By Shawn Gallagher
Waiting around for your hotel check-in time can often be a drag. Say you arrive in a city at 9am, but have to wait around until 3pm with all of your luggage to check-in. Sure, the hotel lobby might be able to hold onto your bags for you, but it can still be exhausting waiting around after an early morning or a red-eye flight.
There are several ways to boost your odds of getting an early check-in at a hotel. Keep in mind that almost none of these are guaranteed; they’re just tips. Let’s go over them.
Pay, or Get Hotel Elite Status
Depending on the hotel brand and property, you may be able to reserve an early check-in for a fee. For example, World of Hyatt members staying at Hyatt Place hotels can participate on eligible stays. Base members and Discoverists can reserve a 9am or 12pm check-in starting at $10, while this is complimentary for Explorists and Globalists. Note that this is based on availability.
I’ve occasionally seen early check-in options for Hyatt Regency properties as well. My most recent stay at the Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor had one going for $110, which I did not do.
Marriott Bonvoy has a similar one for Ambassador Elite status members with the Your24 benefit, where you can choose your own check-in and check-out time.
Paying or utilizing your elite status benefits are the most surefire ways to get to your room early, but again, remember that these would still be based on availability.
Check-in Online
Checking in online can actually be helpful. In fact, I’ve had success checking in early for the last 3 of my Hyatt stays by simply checking in online. Here’s how it works (and note that many other hotel chains also offer online check-in).
First, you’ll typically receive an email inviting you to check-in online at around 2 or 3am on the day of your arrival. You can also use the app, which is what I always do.
You can select your expected arrival time at the hotel when checking in. It doesn’t have to be the standard check-in time (in this case, 3pm). Choose whatever time you expect to get there, whether it’s 10am or 5pm. For this specific check-in, I selected 11:30am.
Once your room is ready, you’ll receive a notification telling you so regardless of the check-in time you or the hotel listed.
In this specific case from the photos, I checked in at 10am, and this above notification came at 10:30am. I’ve done this several other times with success.
Travel Off-Peak and Book Standard Rooms
Another way to boost your chance at checking in early is to travel during off-peak times. As great as the online check-in has worked for me many times, I’ve had higher success with it during off-peak travel seasons. For example, I’m 3 for 3 with early check-ins at Hyatt properties so far this January. However, I’m also aware that January is a slow season for hotels, and this may not be the case come summertime.
In addition, booking a standard-level room can also increase your odds of getting to your room early, for the simple reason that there are usually more of them compared to corner rooms or suites.
Bottom Line
Checking early at a hotel can be very convenient when traveling. Being able to drop off luggage and other personal items, take a rest after a morning flight, and the list goes on. Although it all depends on availability, checking in online and booking off-peak travel times can help. Try out some of these tricks next time you have a hotel stay.
Featured image by Hyatt.