimes see them selling it directly and in the case of Bangkok I often saw it swirling around as online offers on Megatix etc.
Nevertheless, sometimes I wonder who would be the customer for these. Visitors to the respective city who stay at cheap hotels that don’t have their own pool? Local residents whose apartment doesn’t have a swimming pool? Or travelers who have a long daytime layover and who don’t want to pay for a day room?
It’s not like you can throw a party there, you’d still have to behave properly like a proper hotel guest.
At the same time, after having seen over 1000 hotel pools over the years, it’s easily possible to visit hotel pools without actually being a guest at the hotel, just by acting like you’re staying there. Obviously, that’s not allowed, but it’s definitely possible. I could name dozens of hotels right off my memory where nobody ever verifies if you’re a staying guest. The same goes for fitness centers.
The system utilized here is similar to Loungebuddy, basically a worldwide registry of service providers that are willing to sell the use of their facility by the hour.
Conclusion
I discovered a site that sells day passes to hotel swimming pools at select global destinations for a nominal fee. Such offers aren’t unique but I haven’t seen it in a form where you can pick a selection from a worldwide register and what surprised me most is the type of hotels that have signed up for these services.
If the Hilton BKK charges 400 Baht for a daypass that includes a 200 Baht F&B credit I’m sure the website also has to get a 100-200 Baht cut. What is there really left in profit?
Have you ever paid for a day pass to use a pool/fitness center before?
