Seagull689

Interesting story, that has left me confused. I had a 5:30am flight and was staying at a Hyatt Place near the airport. I set my alarm for 3:30am, leave the hotel around 4am. Go down the elevator, then turn to exit one of the side doors, out to the car, and off to the airport. Never interacted with the front desk, but the person and the front desk certainly would have heard someone with a rolling suitcase. Around 5am I am on my flight to check out on the app, only to see that I was already checked out by the hotel! I never told the hotel I planned to check out early at any time during the stay, and definitely did not check out through the app when I left the property.

So it got me wondering; did the person at the front desk hear the rolling suitcase exit the elevator, assuming it was someone checking out. Front desk person then reviews security cameras and indeed sees someone who looks to have been packed up and leaving, then somehow backtracks me to the room I was checked into, entered my room to see my key on the desk, and all signs of my belongings gone, and takes it as a clear sign to check me out?

I purposely do not check out if it's well before checkout time in case something crazy happens to my flight and I need to go back to the hotel. Also, it did not seem right to be automatically checked out so early in the morning. The hotel had no idea what my plans were... or did they?

moolman

You left with your stuff and they checked you out .....move along, nothing to see.

notquiteaff

I can’t imagine that’s the front desk person went to the room to check if the room was completely empty. How many people work the night shift a HP front desk? One? Two? Why would they spend the time micromanaging the checkouts of people like that?

But I have no idea how (and why) they checked you out. Maybe call the hotel and ask? I am curious, too.

dw

Perhaps it was just a glitch with the app?

TerryK

Surveillance cameras are everywhere nowadays, some visible, some are hidden or not obvious. Someone at the front desk could have easily followed your departure from various cameras (elevators, hallways, lobby, side door, parking lot) and decided that you had departed from your stay. Nothing shocking here.

nk15

They checked the cameras in your room, all your stuff gone, and realized you have checked out...simples...

Aventine

I guess they really needed the room.

Gojilla

That is odd, usually if you paid for the night it should be until check out next morning-afternoon depending on hotel. Maybe the hotel had your flight information and confirmed you were checked into the flight? 🤷🏻‍♂️

GeneralTalker1030

I guess I'm the only who thought they somehow kicked you out at 5 by the title!

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Markie

Please keep comments to the topic and don't digress to commenting on the OP.
Thanks

Markie - Co-Mod, Hyatt

GUWonder

Was parking at the hotel free for all guests, did hotel parking involve having to give car license plate info to the hotel, and was there any control gate for entering and exiting the hotel’s parking lot?

Hotel parking lots, hotel lobbies, and hotel corridors increasingly often do have easily reviewable security camera footage.

If there were to be cameras in the room and the hotel staff could check such cameras this “efficiently”, that would be rather scandalous. Fortunately, that Is unlikely to be the case.

Personally, I would sort of dislike being automatically checked out of a room pre-checkout time and too early just because I’ve left the hotel premises with (some, most or all) my belongings or because my booked hotel room appears empty of people and belongings (beyond garbage) well before check-out time. It’s not all that rare for me to go check-in luggage for my flights and carry all my personal belongings while doing so, head back to the hotel room, and use it for work, relaxing, or to freshen up before returning to the airport for flying out. Maybe I should more often consider giving hotels a heads-up in-person the next times I do this, but even that isn’t a reliable way to keep housekeeping from getting started and even finishing cleaning up the room in my absence. While a DND sign may work better, it’s got it’s own issues and is not all that reliable to prevent the hotel from wanting the room turned as fast as possible even at the risk of inconveniencing some guests.

chavala

Once I had an early flight which ended up being cancelled and I was put on another one at noon. It was great being able to go back to my room. I'd be pretty pissed if I found out I'd been checked out .

GUWonder

I’ve had some hotels check me back into the rooms in circumstances where I had already checked out or been checked out but wanted to continue to use the room/reservation for a few more hours. If housekeeping hasn’t turned the room yet, it may be somewhat easier to get the hotel to agree to issue me room keys again to continue to use the room until at least the reservation’s checkout time.

willoL

Any chance this was a hotel with an app that uses location services, thus using your own device to query your physical location? I wouldn't like that to be the answer, but the technology exists and legal protections are few. (Personally, I only switch on location services when I'm actively using Maps or similar; it's on for maybe a few hours per month on my phone.)

I hate the idea of being auto-checked out, especially since I like to load my luggage in the car as soon as I'm dressed and ready, then return for any free hotel breakfast I've already paid for it. I'm more relaxed if my gear is stowed away. On the other hand, I'm enough of a coffee snob to go pay for a proper espresso if there is a specialty shop nearby; I could easily imagine being gone for an hour that early for coffee without having intended to check out for the day.

kabroui

There is the 'when will you be arriving' and 'when will you be leaving' questions when you check in on the app... maybe somehow the checkout time was accidentally filled in? Even then, I don't know if that would actually trigger the FD to perform a checkout unless they really needed the room early.