This week I want to Blog about hotels. Check in and Check out times particularly.
Most hotels have a Check-in time of 3.00pm, some have 2.00pm and some 4.00pm and some hotels allow you to Check-in earlier, if you are part of their loyalty programme.
Check out, is 11.00am at most hotels and noon in some.
This means when you pay to stay overnight that is just what you get, you don’t even get to stay for 24 hours.
If you could have an earlier Check in, would you pay? Personally, if I am there, I want my room and it would depend on how much. Recently, I was offered and early Check-in for £10, which I thought was reasonable.
What about Checking out? Would you pay to Check out later? I have often checked out later, as part of a loyalty programme request. I have been asked for $200 to Check out later, which I refused to pay and I left on time and made other arrangements. I have also been offered a late Check-out free of charge when I was waiting for a long-haul flight. I guess if they have people Checking in from the flight there is no loss in letting you have the room for longer.
How do you feel if you arrive to Check-in and your room is not ready? If I am early, it is on me and I don’t mind waiting in the Bar. However, when Check in is 3.00pm and your room is not ready by then, it is an issue. I have once gone home, when my room wasn’t ready at 4.00pm, as I have gone away for one night to relax and use the facilities and they couldn’t tell me when my room would be ready!!! The other day I arrived about 2.00pm for a 3.00pm check-in, the room wasn’t ready and that was OK, I was early. At 3.00pm I went to see when my room would be ready, only to be told that the previous people were still in the room and it would be an hour or two. How would you feel it that was you?
I was asked my plans and I explained we were going out in the evening and that we needed to shower and change and have dinner. The hotel then offered us dinner and champagne and advised if the room was not ready when we finished eating we could change to go out in a resting room. We accepted this, what else could we do? It wasn’t ideal as we had lunch at noon and dinner at 3.15pm, which is crazy. We were given room keys at 4.30pm and we just had time to get ready to go out, we didn’t even unpack, as we were exhausted from hanging around, but what can customers do about this?
