obscure2k

Often, while perusing the Luxury Hotels Forum (as a private poster), I see "subject to availablity" when folks are extolling the virtues of early check-in, late check-out and upgrades. Moreover, some travel consortiums and credit card affinity programs are at the forefront of waving the "upgrades, early check-in,, etc. "subject to availability."
I think it is worth noting that if a luxury hotel routinely offers "late check out", the guest who is looking to check-in prior to 4:00 PM is going to be unhappy. My warning is that no matter what accommodation you have reserved--in the most luxurious hotel in the world-- don't count on an early check-in unless you are prepared to pay for the night before you arrive. Too many guaranteed late check-outs these days make early check-in very problematic.

Kagehitokiri

edit - youre right, very few FHR/Virtuoso properties offer guaranteed early checkin. for FHR that do, it's noon.

FHR includes guaranteed 4PM checkout for all properties. some properties have guaranteed noon checkin as the amenity. plat upgrades are if available at checkin, while some cent upgrades are confirmed at time of booking.

virtuoso usually says if available but sometimes says guaranteed for either early/late checkin/out. upgrades are mostly if available at checkin, but some are confirmed at time of booking.

also IIRC spg gold/plat guarantee 4PM checkout except at select properties (resort/conference/etc properties)

bhd87

Several times, when checking into the St. Regis NY as SPG Plat., my room was unavailable. I give them my cell number, leave my luggage, and tell them to call me when they have "an upgraded room." Always works .

ABG

You have done a statistical analysis or is this just your personal musing?

Kettering Northants QC

I would have thought at a smallish hotel in a popular city it's something that must happen from time to time, particularly if people have booked a specific room type (King Bed, Non Smoking, Balcony Junior Suite overlooking the esplanade) as opposed to Run of House - however, if I'm doing a personal muse - for every person who needs the late check out there would, I suggest, be a person leaving the hotel at the crack of Dawn to catch a flight or just after breakfast to get to that meeting.

In the Far East cities I've had no trouble getting a room early in the morning and keeping it until 6pm in the evening. Best was at the Krungthep Wing (about 180 rooms) of the Shangri La - I arrived at about 6.30am and got my room no problem, asked if I could keep it until about 8pm on the night I left. no extra charges involved^

Compare that with the Marriott in San Francisco, A hotel that must have over 1300 rooms. We arrived at 2pm on a Saturday and the hotel was really quiet - we had reserved a King Size non smoking room (i guess there must be a few of those) to be told NOTHING was available yet and to come back at 4pm (which just so happens to be there official check in time)

Nachria

This is an interesting point, but it is not necessarily true. I think it varies from hotel to hotel, and level of occupancy at the time of check in.

DavidO

This is a really interesting topic, and the problem is that there are so many variables... Obviously if a hotel is fully booked, upgrades are not going to happen at check-in, and early check-ins will be problematical. As obscure2K says, you can't check guests into a room in which the the prior guests are still enjoying late check-out.

My observation is that a TA can make a difference by contacting a Director of Sales, Reservations Manager, or General Manager, introducing their client, and simply asking for an upgrade. I have seen "upgrades at time of arrival" happen at the time of booking just by asking. Again, variables come into play here. How full does the hotel expect it will be? What sort of "clout" does the TA or her/his agency have with the hotel? Has the agent or the agency given that hotel a lot of business? Also ... what "clout" does the guest have with the hotel (prior business, "elite" member of a frequent guest program, etc.)?

RichardInSF

Things usually work out if the hotel management WANTS to be accomodating and don't work out if the management is hostile to their customer base. That's one of the main reasons I stopped staying at the NY Palace, an upscale (not luxury) Manhattan hotel -- there was a management change that adversely affected precisely this sort of thing.

Usually, management at luxury hotels wants to be accomodating, but there are exceptions, and a disproportionate number of the exceptions seem to be in the cities that enjoy a reputation for being 'tough' or 'having no service tradition': New York, London, Paris, Sydney. OK, I admit in advance, I didn't do a statistical study to verify that!

AdaQuonsett

I find London hotels to be particularly unaccommodating.

francophile

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/27/tr...el&oref=slogin

username: flyertalk
password: flyertalk

Excerpt:

May 27, 2007

Practical Traveler | Hotel Check-In Policies
Early Arrivals and Late Departures Get Harder

By MICHELLE HIGGINS
AFTER fighting airport traffic, security lines and tightly packed flights, most travelers arriving at a hotel just want to check in and get on with the vacation. But it’s not as easy as it used to be. During the travel slump after 9/11, when hotels had plenty of rooms available, it was often possible to arrive at almost any hour and get into a room, and a polite request to the front desk was usually all it took to extend your stay.

Now, with hotels at their highest occupancy levels in years, there are fewer vacant rooms available for guests who want to arrive earlier than the typical 3 or 4 p.m. check-in time. And travelers who would like to linger beyond the typical noon checkout time are finding difficulties, too. Hotels are enforcing both check-in and checkout times more closely.

“The higher occupancy is, the more difficult it is for hotels to grant either early check-in or late checkout,” said Bjorn Hanson, a lodging specialist with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

flamboyant 1

Interesting article, thanks.

Good to know the Cornell Professor ask for room keys in his car from the airport. I am not sure this request is honored for him at 7 A.M. at a busy hotel. Also this reduces the chance for a last minute check-in upgrade to a nice suite.
In the past upgrades at real luxury hotels have been in my case often been confirmed upon arrival. The RC or MO confirmed upgrade at booking are nice, but it is only 1 category and also select suites are excluded. That's why I kindly ask upon check-in or offer to pay some of the difference.

robyng

As I mentioned in another thread - you also have to check whether the hotel is fully booked for the morning after the night you're arriving. When we arrived in Berlin last Saturday - the hotel was fully booked. Regular checkout is - I believe - noon or so. We arrived at 8 am - after being on the road for almost a day. The hotel had lots of people who also arrived when we did - and they waited until mid-afternoon for their rooms. We had a "red eye arrival" - and could check in immediately. A hotel can't give you a room that is occupied. Robyn