Originally Posted by
jayer
FDGUY, please comment on your experience and the legal framework of guests staying over after their reservation has expired by its own term.
When I was traveling on business, every week, mostly staying in the same few hotels, some would always extend us when we underestimated the work and could not leave town on time (and had not checked out yet). We were repeatedly told that in most states you cannot legally push a guest presently in the hotel out the door if they wanted to extend, even if that put the hotel in a rooms-available bind.
(But, I'm also guessing from time to time letting us stay over in our upgraded rooms led to some interesting speeches about status, unavailable upgrades, and being related to somebody named Bill. Or, perhaps even full-hotel unpleasant walk situations for very late arrivals.).
In a few alternative outcomes, I've had professional associates arrive back at their hotel to find their bags packed for them and told there was no space and they would be leaving. (In one case, the thrown-out overstay guest was a VP with Six Continents kryptonite status who had six weeks of upcoming reservations in the hotel deporting him--which got promptly cancelled).
This is one of the must frustrating things for a hotel to deal with. If a guest way due to check out on Friday, but their bags were still in the room all day, then we would usually extend the guest an extra night. Most hotels are happy to just extend you if they have the availability, but I have heard of some hotels doing what you said - bags packed and removed from the room. This was a huge no no at our property. If we had to extend a guest that then put us into a oversold position, it would be at a huge rate increase to make up for the fact we are going to have to walk someone.
Every time we would call the number attached to the reservation, but it was usually an outdated number, a travel agency, or an office number who would not give out a cell number.