COEWR2587

Hi,

I don't stay at Hilton offen and have an Embassy Suites stay in a few weeks. I was hoping to get an early arrival round 1 or 2 since I'm attending an early evening wedding (the locations check in is 4pm). I'm wondering should I not do the mobile online check in then the day before? Does it lock me into only that room. If I wait until the day of arrival, does the app show clean ready rooms even if they are available before check in time? Would I get the most luck from the front desk staff vs the mobile key for early arrival?

hi55us

I honestly would email the property and tell them what you just said here and see if they can allow you to check in early. I would reach out a few days in advance since they'll have a good idea as to their availability and you can cancel the reservation if they say no.


Also, 4:00 check in is pretty late, I would consider booking another hotel that has at least 3:00 checkin.

wizla

I use OLCI most of the time and digital key too but if I wanted early check in I would avoid this and turn up and speek to front desk rather than lock in a room that might not be cleaned yet.
That said, there is many times when I’ve requested digital key and it’s been sent to my phone around lunchtime on day of stay....definitely email hotel a couple of days before is a good idea too

Miesque

I would definitely recommend not checking in online and doing it at the front desk if arriving before check-in, especially if its going to be a material amount of time before checkin. Also, make a note that you will be arriving early inthe comment section.

bitterproffit

:D!

Your room can be changed at any time, I have selected a room at OLCI several times and didn't get that room, for unknown reasons. Sometimes it's because they upgraded me, but equally I sometimes get the room I selected (which was an upgrade from what I booked). Unless you have stayed at a property several times or people have reported details on this forum, there isn't any way to know how a property deals with OLCIs.

I doubt Hilton's IT is advanced enough to show which rooms have been cleaned and ready on the app. As you can choose your room from the day before, when the previous guest might still be there, I don't think housekeeping affects what shows on the app in general (maybe it happens at some specific properties).

You certainly won't get a digital key before the official check-in time since the app doesn't let you specify an arrival time earlier than that. If you are arriving early then OLCI really doesn't do much, it's more useful if you are going to be late as it could reduce your chance of being walked (but if the hotel is overbooked you probably won't be able to choose a room on the app anyway)

birdiedouble

I used OLCI last week at the Embassy Suites in Scottsdale. Just before I got on my flight, I found out our travel companions had already checked in the night before and were in a different complex from what I chose. I called the hotel and spoke to the FD and they were able to cancel my OLCI and put us in a room that was a couple doors down from them. For me OLCI is used to hopefully keep me away from, noisy roads, ice machines and elevators, especially when arriving late.

cblaisd

I often get a notice that my Digital Key is ready before official check-in time.

kkong42

That's not correct. I've received digital keys shortly after 12:00 many times, which is 3 hours ahead of the official check in time for the hotels concerned.

wizla

Digital key is delivered to your phone as soon as housekeeping has reported the room cleaned and signed off, many times I’ve received the key around lunchtime, occasionally earlier.

karatelovr

I check in early to my hotel quite often. I don't use the online check in on those times but I am very nice to the front desk person. I say that I realize I'm early but hoping they had a room ready for me. At that time, they usually ask about digital key and if they don't, you can always mention it or request it through the app later. It usually doesn't take long to be delivered to your phone. so you can use the key card to first get in (if you have to) and then use the digital key the rest of the time. Sometimes I purposely get a key card as well b/c I haven't had much luck with the digital key opening outside doors or pool areas at some properties.

missamo80

I regularly check in via OLCI specifically because I want to get into my room early. I frequently find I get a notification in the app that my room is ready at 12:01pm.

Neil

jhalapin

This.

I often check in the day before and choose digital key. As soon as the room is ready, you get the DK notification that your room is ready. If the room was empty the night before you get the DK at 12:01PM so automatic early check in.

If you don't get the "room ready" notification, you can alway show up at the front desk and ask if there is anything available.

YMMV