Originally Posted by
Taco Tuesday
I also don't stop at the desk. I just leave. There is no need to stop at the desk unless you are leaving a day early or wanting to extend your stay. The hotel knows you are checking out that day, and stopping at the front desk to tell them provides no additional value.
While it doesn't particularly help the hotel, informing someone at the hotel that you are leaving might help another guest get an early check-in.
Hotels can't clean guest rooms if they don't know they are empty. In all the hotels I've worked, we waited until the official check-out time before investigating whether the guest had already left. (A "bad" hotel might knock on doors earlier to see if rooms are vacant.) But if you let the hotel know as you're leaving, they can potentially get it cleaned a little earlier.
My Suggestion: As you are leaving, pick up the phone in the room and dial "0". Let whoever answers know that you're leaving. If no one answers within a few rings, just leave. The whole process shouldn't take more than 45 to 60 seconds. You can leave with the satisfaction of knowing you might have made a stranger's day a little nicer because they got an early check-in.