We have all experienced the hassles of hotel check-out times being much earlier than the departure of a flight. Often, a guest is left with the worry of where they will spend aimless hours before they have to catch their flight. How about the scenario when you arrive to the hotel early, yet you are told you have to wait for hours until you can check-in. "Business travelers are very annoyed when they come in in the morning and have to go to a meeting and want to put their stuff down and are told check-in time is 3 p.m.," says Horst H. Schulze, Capella's chief executive and chairman and a former president of Ritz-Carlton.
What are hotels doing to better such rigid check-in and check-out policies? Recent hotel loyalty programs now offer an extra few hours after posted check-out times. The catch with the Hilton HHonors and Hyatt Gold Passport program, a late check-out is usually subject to availability. Starwood Hotels & Resorts offer a guaranteed late check-out at 75% of its hotels to gold and platinum members. This occurs because Starwood offers convention and resort properties that have a high demand of hundreds of guests checking in or out at the same time. Vice president of Starwood Preferred Guest claims that “an arriving guest wants to unpack, get into their bathing suit and jump into the pool."
One specific hotel brand, Capella Hotels and Resorts, have done away with set check-in and check-out times entirely. Capella Hotels and Resorts accommodate to guests who want to arrive and leave on their own schedules. After taking a survey of guest who stay in hotel chains, Mr. Schulze noticed the trend that travelers’ biggest pet peeve was the industry standard check-in and check-out times. The brand is a rather small hotel with about 200 rooms or less that keep a staggered cleaning staff in order to work around the guest schedule. Considered as “personal assistants”, the staff contacts each guest in order to learn their expected arrival and departure times. Guenter Richter, a managing director, claims that the hotel is able to adjust to a guest desired schedule “95% of the time.”
The incentive of late check-outs is a form of marketing for many hotels. Guests are attracted to the idea of having adjusted check-in and check-out times; therefore they decide to sign up for a hotel’s customer loyalty program. Accommodating to the guest creates better customer satisfaction and interests the guest to continue to stay at that hotel when traveling. Overall, the hassles of check-in and check-out times are finally being regulated through innovative programs that appeal to the customer.
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