Checking out early - fee?
 

I'm currently staying at a Renaissance. I got an earlier flight to head home from a trip direct on Sunday night instead of connecting Monday morning flight. Will they charge an early departure fee? Is it better to just check out on the app the next morning to avoid any risk?

app would avoid risk i guess

it is possible and it does happen, but more of a peak rate type thing dont think an industry standard (yet...)

I see the early departure fee a lot at Hiltons, but haven't encountered it yet at Marriotts. Just depart before check out time, and the balance of the stay should not be charged. I would tell the FD, since app check outs sometimes do nothing.

I'm not sure if this applies to you but:

A handful of time a year I will book Monday night and Tuesday night. I will leave the hotel anywhere from 5:00p - 11:59 pm Monday night. I'm not charged any fee, I just pay for Monday and Tuesday nights.

OP - What does your rate say? What happened to someone else someplace else is irrelevant to what you agreed to.

Just compare what it will cost to check out early with what it will cost to simply pay for the night and pick the cheaper alternative.

Even if there is a fee, it may not be much. If the property is suddenly in need of the room, it may even waive the fee to get you out if you can agree to leave by a certain time.

I paid with points and so my early departure date is my 5th (free) night. I'll be leaving at around 6pm.

I've done app checkouts a few times without issue, so thought that would be the safe bet...

I've used the app several times to check out. What do you mean they sometimes do nothing?

It will depend
 

Fees may depend on the kind of rate you booked and how you booked (directly with hotel Vs third party) . There is no general rule.

The easiest is to simply talk to the front desk and they will tell you right away.

The hotel may be more open to waiving fees if you booked directly (i.e. via hotel website or call centre) vs. a third party. With certain third parties the hotel has no control over payment as you already paid your travel agent (which isn't necessarily doing business with the hotel directly but via intermediaries) There are also fees for the hotel related to third party bookings which they will pass on to you in which case it may be also more difficult to waive fees.

So best, talk to the front desk and for the future consider booking directly with the hotel to avoid any issues or complications.

Checking out a day or two early has never been a problem. I let the front desk know the day before usually, or whenever I know I'm going to leave. I've never been charged a night or a fee in over 20 years. If you plan on staying in the room past 4:00 PM (or whatever checkout time you have) then you will have to pay either a day rate or the rate for the night, but for evening flights, just hang out in the lobby or lounge until it's time to go.

There is certainly no fee on top of the charge for the night. Where there is an "early check-out fee", it's to make up for the revenue lost by not charging you for the night that is missed. Since you paid with points and it's the free night, I can't see how there would be a fee.

If you need the night credit, just leave - they'll check you out the next day. There's really no need to check out online.

If you don't need the night, you could tell them you're leaving so they can use the room in an emergency. 6pm is probably too late to resell, but they may have a late walk-in or an oversell.

It seems to be property specific, but I've used the app to check in/ make requests/ check out and have the FD not receive the message, or it vanished down the rabbit hole. With a situation such as checking out early, I would not depend on the app to make that known.

good point, if one is on points and not looking for partial refund, no problem