The only situation I've head of where an early check-in fee makes sense to me as reasonable for services rendered (as opposed to just another way for the hotel to make money) is in something like a tropical or otherwise hot climate, where running the A/C is a significant portion of the cost to the hotel, and occupying the room from 8am costs them significantly more than from 4pm.
Originally Posted by
nacho
If it's 8am check-in it makes perfect sense that you book for the night before and then tell the hotel about it. Make sure you have EVERYTHING in writing (seemed like you already have) - also call/write them again 48h before to remind them of your situation. If they do night audit at 1am and you haven't shown up they might mark you as no show.
That's been an issue for me. In one situation, I knew that I wouldn't arrive until early morning the day after my booked check-in. I had checked the rate rules, and they specifically said that "reservations with a credit card guarantee will be held until 12pm the day following check-in." I show up at 8am the next day, and the front desk told me that I had been no-showed overnight. When I explained what the rules said on their own website, it wasn't just that they disagreed or were inconvenienced - they acted like I had two heads and that they didn't understand what I was saying, even though they were native English speakers and their policy was straightforward enough.
Originally Posted by
RK23
For someone who worked the front desk for 15 years, kind of weird to not understand the concept that hotels are not always at 100% occupancy and there are empty rooms you could check a guest into.
Less than 100% occupancy isn't the only reason a room would be available. Assuming that housekeeping is well run, there should be at least some rooms available from check-outs that morning starting some 30 minutes after housekeeping services start, even if the hotel was at 100% occupancy.
Also bizarre that a front desk agent would prefer that everyone checks in at the same time, at 3 or 4pm.
The only time I've run into this strict adherence was Japan, but that kind of goes with the territory.