The Standard Hotels Launches Its Own Same-Day App

Every new business or product should strive to solve a problem and a new same-day booking app from The Standard hotels group has done just that for the hordes of would-be guests wandering the streets of New York City, Miami Beach and Los Angeles between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. when HotelTonight has already shut things down for the night — or the morning, actually.

Help has thus finally arrived for this long-neglected and worthy traveler segment.

The boutique hotel group’s new One Night Standard app offers same-day bookings for its five properties in New York City, Miami Beach and Los Angeles starting at 3 p.m. through 5 a.m. the next morning and officials promise that it will be its lowest rates available anywhere. HotelTonight takes same-day bookings through 2 a.m.

A spokesperson for the hotel group says rates booked through the One Night Standard app (iOS and Google Play) will be lower than the pricing the group gives to HotelTonight, flash sales sites, other third-party channels when the group participates in them and The Standard’s own websites.

According to the app’s FAQ: “What if I find a lower-priced room elsewhere? Highly, highly, highly doubtful.” There is a low-price guarantee, though, and travelers would have to contact the hotel directly to get the rate.

In an imperfect test of the low-rate promise, HotelTonight last night was offering a room at The Standard High Line in New York City for $225 while The Standard app featured rooms for $99 (although that is a promotional rate good for all available rooms offered in the app through May 3).

The name of the app, One Night Standard, is tongue in cheek (wink, wink), according to the spokesperson, who claims this is the first time a hotel group has created its own same-day booking app instead of relying solely on third-party apps such as HotelTonight and BookingNow.

The One Night Standard app, which went live over the weekend, is geared to tie into the last-minute booking trend, including for people who may be out late at a restaurant or club and may find it convenient to spend the night at one of The Standard’s boutique properties. Several of the properties include restaurants and clubs.

As has become standard with same-day apps, the guest prepays for the room, and the room type is not guaranteed.

Alas, guests using the app to book a room up to 5 a.m. don’t necessarily have to leave by the noon or 1 p.m. checkout time, depending on the property. For varying fees, there are late check-out options and a “really” late check-out to book a room for a second night, when available.