Consider Guest Behavior When Creating Your Late Check-Out Policy

Checking in and out of a hotel happens millions of times across the world with no issues. There are times, however, that guests will ask to check out of their rooms an hour or two later than the time they already agreed to by originally booking the room. You as a hotel leader have a great deal of considerations to make in considering how often you allow these late checkouts, and the circumstances under which you would even consider them. The buck ultimately stops with you, so you’ll want to enter these situations having already considered the nuance therein.

How much of a strain are late checkouts on your housekeeping staff? You’re already asking a lot of the staff to turn rooms around so folks can use them. Will a series of late checkouts keep them from being able to do their jobs?

Understandably, a hotel leader could find themselves in a bind if there are rooms that people have booked, and those rooms aren’t ready to go if and when the new guests arrive. That immediately will leave a bad taste in their mouths, especially after a long day of travel from God knows where.

To that end, think about how your staff is already overworked when it comes time to host a big conference or a building that is fully booked. Depending on how often these are happening, it could grind operations almost to a halt at a pivotal time for your hotel. Don’t be so quick to do so if it means you could create other issues that will complicate your day.

There are plenty of times where your hotel staff may have fallen short where accommodating a guest is concerned, and your best bet as a leader is to be proactive in acknowledging those shortcomings when you get called to the carpet. Will a late checkout help placate a frustrated customer?

Guests are notorious for pushing boundaries where hotel policy is concerned. There is a case to be made, however, that you can quell the concerns of a guest who is already unhappy by allowing them late checkout. Think of it as an olive branch, if you will.

If you are dealing with a customer or a customer’s family that is part of a rewards program, consider automatically granting a late checkout if circumstances allow. Some companies treat this as a perk that comes with that type of program.

If yours is not of the automatic sort, letting the customer know that you are going to grant their request is a good show of faith and a good way to keep someone involved who obviously intends on frequenting your business. Because they have more of an allegiance than the ordinary folks who are just passing through, you can safely afford them some different treatment. To some extent, they are paying for that treatment and may appeal to it rightly if they see fit. Bend a little for them given the ramifications for your business and thank them for choosing yours when you do so.

Regular customers should already know the late check-out rate if there is one, and it could very well be the case that once you discuss the fee with them, they back off their request to check out late because they want to save money. In any event, you want to make sure it’s understood when they check in that they are expected to check out at a given time and that staff will hold them to that.

Accommodate where you can, and even something as simple as sitting in the lobby is an available option that guests will accept even begrudgingly if they can’t check out when they want. That’s a better option than letting them sit in a room too long and leave it disheveled, which could bother both housekeeping and the next set of guests depending on other outside circumstances.