TimesTwo

Had an experience today that reminded me of an older (now locked) thread. Arrived at hotel around 3 after traveling all day. Have three rooms booked, none ready, even though it was already check-in time. I figured it wasn't the end of the world and I'd get the keys soon enough.

At 4, I checked with the front desk again and she said the rooms were still occupied and one would be occupied until 4:30, then it would need to be cleaned. I told front desk person that I understand late check-outs but it wasn't appropriate to have that affect the next guest checking in. She said there was nothing she could do.

4:15 I called SPG Plat line and the person called the hotel, then came back to tell me there was nothing that could be done, and that it might be 2 more hours (!) until my room was ready. I told her - as I did with the front desk person - that I understand late check-outs but that is between the hotel and that guest and shouldn't affect me. She apologized and said there was nothing she could do.

4:30ish - after I got off the (long) phone call w/ the platinum concierge, I asked for the manager who told me - again - that the room wasn't ready and that the room was occupied and they would try to put a rush on cleaning, but it could still take an hour or more after the person checks out. I said - again - that I understand later check-outs but it shouldn't affect me checking in. I mentioned that I've asked for and been denied a late check out at other properties if they need my room. She said, "we don't deny late check-outs" and said that sometimes people have to wait until 7 (!!) to check in sometimes. I guess there is an airline employee in the room and evidently they get late check-outs.

Manager said my only recourse was to take a room in a lower category than booked or wait a couple of more hours. First, I think that's absurd. Nevertheless, as it was nearing 5 (and I have dinner reservations soon) I took it.

The bizarre thing is that no one thinks this is a problem. I'm honestly not someone who tries to throw my weight around and start demanding anything at a whim, but I think this is nuts.

So what say you, Flyertalk. Am I crazy or is this normal?

craz

I file it under stuff happens. Ive been preuped to a suite and then told the person in it last night(another Plat) called down a few hours ago and took a 4pm late checkout. So I simply asked if they had anything else available now since it was a 1 night stay and I had plans for the evening. Ive done this more then 1 time.

We cant have both late checkouts and yet demand the room be avaialble @ 3pm. The only thing IMO the hotel did wrong was not to mention that they could in fact get you into aroom then and there but not what they set aside or what you reserved. Leave it to the guest to decide what they want to do, just let me know my options

I hope they refunded you any $$ since you paid for a higher cat room but ended up in a lower cat room, so I assume

lilpisher

I do not think you are crazy at all. The hotel was obligated to provide you a room at the same category that you booked at the posted check-in time. Any other circumstances are immaterial. Please post the name of this hotel so that we can avoid it in the future.

I would also recommend opening a corporate customer service complaint. And if you're feeling particularly annoyed, I'd consider telling the hotel that you want them to pro-rate the room rate for the hours that it was unavailable (and initiate a credit card dispute if they decline).

TimesTwo

I hear you that we can't have it both ways but I feel like the hotels do. In other words, I get 4pm denied if it isn't available so as to not screw over the next guest checking in, and yet, I get it on this end. And to be clear, I didn't expect to get in at 3 on the dot, but after waiting an hour and half, and then being told that it could be 2 more hours, that is not okay, in my opinion.

And yes, I wish I had been told at first that I could get into a diff't room type because I was happy to take whatever room I could get at that point.

craz

If you were Denied a late checkout as a Plat and if it wasnt either a Resort or *W offical Conference Center thats when you needed to call SPG. Its a benefit for a Plat regardless of what that nights situation is! Its the hotels problem not yours,

Bout the only thing I would have been about was the FD not offerring me another room no matter the cat, and if lower,then making up the difference I paid for by booking the better room. Sometimes a hotel goes nuts since they preassigned a person Room XXXX and simply should let the guest determine what they want to do, rather then stick to their guns that since xxxx was set aside for them it must be xxxx

supatight80

Isnt the proper procedure here is to put you at any room available and when your room is ready, the hotel transfers you to your new room (them doing all the work on transferring)?

craz

The only time Id agree to something like that is if I didnt have any valuables, otherwise for 1 night no big deal Im staying put with my valuables locked away.

dcstudent

TimesTwo, I think you're right to be frustrated. It's one thing to not have your room available. But, they should've immediately offered you an available room, and imo, offered to contact you when the room level you booked became available and to allow you to move into that room.

Just my $.02

travelswithmyself

This is a difficult situation and it's hard to decide which side to be on.

On the one hand if you're Gold/Plat and it's not a resort/conference property, you are entitled to stay to 4pm and cannot be denied. And if someone stayed in the your room till 4pm, it definitely would take time to clean the room, and you would not want them to skimp on it either. So an hour+ is actually a reasonable time.

Yet official check-in time is 3pm...

So what happens if you have a hotel full of Golds/Plats who are exercising their option to stay till 4pm (and you know people sometimes don't leave on the dot at 4pm)? Does the hotel have to pre-block rooms for incoming guests? If they do, that means one room is blocked for the late-staying guest, and another for the incoming guest. So effectively two rooms are blocked for the same date, though only one guest will stay...

Yes it's the hotel's business to manage their inventory. But I can imagine it's really not an easy job sometimes. No wonder some of them may take shortcuts and either deny the late-checkout benefit which is actually mandatory, or simply anger the incoming guest by making him/her wait.


Yes, that should have been done and IME is the usual thing. Or they offer you a place in the lounge.

If it isn't offered, I ASK if they can't put me in another room first. It may not have occurred to FD, or they may not want to have to clean up another room, IF possible, but will give it to you if asked. So it's a good idea to ask if the option is not forthcoming.

Miami305

What about this thought experiment...

What if a hotel mandates a check-out time of 12 noon (for the sake of argument), but I happen to hang out in my suite with the door bolted whenever housekeeping comes to clean the room. At 2pm, I saunter downstairs to check out. Is it expected that I will be charged some sort of a penalty? I suspect some sort of punishment will happen because of my tardiness. So why shouldn't a hotel be punished for not allowing a guest to check in when they promise a room to be ready?

Yes, I get that SPG guarantees a late check out for some guests, but that's the property's responsibility for managing inventory. Not mine.

JackE

Two easy solutions:

1. They should just make it clear that a 3:00 check-in is not guaranteed.

2. The guarantee should be that if they cannot meet the promised check-in time, then you get X points.


It can never be 100% certain that we'll actually get a room on time. All sorts of things can happen in the hospitality biz.

craz

the only way I see this happening is if *W gets rid of the gauranteed 4PM checkout. I think its best to leave things as is. Since more likely then not, its the 4PM checkouts that cause the rooms not to be available @ 3PM

LovetoTravel83

It is clearly a problem. I remember something like this happening to me at a Four Seasons hotel around 5 years ago. It was check-in time but my room was not ready, I told them fine and asked to comp the internet fee for the inconvenience, they refused and they countered with an upgrade to the Royal Suite. I was a happy guest that day.

But then again, that manager knew it was a problem.

zerolife

What room type did you reserve? I find it highly unlikely that all of the rooms in the hotel are taken by flight crew or Plats exercising their late checkout rights, unless you reserved some type of suite with very limited availability (the fact that you had three rooms reserved make me believe that this is not the case).

If they truly don't have any vacant room then they don't have anything. However it would be nice to offer extra points or some other type of compensation for the delay in getting the rooms ready.

danohio

I had a similar issue occur last weekend at the Sheraton Toronto. 2 rooms reserved, asked for 2pm check-in, arrived just past 3. Neither room was ready and they weren't made available until well after 4. Was told that due to convention/expo, there was a lot of turnover. While I was not pleased I made sure that the hotel made good on it's failures (there were a number of others during check-in alone, but not in relation to this thread). In all I got them to comp a few club drinks and breakfast for 4 at the restaurant.

Given your status, I would hope that the hotel would make some sort of make good offer to make up for quite an inconvenience. Beyond, of course, a refund due for a lesser room.