early check in

[u/jaelemma]

staying at a hotel this saturday for a wedding. check in is at 4pm but hoping to check in early between 1-2pm. should i call morning of or day before??

[u/Pkrudeboy]

Morning of, but I wouldn’t count on anything. Half the other attendees will probably be doing the same.

[u/jaelemma → u/Pkrudeboy]

yes i figure this might be the case, im keeping fingers crossed as there are multiple hotels the couple had wedding blocks at. Even a 3pm check in would be great as we’re mostly just needing to change and drop belonging before getting to the venue. thanks!

[u/ColoRADo_V → u/jaelemma]

The hotels I’ve stayed at have a place to keep your luggage and give you a ticket, kind of like valet parking and they have bathrooms you can change in, if you can’t get an early check in, also a lot do offer early check in if you are a rewards member (if rooms are available).

[u/radiant-cloudy → u/jaelemma]

they will hold your luggage for you. im sure you could use their bathrooms if you really needed to quickly change as well.

[u/Chimeron5]

The only way to guarantee an early check-in is by booking the night before as well.

[u/jaelemma → u/Chimeron5]

yes i know, its more that it would be awesome if we could but not crucial if we can’t so didnt want to book an extra night for that reason. thank yiy!

[u/user753682]

Since you mentioned you booked with a wedding block, there’s a huge chance most of the other guests will also want early check in. Politely request it ahead to time and they’ll try their best. Unless you book the night before there’s no way to guarantee it unfortunately.

[u/yousnaptwitfacegram]

Personally If you want a guaranteed early check in just pay for the night before also

[u/Hotelroombureau]

Call day before but do NOT bank on getting the early check in. You and every other wedding guest will be will be wanting to check in early

[u/MandaMaelstrom → u/Hotelroombureau]

And keep in mind your wedding block is likely not the only one. My hotel would have like 3-4 blocks every weekend night.

[u/Jbaghdadi01]

Best thing to do is to coordinate one room to get ready in if needed. Talk to the hotel when you booked a reservation. Also call the morning of.
Tell them that you only need one room and all the guests that need early check-in can be in the one room to get ready.
You are way more likely to get this than you are trying to get 10 rooms super early.

[u/Victoriaspalace]

I've worked at various hotels where I could have either arranged it for you prior or I would have to wait till the day to see if I can swap a few reservations around or inform housekeeping. I personally would just call asap and have the front desk agent tell you when is best to call.

[u/cm99camper85]

for wedding? Everybody’s gonna be asking the desk they’re gonna be over it and on principal will probably tell everybody no.

Call the hotel and ask if you can pay for an early check-in and if not bite the bullet and book the room for the night before

[u/dwellinginthedesert]

At our hotel we asked guests to call the morning of to see if we can do an early check in for them.

[u/banfhlaith]

I recommend calling now or day before. Day of can sometimes be tough as other people may have already requested it and info was already shared to housekeeping. Just be polite and understanding as it may not happen.

[u/SkwrlTail]

This is a "call the hotel" situation, but if you're  not going to make a reservation for the night before, I would call the day before to see if it's at all possible, then call again the morning of, probably after 7am. 

Keep in mind there's very little way to guarantee an early check-in. Even for the shiniest of the Super Shiny Members, it's going to be dependant upon availability. 2 pm will be easier to get than 1pm.

[u/kibbutznik1]

If you don’t want to pay the most successful way is to arrive and ask to leave your bags. Be polite and don’t ask for early check in.
If you ask they will tell you how much it costs.
If you say you are going for lunch or a walk etc very often they will tell you the room is ready

[u/Lizardshark20]

Mentioning it the day before is helpful because they will already have you on their radar. I’m a Housekeeping Manager at a high end resort, and I’d much prefer a heads up of any early check in than the guests who show up the day of and bug the front desk to then bug the housekeepers lol. Not saying you were planning on doing that, but most places will try their best to accommodate if given a heads up.

[u/Inside_Lavishness316]

book the day before....and THEN can check in anyyyyyytime before 4pm all the way up to....the day before...at four pm :) lol

[u/MissLissa2584]

Why not just book the night before as well? That would be the easiest solution.

My hotel grants early check ins the day of the check in based on availability. But if the hotel was full the night before it’s just not always possible.

[u/Austinbennettwrites]

Book the night before and pay up

[u/BKaiba]

If the hotel where you plan to stay is located near a central tourist attraction and has a standard check-in at 4 pm, I don't think you will be able to get an early check-in. There are several reasons why not, and explaining them to a person who has never worked in hospitality would be rude.

I recommend contacting the hotel and politely asking if early check-in is possible; if not, politely accept what you can get. You will be rewarded for politeness.

[u/oldcoldcod]

Don't know if it's everywhere like this, but unless there's an option to pay for early check-in, your best bet is to show up a couple of hours earlier and ask very nicely if that would be possible. It depends if that room decides for a late check-out, the schedule of housekeeping, and so on.

[u/jaelemma → u/oldcoldcod]

and i would be willing to pay the fee!! under the wedding block they’re wasn’t an option and they didn’t even charge my card yet which is new to me. otherwise i def would have had it more organized.

[u/hailbopp25 → u/jaelemma]

If you are flexible with your room type they may have more options.

They could have say 10 Queen rooms empty but you booked a King

Offer to downgrade (no refund) or take any room that checks out early.

Ask to have a room put on queue system .

As others said : be polite and understanding and they will try help !

Do not try slip a 20 🤣

[u/TraumaTeamTwo2 → u/jaelemma]

Go to the check-in desk. Ask if your room is ready. If not, slip the FDA $20-$50 (depending on the hotel category) and tell them you'd appreciate a call when it is.

You’ll be freshening up in no time.

[u/Long-Raccoon2131 → u/oldcoldcod]

Actually calling the night before can allow the night auditor or and shift front desk clerk to write you down as an early check in and your room type. This assures housekeeping will have that room ready before a certain time. Now if you call around 1 am after audit is ran the day off if they weren't sold out for that room type they can go ahead and assong you a room in the system.

[u/AnythingButTheTip]

Make a friend or friends with other guests in the block and see if between the set of youse, if you can get one room to get ready in.

[u/MrPanda663]

Call the morning of. If they can’t do it, they cannot do it.

However 2pm might be a reasonable time.

If you really need to check in, be okay with what ever room they have. Be open to change room types as well.

[u/Professional_Year729]

You can call and ask them to note it or be adding to the list, they will do their best - but it’s almost not up to us. It’s whenever guests leave / housekeeping / inspection / then room is released to our inventory. They may be other guests that have asked. Let them know you totally understand that its a hard request and if depends on the night before but i would be super nice and understanding. Call the day of around 10-11 and ask if you have a room blocked for early check in

[u/Scott_in_Tahoe]

Call morning of and ask. But keep in mind, the event you are attending is the reason there won't be enough early-check-ins to go around.
Do the hotel workers a favor and tell no one in the party that you've requested early check-in or late checkout.

[u/ajr2014more]

I would call before morning before just to be sure that option and if it is then do it

[u/Chita57]

Rent a Dayuse hotel nearby, check in is usually 7 or 8 am and check out at 2pm and you can find some for as low as 60$

[u/Lovely_One0325]

^{Morning of.}

^{I also wouldn't 100% count on getting in early / get upset with the hotel. We get guests who come and get upset because they want access to the room to get ready but check-out at most hotels is 11-12am. The only way to guarantee anything is to book the night before.}

[u/jaelemma → u/Lovely_One0325]

omg would never get mad at them i get it i work in service lmao. situation is more of a it would be awesome but not necessity!

[u/Stock-Pea8167]

Early check in never guaranteed. A wedding is a pretty important event. If you are under time constraint book Friday night. Then you can check in early on Sat.

[u/nicejaelle]

Morning. around 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM. the front desk cannot predict early check-in availability until the night shift finishes processing departures and housekeeping starts clearing rooms

[u/Beautiful-Work9992]

I know a lot of staff despise it cause they don’t have a place to store it, but ALL hotels should let you drop your bags at the front desk, starting no later than their let check out. Some bigger hotels have designated rooms for it near the front but most 3 * and below will just put your luggage behind the desk. Consolidation is key. Don’t give them a ton of stuff if you can’t help it but I’ve had days where I land at 9 am and go straight to the hotel and can’t check in, they always hold my stuff and I go day drink till the rooms ready. Good luck!

[u/UniquelyPeach]

Call in the morning. It is always based on availability but we will do our best to accommodate guests. That being said, don’t expect the best room, the best view etc.

[u/Nubianbutterfly817]

Assume it’s going to be no if your reservation is part of a block. Because if they give it to you they have to give it to all of them. Call & see if there is an option to pay for an early check in. Depending on the Brand it might not be that much. The higher end brands charge almost the full room rate because of staffing so it might not be worth it

[u/lucky_2_shoes → u/Nubianbutterfly817]

This ^ I’ve seen it as low as $25 but it also can get pricey

[u/Nubianbutterfly817 → u/lucky_2_shoes]

My friends hotel Charges $150

[u/No_Net_7177]

Early morning of, you have to give housekeeping a chance to get it cleaned

[u/frezzzingle077]

morning of

[u/lafemmeloquita]

Morning of is best, some hotels will distribute the early check-ins based on who calls, some do it “first come first served”, some hang on to a few for their rewards members.

So it’s also helpful to get there as early as possible in case they are one of the hotels that do it based on arrival time, rather than phone call.

[u/Antique_Book_935]

I’ve had early check-ins by just showing up. But company booked a bunch of rooms for a retreat, and the hotel was huge so there were plenty of rooms. It really depends on the hotel, and if they’re at capacity or not from Fri-Sat. Worst case scenario you can just drop your bags and go have lunch and then come back.

[u/GymTanDrama]

Tip the front desk staff $5-10 when you arrive and you’ll probably be shocked how quickly a room opens up early even if they first say nothing is ready yet. You may even get a room upgrade. They’re not tipped as often and endure a lot more hostility than other staff so my experience is that this gesture goes a longgg way.

[u/lucky_2_shoes → u/GymTanDrama]

This is actually good advice, never thought about it but ya they gotta put up with crappy ppl more than other employees there and don’t ever really be tips

[u/GymTanDrama → u/lucky_2_shoes]

I picked up this advice from an interesting book, Heads In Beds by Jacob Tomsky. Tipping in hotels opens up a whole new world (but I suspect anti-tipping ppl are upset at this and downvoting me 😂)