Ancien Maestro

In my books, guaranteed check-ins mean no hassle, no fuss. Ask and you shall receive.. on the same lines as guaranteed check-out.

I agree with those upthread, that Fairmont should at least provide an alternate room if the designated room checking in is not available.

And yes I agree, guaranteed should really mean guaranteed. Up until this point, it hasn't been the case. I would like to see this changed. And yes, I will give it a go at Kea Lani. My last early guaranteed check-in arrival at Kea Lani (some 5 years ago), we had to wait for the room to be ready. Hope that this is not the case.

kokinos

Sorry for the delay to reply. An manager at Banff who is also a friend told me they only need to offer a standard room for early check-in. So it's not in our T&Cs but between Fairmont and the hotels.

I fully agree on your issue, it would be great to have it reflect in our T&Cs.

Ancien Maestro

A standard room would suffice and make a more relaxing arrival. At least if this was reflected in the T&C's then elite FPC members can have their expectations managed. Or delete as guaranteed benefit, and only bookable if confirmed with the hotel before hand. That way the member and the hotel are on the same page.

gregorygrady

I'm curious if you can clarify this a bit. So does the above mean:
1) If you are booked into a Suite, this means they don't need to offer you early check-in and you are just screwed til normal checkin time?

or

2) If you are booked into a Suite and you request early check-in in advance, they will put you into a Standard room at 11AM (or whenever you show up), and then they will move you into your Suite once it is ready at regular check-in time?

#2 is how IC RA status works with their guaranteed 8AM early checkin benefit.

seanthepilot

Indeed this is the right protocol. The hotel is happy to get you into your room, unless it's not yet ready. This is much harder when the hotel is full the night before. We should understand, and then accommodated as soon as possible.

This is tough if the front desk doesn't know how long the room will take to be ready. I think lunch is appropriate only if the wait will be several hours. I've had the hotel offer this once in my life. I don't think it should be expected. But, nice if the guest is being nice about the wait.

No. I have to disagree. It's to everyone's benefit to get you into the room as soon as they can. ONCE THE ROOM IS READY, it's in the hotels benefit to have you checked in. The chances that you will spend is better (in room, or around the property) and they can check one more person off the expected arrivals list. The worst thing for a property would be to make everyone wait until "check-in time." Customers hate long lines, owners hate long lines, front line employees hate long lines.

It doesn't cost the company anymore to get you into your room. But it sure gets the hotel one step closer to end of day and "certainty." Bosses like certainty too.

In my opinion, it's mostly based on the guests attitude. If the guest is being a jerk, I would guess that the chance of a standard room goes up. If the guest is being nice, I'm sure they'll get the room they have already beeen assigned. They like certainty, and changing your room to a lower category means they have to figure the room assignments out again. Desire for efficiency would work in your favor here, IMO.