What Is A Micro Hotel? | Ways to Save Money While Traveling

Micro hotels are a relatively new type of hotel in the US and I love them! Staying at a micro hotel is a great way to save money while traveling without having to sacrifice your privacy.

Since my specialty is finding affordable places to stay for backpackers, long-term travelers and digital nomads, I wanted to do a deep dive on exactly what is a micro hotel and what do they have to offer over hostels and capsule hotels. Find out everything to know about micro hotels and who this new trend is best for here.

What Is A Micro Hotel & What Do They Offer?

A Micro Hotel is a hotel which is built in order to maximize space with different room options made for one to two guests, which are a lot smaller than your average hotel room in order to offer a cheaper rate to guests and different room options outside of the standard options you would typically see at a hotel.

For example, in a micro hotel rooms will be about ~150 sq ft on average, compared to 350 sq ft. on average in a standard hotel. Micro hotels usually offer private en suite bathrooms for each room, and amenities similar to midrange hotels such as lounges, a restaurant / bar.

Benefits of Micro Hotels

Cheaper rooms, flexibility and privacy for a lower price than usual are the main benefits of staying in a micro hotel. Of course, the #1 benefit is the lower cost for your room you’ll receive while still enjoying privacy, an en suite bathroom, and hotel amenities like you would in a standard hotel.

In addition to usually having a variety of rooms for different prices, micro hotels often offer flexible lengths of stay for different rates as well including half day stays. For example, we stayed in a micro hotel in Germany during a long layover to get some sleep which was considered a “day room.” Always confirm with the hotel you’re staying at to ensure they offer what you need of course!

Cons of Micro Hotels

Most of the cons of staying in a micro hotel are in line with staying at a pod or capsule hotel, or hostel. The main cons are a lack of offerings for groups over two guests, a lack of space & storage – making them bad for people who are claustrophobic, and decreased quality of things like sheets, TVs and towels. It could also be awkward staying in a micro hotel room with another person who you aren’t 100% comfortable with, especially because the bathrooms are tiny and sometimes blend with the rest of the room.

Micro Hotels are also not good for anyone who has mobility issues, although they are more suitable than a capsule hotel. This is of course a general statement. Always make sure your health comes first while traveling!

What is A Micro Hotel : Differences Between Micro Hotels, Pod Hotels, Capsule Hotels, & Hostels

Part of the reason that it’s hard to define what is a micro hotel is that they are similar to pod hotels, capsule hotels and even hostels. All of these types of hotels are different in that they offer a discounted place to stay, each with different offerings based on what the individual or group is looking for. Neither is necessarily better or worse than the other.

• Capsule / Pod style rooms: Best for privacy or a sleep-only stay
• Hostels: Best for connecting with the travel community
• Micro Hotel: Best for travelers looking for privacy and to save money while traveling, who don’t mind small spaces or have mobility issues

I will say, I’ve seen the term Pod Hotel and Micro Hotel be used interchangeably but generally, a Pod Hotel is the same as a Capsule hotel where their main offering is renting a literal pod as opposed to a small room. You can find out more about the pros and cons of capsule hotels at my full blog on them.

A micro hotel offers small, private rooms with a variety of bed options, typically a single bed or double bed, or bunk beds, with just enough private space to sleep, sometimes work and usually with private en suite bathrooms – but not always.

So then what is a micro hotel versus a hostel? A hostel offers dorm-style options where there are multiple people staying in one room with their own bed, who are also sharing a bathroom. They also typically offer more of a welcoming atmosphere with group activities, free resources for travelers and a sense of community.

Usually the dorm-style rooms in hostels have bunk beds, sometimes with privacy curtains and sometimes without. To make it even more confusing, more and more often hostels will have pod and capsule options along with the traditional bunk rooms, or instead of.

Sometimes they have something between a mix of bunk beds and capsules, which you can see in the above graphic, where there are more solid walls in between each bunk. These types of hostels are generally my first choice for a place to stay while solo traveling, especially for a shorter stay, as they make it easy to stay in a city for very cheap without feeling like I have no privacy at all. It helps that I’m petite because the capsules don’t bother me, but I can imagine this being the opposite for taller people.

Best Micro Hotels In the USA

Micro hotels are more common in countries outside of the United States, but they are showing up increasingly more often here. I’ve noticed there are more on the East Coast than the West Coast, and you’ll only really find them in the major cities. I’m excited about the possibility of these popping up more places! Some of the best micro hotels in the United States are:

• Hive Hotel DC
• Motto DC
• Pod Times Square
• Pod 39 NYC
• YOTEL NYC

When my sister and I stayed at YOTEL in NYC, neither of us knew it was going to be a pod hotel. Thankfully we were very close so there was no issues sharing a tight space and we had a blast, especially because we had a really cool view of the city from our tiny room.

Overall, micro hotels are perfect for solo travelers or anyone hoping to save money while traveling who aren’t too claustrophobic. Share your experience with micro hotels in the comments!