Hotel Check in 01.00 am….

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  • MartynSinclair
    Participant

    I have 4 day stay at a hotel where I have stayed several times before. Usually arrive ca. 9 am, room is generally ready by midday, not an issue.

    This visit, my arrival time is 1 am, due to a flight change. What is the Forum’s view about this now, ‘extra’ night’s charge. Should I just accept a full 100% rate charge or would it be reasonable to ask the hotel for a reduced charge?

    Hotel is resort style, I have excellent status with the group and do not want to come across as trying to pull a fast one, but neither do I feel the hotel should be charging 100%. Room cost is more than a few hundred Euros…

    Thanks…


    Ekond222
    Participant

    MS….accept it…unless you have a good relationship with the hotels senior management or the hotel has day/half day rates you are unlikely to get a discount (do check the hotels terms and conditions regarding late check-in)…


    capetonianm
    Participant

    Unfortunately it is standard hotel industry practice to do this. Whether it’s fair or not is another argument, as is whether they should give a valued premium/status customer such as yourself a better deal.

    I used to face this when arriving in DEL and BOM at around 0300/0500 and wanted to go to sleep on arrival and not hang about until late morning.

    The hotelier’s argument would be that they can’t sell the room from the previous day so they lose the full revenue that it could have generated. I think that is perfectly reasonable.

    There are certain types of hotels that rent rooms by the hour, but other than Yotel type airport hotels, I’m not sure that this is a discussion for a business travel forum!

    3 users thanked author for this post.

    esselle
    Participant

    Fully agree.

    They are holding the room for you and therefore unable to sell it to anybody else. Standard procedure.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    canucklad
    Participant

    Hi Martyn

    Before you ask the hotel, why don’t you do a dummy booking to see if they have any available rooms.
    If they do , then seek out the cheapest alternative option close by and then contact the local management to see what your options are.

    Do not let them know that you’ve done a dummy booking , otherwise they’ll know your at it.
    But quote the better deal price to them, giving them a chance to match it.

    If they value your custom, I’d expect a local price match or they might allow you to check-in early which would be a nice touch.


    first_class_please
    Participant

    Hi Martyn.

    Room is being blocked for you all night, so full nights payment would be needed and acceptable.

    An alternative to the “more than a few hundred Euro” could be to take a cheap room close to the airport to sleep and then travel to the resort nearer midday?


    EU_Flyer
    Participant

    [quote quote=946561]An alternative to the “more than a few hundred Euro” could be to take a cheap room close to the airport to sleep and then travel to the resort nearer midday?[/quote]

    Great idea. I often travel to the UAE for long weekends and the flights arrive at 1am. I take a cab to cheap 3 star hotel near the Resort and shower then sleep until 10am. By 10.30 I’m showered again, fresh and in an uber to the resort 10 mins away having paid only 10% of the resort’s rate for the first night. Then put that money towards a nice dinner or gift. I do the same of the flights back which leave around 4am.

    Given that early check-in / late check-out is usually discretionary and rarely allow for check in pre 6am or chack out post 8pm, this approach guarantees a bed and shower and removes the anxiety of not knowing what awaits me at the hotel.

    Hope you have a great trip!

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    AlanOrton1
    Participant

    I share the same opinion as the other posters on this one.
    Regardless of whether you are arriving at 9pm or 1am, you are using the room for the night.
    Another option other than staying in an airport hotel and moving the next day would be to use points from your frequent traveller programme (if applicable) to pay for the first night (unless it’s a Hilton property where they have a dynamic pricing modeland thus might not be a good use of points).


    SimonS1
    Participant

    I don’t really get the point here.

    If you arriving at 1am then clearly you are expecting the hotel to keep the room free for your use and not sell it to another guest and therefore paying for that. If on the other hand you don’t want to pay for the night, then check in for the following night is noon/2pm time.

    It doesn’t work both ways, you expect the hotel to keep the room free for your 1am arrival but not to pay for it?

    9am arrival and early check in is a bit different, as there are always paying guests that have checked out early. Should they also get a discount for leaving early?

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    stevescoots
    Participant

    Standard practice I am afraid Martyn, Happens to me a lot. At some hotels i have ask to check in early, say 10 am and been told i need to book the night before as well but by not booking and just turning up i have usually been accomodated within an hour at no extra charge


    firstimeposter
    Participant

    Hi Martin
    the way i see it, anything before the standard check in time (depending on hotel, 12-3pm) will not secure a room regardless of status and relationship. If you value sleep over saving a nights rate then you’d have to simply fork out the extra night. I have done that a lot of times even when i knew i would arrive at the hotel before 10am just to make sure i have a room to shower, rest/sleep after a flight. It’s not worth the saving in my opinion.
    I will try to push my luck come 11am but that hardly ever happens with travel these days. Due to status i’d love to think that i get priority but that’s not always the case. most hotel housekeeping doesn’t start making rooms before 9am hence it’s unlikely that rooms are available if you don’t have a secured booking for the night before.

    there are a few chains that tried and tested 24h rates, meaning your day rate lets you stay for 24h from check in. that would be the best for most of us but again hard to achieve with shifts for housekeeping as you’d need a crew around the clock for the random 1am check in/check out cases.


    Sanran
    Participant

    Hi Martin,
    I often had a similar case to this in singapore arriving at 3am at the hotel and my partner over there was always able to get a discount, minimum I had was 10% up to 50%. The fact that he always paid cash in advance is helping, that’s what he told me (even though strange to me for singapore). Reason is also that at that time I don’t need the butler, welcome drink or whatever: just want to sleep…
    Anyway it’s worth trying.


    cwoodward
    Participant

    Slightly off topic but I find that most 4/5 star properties do make a real effort to accomodate known customers arriving at say 8am. This has often happened to me and 90% of the time I have a room before 10am and often a free cup of coffee and sometimes breakfast while waiting.
    Never have I been asked for payment but this could perhaps be because I seldom use hotels in the UK these days preferring short stay apartments and excellent country pubs if outside London.


    tomwjsimpson
    Participant

    When I have arrived at similar times I have booked a room for the previous night. In addition to this I have generally alerted the hotel to my expected late/early arrival time to ensure that I will not be noted as a no-show, removing the possibility of my room being re-sold.


    AFlyingDutchman
    Participant

    [quote quote=946937]When I have arrived at similar times I have booked a room for the previous night. In addition to this I have generally alerted the hotel to my expected late/early arrival time to ensure that I will not be noted as a no-show, removing the possibility of my room being re-sold.[/quote]

    I do the same. I take a cruise every year with my better half, and to avoid the enormous lines at check in at our hotel post cruise, as the ships always tend to dock early morning and you must be off by 09h00 latest, I always book our accommodation from the night before, send the reception manager a note to check us in the night before, and to hold our keys at the Concierge desk. Yes, a bit extra cost, but gets us in our room, and then on the beach while others are waiting for their rooms to be ready, and in a resort, guests wait to the absolute last moment to check out, so can often be hanging around until 16h00 before their rooms are ready. Money well spent I always think.

    3 users thanked author for this post.
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