Most hotels offer a standard check-in time between 2 pm. 4 pm, However, not all flights or arrivals pair perfectly with standard hotel check-in.
For a variety of reasons (besides just being jet lag or being tired), you may need to make early check-in hotels. You may have a small child or baby who needs a nap. You may have an important work meeting and need to organize it first or set up your computer for a Zoom call.
Regardless of your reason for checking in early, the hotel staff can tell you that you can’t. Especially if the hotel is full and the rooms have not been cleaned yet.
What Is Early Check-in?
Of course, there is the opposite of normal hotels and late check-in, another travel service offered by many hotels these days. Early check-in is a service that gives you the possibility to hotels and rooms before standard registration hotels (usually between 1 pm). And at 3 pm.
Guests tired of traveling to the city for an early flight may want to leave their luggage at the hotel before heading out for a day trip or an important meeting in the morning.
Understanding what this means initially may be slightly different for each guest, but everyone will agree that this is an added flexibility for your stay.
What Is Late Check-Out?
Hotels usually schedule check-out at noon to give the hotel room time to clean, make sure there is nothing left in the room, and put the rooms in a cleaning order.
Late check-out allows you to check out later than the hotel’s standard check-out time, so you can shower after an early meeting, relax late at night, or pack up your suitcases at your leisure.
A hotel’s late check-out is part of the hotel’s overall service offering flexibility and added value to its guests. In general, the agreement can be reached at 2:00 PM, and in some cases after 6:00 PM. Many hotels offer this service upon the prior request of the customer.
Can You Make Early Check-in Hotels?
The answer to this question isn’t cut and dry: You might be able to check in at a hotel early, and being able to do so depends on several factors. In many cases, hotel check-in depends on the property’s policies, the hotel’s occupancy level, and the time you arrive.
Hotel Policy
Some hotels charge a fee for early check-in, some may not allow it all, and others may allow it on a case-by-case basis. Asking the hotel about their policy is the easiest way to ensure that you understand whether or not an early check-in is even an option. Check-in information may also be available on a hotel’s website.
Occupancy
If you’re checking in during a peak period, your room simply may not be available or cleaned by the time you want to check in.
Timing
Accessing your room at the hotel may depend entirely on when you’re attempting to do an early check-in. After all, check-in at 5 a.m., 8 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. may all offer wildly different opportunities for early room access, which brings us to our next point.
How Early Can You Check In at a Hotel?
It’s unrealistic to think a hotel might accommodate an early check-in if you arrive just after midnight. Most hotels calculate revenue based on an accounting day, which means they’ll close the books for that day at a specific time.
So definitely don’t assume that you’ll be able to check in shortly after midnight, even if occupancy is low. That being said, perhaps a time between 7 and 9 a.m. is a more reasonable request, depending on when the hotel’s official accounting day ends.
Early check-in is entirely at the discretion of the hotel, and there are no guarantees. However, there are some things you can do that may help you get an early check-in.
10 Tips for Early Check-in at Hotels
1. Review the Hotel Policy
As mentioned, it’s unlikely you’ll get free early check-in if your hotel already has a set of published fees. Some hotels charge day or half-day rates that you can reserve if you arrive very early.
This is typically cheaper than the full nightly rate. Others work by the hour, charging you a certain amount for every hour you need to check in earlier or check out later.
If you cannot find the hotel check-in policy on the hotel website, please call. Early check-in is subject to availability at many hotels and must be requested by contacting if desired. Although brands have specific early check-in policies, individual hotels may have different policies.
2. Get Elite Status
Aside from the fact that elite tier members are generally treated as more VIP customers, some elite tiers actually offer early check-in as a published benefit. For example, see below how some hotel brands handle early check-in for certain elite membership levels.
- IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite and Diamond Elite Members: Early check-in (subject to availability)
- Marriott Bonvoy Ambassador Members: Your24 Benefits of Flexible Check-in and Check-out Times
- World of Hyatt Members: Early check-in starts at $10 at Hyatt Place hotels (free for Explorist and Globalist levels)
3. Book Through a Luxury Hotel Program
Some luxury hotel programs that come with popular credit cards offer early check-in benefits. Do note that these benefits are usually subject to availability, meaning if the hotel has high occupancy, you may not be able to check in early. Here are some of the programs that offer this benefit:
- American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts Program: Noon check-in (when available)
- Capital One Premier Collection: Early check-in may be available upon arrival
- The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection: Early check-in (if available)
4. Contact The Hotel By Phone In Advance
The best way to find out if early check-in is possible is to contact the hotel in advance. We will most likely log your request, but you may not see it until it arrives. In most cases, early check-in is generally subject to availability and is not guaranteed.
5. Contact the hotel in writing in advance
Another way to contact us about early check-in is to email the hotel. The benefit of sending an email is that if your request has been confirmed or approved in advance, you will have written documentation to present to the hotel in case there is a problem with your early check-in upon arrival.
6. Consider room upgrades or downgrades
If early check-in for a specific room is not possible, your request may be granted if you wish to downgrade or upgrade your room. If a particular room is unavailable, other rooms may be available.
7. Payment of fees
If your hotel of choice charges for early check-in, consider booking and paying for this service. If the hotel charges a fee, you probably won’t be able to negotiate to get one for free. If your fee is within your budget, do it. Of course, you must ensure that the extra charge does not exceed the number of extra nights. If so, you may be better off simply booking an extra night.
8. Consider hotels with no or flexible check-in times
Certain hotels (mainly airport hotels) have more flexible check-in times. Some may have no check-in time or a 24-hour check-in time. Others may provide a daily fee. Websites like DayUse.com can help you find hotel options that offer more flexibility in check-in times.
9. Consider Occupancy Rates
If you already know a chosen hotel may let you check in early, but it’s based on availability, you can always contact them the day before arrival to check on occupancy rates.
This may give you a clearer idea if you’ll end up being able to check in early or not. While this isn’t a guarantee, having a sense of whether or not the hotel is at 95% capacity — or nearly empty — may help you decide to make alternative plans or play your cards in hopes of getting early check-in.
10. Try a Hotel App or Mobile Check-in
Many large hotel brands like Marriott and Hyatt offer the option to add your arrival time to your booking when using the mobile check-in feature on the hotel app. While the hotel may or may not honor your desired check-in time, it’s worth giving it a shot and could hopefully yield results.
Why Hotels Must Offer Online Check-in?
- It’s convenient
Whether your hotel’s target audience (millennials, business people, backpackers, or seniors) is busy and needs a convenient way to get to and from work.
People will love your hotel brand if you give them the option to early check-in hotels at the time that suits them best, from any device they have in their hand: laptop, tablet, or mobile.
- It reduces check-in queues
Guests may have spent a lot of time on a plane, train, or car to get to their accommodation. After check-in, you can go straight to your room without going through reception, where you can relax after a busy trip.
Current customer data shows that online early check-in hotels can reduce check-in times by up to 70%. This reduces the number of people waiting in queues and limits close contact in the hotel lobby.
- It improves customer relationship
Think of the moment a guest approaches the front desk. How much information should the receptionist collect at the check-in desk?
How long does it take to gather all this information, go through the hotels steps at PMS, cut the room key, sign the paperwork, and authorize the credit card? Have you had enough time to truly engage with your guests?
Online check-in automates the manual tasks required for check-in. This allows employees to focus on higher-level interactions and improve customer relationships to serve guests in a meaningful way.
It takes more time to understand the expectations and personal needs of our guests. Your hotel will successfully provide relevant information detailing what sets your brand apart from its competitors.
- It showcases your brand website
You can book hotel accommodations through various distribution channels. Most do this through an OTA or travel agent.
The online check-in system interacts with the brand’s website because it asks customers to hotels, regardless of the origin of the reservation.
Then you can showcase your brand identity, hotel amenities, and room upgrades, as well as encourage them to book right next time.
- It balances your staff workload
Since all hotels have traditional check-in and check-out times, there are a lot of queues at the reception desk. How about reducing the workload of the reception staff and making the process more efficient?
Online hotels integrated into an asset management system like Opera allow you to earn time at the front desk and increase staff efficiency.
With Opera integration, all customer data required for early check-in hotels, such as digital signatures and passport IDs, can be captured prior to arrival at the hotel.
- It enhances the guest experience
When does the guest experience start? When do guests enter the hotel room? Is this the moment they arrive at your hotel? Is it time to book on the brand website? Or is it faster than planning a trip and finding a hotel?
Regardless of your star rating, the guest experience must begin before the guest arrives at the hotel. They need to know before arriving that they will receive the level of service that your hotel brand offers.
Online early check-in hotels allow you to communicate with your customers by sending them an email before they arrive.
This pre-arrival engagement helps gather information about your guests and makes your arrival feel special. By showing your guests that you care about them before they arrive, you can set the tone for the rest of your stay.
- It’s another source of revenue
Your hotel enhances your guest’s stay by offering unique services such as room upgrades, SPA treatments, breakfast, fine dining, late check-out, and chauffeur service.
Research shows that guests tend to book add-ons as their arrival date approaches. The average booking period is 30 days prior to arrival and most guests do not know their travel plans in advance.
By demonstrating additional features during the online early check-in hotels process, guests can purchase multiple options to upgrade their stay. At the same time, it helps to increase the hotel’s online revenue.
- It promotes social distancing and builds guest confidence
Online hotels can help comply with safety and social distancing requirements. It also helps limit unnecessary person-to-person interactions.
Guests only interact with their own personal devices. No need to touch a pen to sign a registration form or touch a credit card terminal keypad at checkout. In terms of hygiene, it is safer for both guests and staff.
In order to ensure you have the safest stay, you will be informed by email prior to the arrival of the relevant information and hygiene and hygiene measures taken by the hotel.
4 Tips About How To Check In Early at a Hotel?
Maybe you’ve tried but haven’t had luck getting an early check-in. Or perhaps you have a very early check-in time and really don’t want to leave it up to fate. Or worse, maybe you’re flight is landing at 2 a.m., which is definitively too early for early check-in in almost all cases.
If you can’t check in early, here are some tips for what you can do to minimize the hassle and stress of not having a hotel room ready.
1. Book the Night Before
If you really need your room early and aren’t willing to leave it up to chance, consider booking the night before, either at the same hotel or a nearby, cheaper hotel. This is an optimal plan if you arrive between midnight and 5 or 6 a.m., which is probably too early for check-in at most hotels.
2. Hang Out on the Property
Sometimes a snooze poolside or a massage at the spa can be a more effective jet lag cure than diving into those crisp white hotel sheets in your room. Or to pass the time, perhaps you can have an energizing run on the treadmill in the gym, work in the lobby, or enjoy the breakfast buffet.
3. Ask the Hotel if It Has a Courtesy Room
Some hotels have courtesy rooms where you can shower or freshen up before checking in or after checking out. Make sure to ask if there’s a time limit or fee for using a courtesy room.
4. Store Your Luggage and Head Out
In those cases where early check-in simply isn’t a possibility, almost all hotels are willing to store your bags so you can do, well, whatever you want. This is especially useful for leisure travel when you may want to get a headstart on exploring a new city, head to the beach, or test out a trendy new brunch spot.
FAQs
Do hotels allow early check-in?
If you would like an early check-in, please contact the hotel in advance and explain the situation. This is not always guaranteed, but most hotels will do their best to accommodate your request.
What does early check-in mean hotel?
Early check-in is a service that allows you to check in to your hotel and room prior to standard check-in hours.
How do I request an early check-in?
Please inform the hotel in advance of your expected arrival time. In some cases, if you ask politely, they may try to grab something, or at least give you priority over others who arrive first.
Does it cost extra for early registration?
Most hotels allow early registration for free, but others charge a fee. In our experience, early check-in fees are most common at airport hotels or other hotels that sell day rooms.