Threads merged.

Bruce
Moderator

I would think it ALL depends on the housekeeping staff and whether management has enough clout to keep them around in the afternoon. Just seems to me they are raring to go at 8AM 7 days a week and damn the guest's sleep desires or needs. Yes, there are a percentage that vacate by 8AM and never look back but there are many who don't.

Sunday's are the worst and is when the creative lying begins IMO. Always get the lie that "we're full tonight" and/or "a large group is coming in". Yeah, right, on the Sunday night after Thanksgiving...

I used to travel Sunday nights and the hotel would be absolutely dead.

Been there. Done that.

Wonder why Marriott is so stingy with guaranteed late check out for Plats? SPG Plat offers 4PM check out. IC RA guarantees both 8AM check in and 4PM check out.

It really varies by property, what they're used to doing, and how busy they are.

Typically they block rooms a few days ahead. If they are going to be busy, they know if someone else will be in your room or not. If not, getting a late check out is easy. If that other person has already checked in and the "room was not ready" - well they are going to want you out ASAP.

Usually most hotels will not discuss late check out until the last day. An hour is always granted. (MVCI's are the exception here). I've had as late as 9PM. Most want to charge you beyond 6PM, although the number of times I'ved needed that is very small.

Last trip we requested late check out for one of our rooms and got it extended from noon to 1:30PM, which is all we needed.

Early check-in is almost always 100% successuful - even at 8AM.

Billy

PS - another trick I've used in the past is checking out - then doing something like skiing all day - then back to the hotel to use the showers in the pool area. Done this many times in SLC, and they don't mind letting you have access. So if all I need is a shower later in the day, I will check out, then come back later in the day...

As an elite member you should have note been charged for a late checkout. The benefit is that you will not only get a late checkout before anyone else but you will also not pay for it. If you would like to send me a personal message with your account number and the dates you stayed I would be happy to help resolve this issue.

Ira

^


I've only asked a couple times for a later check out and have always been given it without hastle. But I've never needed to stay until 4pm.

Thanks for the tip on the showers - probably doesn't work on chains less than FS though.

It's sad how sometimes you are almost treated as a trespassing criminal if you linger on the property past checkout time, again usually at less than FS without restaurants/bars to spend more $$ on. Its like, we got your money, now get out. At a Hyatt Place last year, other members of our group we told we couldn't use the picnic facilities to eat lunch due to those ever popular "insurance regulations".

I would love to understand the "room blocking" process since it seems to be a continuing source of friction. A typical hotel has King, Queen, Concierge - and maybe a few "special rooms" like a corner king and Suites available. Or am mistaken?

From my experience, they rarely read your requesting comments in advance. So when I ask for the CL room or high floor or balcony or other preference that's been ignored, they sigh and pound on the keyboard undoing all the "blocking".

So is that what is going on when you ask for a late checkout? The luck of the draw that some one is coming into your particular King when a slew of other Kings are staying empty this Sunday night? And they don't want to be bothered since you've already "spent the money" at this point? That's my cynical view.

I also suspect that "blocking" is done for the convenience of the housekeeping staff to keep rooms that need to be serviced in close proximity. Many times I've gotten up before 6am for the gym and the distribution of newspapers support that anecdotal evidence.

Just my observations over the years.

My outside view looking in, at the better managed FS hotels, is that the hotels actually start deciding who is going to be in what specific room a day or two in advance. Sure, they suffle things around right up until check in, but many times I've noticed my "room type" change a day or so in advance from say "general room" to "conceriege level" or something else.

I know they do room blocking, as there is someone at the FS hotels actively doing this function. Normally it is something you never need to see or be involved with, but occasionally (I mean I've stayed at marriott for a huge number of nights) you might run into them or their function.

The more busy a hotel is, and the more room types, the more active the hotel has to be. If all the rooms are exactly the same (except for king/double) then there isn't much room blocking to be done.

Billy

I still don't get it

Are you saying that SPG doesn't do this, doesn't have these issues?

Surely since they regularly grant plats 4 p.m. checkouts, there is a way to work this/these issues

sounds like you are making excuses for MR while others are making it work for their top tiers

Can't think of a single time that I haven't been granted a late check-out or early check-in for that matter.

On top of that, I even had the Alpharetta, GA FS Marriott grant two of my team members late check-out when I wasn�t staying there, and never had for that matter. I approached the front desk, flashed my plat card, asked politely that I needed to extend their checkout if possible b/c had some personnel issues I needed to handle before they left, and they gave all 3 rooms until 3:00 PM. Big kudos to this property.^

Some other points asked
- No, never been charged a dime
- yes, frequently have trouble with the room key being decoded at the regularly scheduled time (and to CL as well, which causes the double whammy, head for a water, can't get into CL, head back to room - red light of death)
- yes, housekeeping almost always starts with the "when will you be leaving line?" Only to be followed up with the Supervisor with the clipboard with the "accidental knock" to see if you are still there.

Pretty sad when a Platinum has to beg for a let check out. It's happened many times at many properties around the world. Its something MR should spell-out for the hotels. SPG on the other hand has never given me problems with a 4PM late check-out.

I was once told by a CY FD person that Late check out is easy to grant for a Plat. at the obvious lie (I was gold at that time and that stay will bump me to Plat).

It varies by hotel and I had late checkouts even when I was silver / gold but as others have mentioned, some places (or I should say employees) have tough time giving a late checkout.

I was staying at the Residence Inn in London, ON and on the day of checkout I had a conference call that started at 11:30 am and ran until about 12:15 pm. After I hung up the phone I received a call from the front desk "reminding" me that I needed to check out at noon and wanting to know how much longer I'd be in the room. I asked about getting a late checkout until either 2 pm or 3 pm and was told that they didn't offer late checkouts even if the guest was a Platinum member.

This was about a year ago so I'm not sure if the policy has changed or not. At the time I was a little put off at the hotel as they gave me the impression that I was overstaying my welcome and needed to be out of the room exactly at noon. I haven't stayed at the property since but have stayed at the Fourpoints in London, ON and have never had a problem with a 4 pm checkout if needed. If the late check-out is going to be offered to Marriott Platinum guests then all of the hotels need to be made aware of the policy.

Today at the Times Square Marquis:

[wxguy dials Guest Services]
wxguy: Hello, I'd like to arrange for a late check-out please.
agent: I can offer you 1:00pm.
wxguy: I need 2:30pm please.
agent: I can offer you 2:00pm.
wxguy: I need 2:30pm please.
agent: OK, I see you're Platinum so 2:30pm will be fine.
wxguy: Thank you.