late check out
 

hi i just joined choice privileges and it said i can get late checkout at 2 pm
how does this work exactly? it said I have to ask before I check out but I remember trying this a long time ago and they said it is not guaranteed

I have no experience with this at Choice hotels, but the T&Cs say this:

"Extended check-out upon request (up to 2:00 p.m. local hotel time at all hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean or up to 2 hours past standard check-out at hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Australasia and most of our international locations). Must be requested before posted check-out time."

It sounds guaranteed to me. Whether anyone at the corporate level will actually enforce it and hold individual hotels accountable, I don't know.

It's very inconsistent from property to property. I've been told by the front desk of a Comfort Inn in Myrtle Beach that they were required to honor a late checkout request, a Sleep Inn in Georgia gave me a late checkout without me asking("oh-you're CP, you can stay till 2"), and a Sleep Inn in Columbia wouldn't go past noon and didn't even want to go that late. Your best bet is to request it at check-in from the night desk clerk as the day shift folks are more interested in getting you out the door and the room turned around and will try to get you to settle for noon or 1pm instead of 2pm.

I have twice been told that "the latest checkout we can give is 1PM". On both occasions, the desk clerk said that it was a very busy time of year and housekeeping needed the time to prepare the room for the next guest. I called Choice customer service and they spoke to the employee instructing them that "late checkout is a right of Choice Privileges members" and not an option of the hotel in question. Customer service isn't available on weekends so it is important to have a clear understanding with the hotel as much in advance as possible.

I have stayed at 5 different properties in the NYC/NJ area and all of them have flat-out refused to give me a late check-out. I was not aware that that they might be required to grant my request. I will be a little more insistent next time. It's a huge customer service downer when you show up to the front desk at 4am after having been called out to work an emergency and they basically tell you that they don't care, get out by 11am or noon. Of all the chains I've stayed in, Starwood has consistently been the most accommodating.

Be aware that this is a Choice Privileges benefit, so the hotel needs to know you are a Choice Privileges member.

Hey, you though, I am one, I booked a choicehotels.com or 1-800-CHOICE, so obviously they know it, right?

Wrong. If you choose to earn airline rewads (miles or credits) instead of points on a given stay, the annoying reservation system at many Choice hotels overrides the Choice Prilvileges number with the airline FF number. (The stupid system can't hold both at the same time.) In my case, it typically means no newspaper at the door (at those Choice hotels that deliver a newspaper to member's doors). But it would also mean no late checkout privilieges, unless I realized they don't know I was a CP member and I was able to convince them that I am.

I've actually never had a problem getting a late check-out at a Choice property. I have had a couple of instances where the front desk agent was a little curt about it, but once I explained whatever the need was, they came around.

I hate that hotels can basically charge you two days for a perior of less than 24 hours

Hotels should be more like rental cars which can go on a 24 hour basis irregardless of the time you initiate the hotel rental

Would be nice, but that requires keeping a housekeeper on site all day, which costs money; not to mention the front desk nightmare that would ensue:

"Sorry, Mr. m90291, we're full at the moment until the family in 201's 24 hours are up at 4:30pm-would you care to wait?"

Or this:

"Mr. m90291, this is the front desk, it's 12:55am, your 24 hours expires in five minutes-would you like to extend your stay-we can also offer you a late checkout till 3am if you like!

;)

it seems like hotels are a bad deal for people who want to do things at night and sleep all day :(

Agreed. I have a tendency to drive very late into the night, especially if I don't have to be on site until later in the day.

Back to the issue in question, I can only recall once where they denied me a late checkout, didn't realize it was a right. They have, for the most part, been very accommodating.

Latest late checkout experience: took a last minute trip over to Myrtle Beach last night, stayed at the Quality Inn. Mrs. VFD wanted some extra beach time this morning. I asked last night but was put off till this morning and was offered 1pm and took it. At checkout the clerk(who checked us in yesterday) thanked me for not insisting on 2 as they were very busy.

Slighty OT but interesting: I used my corporate code online and got a room for $76. They were quoting walk-ups $134.95.

Dav,
We maybe going to Myrtle Beach, which QI did you stay at and what do you rate it? Thanks

This is the Quality Inn and Suites on South Ocean Blvd. It's an older property across the street from the beach. It's decent for its age. Be sure to book online as the walk-up rates are much higher. It ranks on Choice's own five-point scale as a 3.1. That's a fair rating, as the reviews are mixed on Trip Advisor. It's good, basic lodging, a step above some of the mom & pop's there.

Thanks I will check it out.