This cracks me up. We have this issue at every location. Guests just casually announcing they will be arriving at noon and completely ignoring the check in times. Welllll, I’d love to offer that to you but unfortunately I agree with Paul- it adds stress that is completely unnecessary and causes mixups/forgotten items. Housekeeper rushes for no reason. Too many variables.
My response is typically uniform- if we do not have a check out the day of arrival, I will tell them they may check in early. If I do receive a last minute reservation they will not be able to check in any earlier than 2 pm and we can let them know when the place is ready if they’d like to check in with us after 2 pm (placing responsibility on guest to contact us rather than having to remember to reach out to them). If they require an early check in they must reserve the prior day.
I will make exceptions for guests checking in during our off season and staying longer than 3 days. They also are able to check out at their convenience during the off season. It’s not something we can always do but when I see a situation where their request isn’t going to impact me or the occupancy rate- I don’t see any reason not to be as helpful as possible.
I dont think that guest should expect this service at no charge to them. Unfortunately, a lot of them start out acting as if it’s their right but once I explain the situation, they are happy that I’ve offered the possibility at all.