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Shorter check-out times?

August 31, 2006

Here’s an interesting trend that seems to be unfolding without much notice from the travel press: Hotels are turning back the clock on their required check-out times.

It’s a classic win-win for a resort. Move a required check-out time from noon to 11 a.m., and housekeeping can get an early start on preparing the room for the next guest. If the customer overstays, the hotel can penalize the tardy guest with extra fees, and possibly even ding them for another night’s stay.

Reader William Hamilton has noticed it at several hotels recently.

“The check-out time used to be noon at most places and even as late as 1 p.m. at a few,” said Hamilton, who works for a Hawaii-based publisher. “But I have had four recent experiences that suggests those days are over.”

For example, The Hilton Hawaiian Village wanted Hamilton to check out by 10 a.m. The Hilton in Melbourne and Adelaide, Australia, had an 11 a.m. check-out time. Ditto for Hilton properties in York in Sydney.

“We received calls from housekeeping a few minutes after the checkout hour asking us when we are leaving,” he added. “Talk about pushy.”

I’ve noticed the same thing in my travels. Check-out times are posted more prominently. And a few weeks ago, a well-known hotel analyst told me that penalties for late checkouts were among the fastest-growing of the hotel fees.

Perhaps the hotel industry has discovered a new source of revenue by doing something as seemingly innocuous as turning back the clock on its check-out time. Best of all, it’s managed to do so without anyone noticing.

It’s brilliant.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

3 comments

  • Richard Perry

    The solution is simple. Join the hotel’s awards program. Even if you never accumulate enough points for a worthwhile award the programs usually allow for later check-out times. Sometimes much later.

  • Art

    Yes. I have been at some of the moderate chain hotels (Comfort, Staybridge) this year, and noticed the “strict” check out time of 11 a.m. When I call, I get grief and only an extra 1/2 hour. whoop de doo!! Isn’t there a hotel board or comission a consumer can complain to about the shrinking stay?

  • Tom B

    I’ve seen extremes where housekeeping staff tries to be pushy with guests who need to use their rooms in the morning – knocking on the door or calling on the phone. I told one motel manager that maybe some day they may find someone who travels for the convenience of maids. But I travel for my convenience.

    When I check in I ask what the check out time is. When they answer I tell them to advise the maids not to schedule work on this room until after the checkout time.

    Sometimes the response is to use the ‘Do not disturb’ doorhanger. Some of them fit into the card key slot. That’s engineered to be inconvenient for the traveler. If I bring a small roll of scotch tape I tape it to the door, rather than leaving it where it has to be removed as I come and go out the door.

    The accomodations industry wants to make us feel accommodated – - and some of them want to make me feel they are innovative and modern. Let them figure out a way to let me have a room for 24 hours from the time I check in. (Sure, it would involve different work schedules for maids.)

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