How to Guarantee Hotel Early Check-in, Late Check-out

How to Guarantee Hotel Early Check-in and Late Check-out

How Can You Guarantee Early Check-In and/or Late Check-Out at a Luxury Hotel? As we wrote in Why Hotels Won't Guarantee Early Check-in, most hotels won't provide this benefit because it prevents them from selling the room or suite the night before (as virtually all hotels have a 12 noon or 11am check-out time, and can't ask existing guests to depart earlier than that). This is why, for our clients who need an early check-in either due to business meetings or arriving early after a red eye flight, we recommend reserving the prior night. And if that's too expensive, another option we suggest to some of our clients with an AMEX Platinum or Centurion card is to reserve the prior night in the hotel's least expensive room category, taking advantage of the 4pm late check-out. This does entail a room move, but it can be significant savings if a more expensive suite is reserved for the bulk of the stay.

Nevertheless, there are a few hotels that do guarantee early check-in and/or late check-out. Here are our tips:

1. Peninsula Hotels: Flexible Check-in / Check-out

One of the best benefits of reserving a Peninsula Hotel, whether it's The Peninsula Paris, The Peninsula New York, or The Peninsula Tokyo, is being able to take advantage of flexible check-in (from 6am on the arrival day) and check-out (until 10pm on the departure day). Red eye flight into Paris? No problem. Late departure from Tokyo or New York? Not an issue. We can't wait until The Peninsula London opens, as this will be a great competitive advantage over other London hotels that don't guarantee early check-in.

Just be sure to provide your expected arrival/departure time in advance, ideally when you make your reservation. Plus, with PenClub benefits, you enjoy a guaranteed room to room or suite to suite upgrade at time of booking.

PenClub Benefits for TravelSort Clients

Guaranteed room upgradefrom room to room or suite to suite at time of booking
“Peninsula Time” flexible check-in and check-out programme
Daily breakfast for up to two persons
Upgraded welcome amenity
$100 dining credit or hotel credit (varies by property, check with us)

2. Hyatt Privé: Early Check-in / Late Check-out *May* Be Guaranteed

Hyatt Privé, in addition to being able to guarantee an upgrade at time of booking (except during high occupancy periods) can also guarantee early check-in, as early as 9am, and/or late check-out, as late as 4pm, but as with the guaranteed upgrade, high occupancy times are excluded. TravelSort Clients should advise us of their preferred early check-in/late check-out time when asking for a reservation, so that we can request it at the time we book. See all Hyatt Privé Benefits for TravelSort Clients.

3. AMEX Fine Hotels & Resorts: 4pm Late Check-out

If you have many hotel stays each year where you need a 3pm or 4pm late check-out, that could make it worth it to have an AMEX Platinum card, which in our experience otherwise rarely justifies its current $695 annual fee, unless you also enjoy crowded AMEX Centurion airport lounges. Keep in mind that because the 4pm late check-out is a liability for the hotel (since it means that those rooms won't be able to be cleaned and ready until later that evening) hotels will sometimes close off inventory to AMEX even while continuing to sell rooms, especially during busy holiday periods.

4. Cheval Blanc Paris: Flexible Check-in and Check-out

The Peninsula Paris isn't the only Parisian property to offer flexible check-in and check-out; so does Cheval Blanc Paris, when you provide your arrival and departure time at least 48 hours prior to arrival. Note that within the 48 hours prior to arrival, requests become subject to availability.

Virtuoso Benefits for TravelSort Clients

Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
Full American breakfast daily for two guests per bedroom, breakfast served in Hotel restaurant
Fast track immigration
Complimentary round-trip private airport / train station / hotel transfer with VIP meet & greet
Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability
Complimentary Wi-Fi

5. Hotel de Crillon Paris (Rosewood): Guaranteed Early Check-in, Late Check-out

The Hotel de Crillon Paris, a Rosewood hotel, also guarantees early check-in (as early as 10am) and 4pm late check-out as part of its Virtuoso benefits, available to all of our clients:

Upgrade on arrival, based on availability
Complimentary Full Breakfast daily for two guests per bedroom, either in room or in restaurant
$100USD equivalent Food & Beverage credit utilized during stay (not combinable, not valid on room rate, no cash value if not redeemed in full)
Confirmed 10am check-in/4pm check-out
Complimentary Wi-Fi

6. Marriott Ambassador Elites: Your24

Marriott Ambassador Elites (to qualify, you need both 100 Qualifying Nights annually and $20,000 in spend) can take advantage of this former SPG elite benefit. You can't have both an early check-in and late check-out, but you can guarantee one of them, and depart at the same time on your departure day. So if you need to guarantee early 8am check-in on your arrival day, you'd also need to depart at 8am on your departure day.

What have been your favorite luxury hotels where you were able to guarantee an early check-in or late check-out?

Recommended Posts

Luxury Hotel Construction Compensation Tips

Top New Virtuoso Hotels 2022

Why You May Need Backup Flight, Hotel Reservations Now, More Than Ever