I'm just wondering that time people give as their earliest check in time and the earliest that people have tried to check in.
I think that my hostel is quite good and lets people in early, 11am but this morning I was rudely roused from my slumber by my buzzer going off (I don't do or advertise a 24 hour reception as we're a tiny organisation and it's not financially viable) and someone who had booked for today was trying to check in at 5:30am. They seemed genuinely surprised that they were not able to do so. Do these people think we keep all beds empty for 24 hours before they arrive? I've run my place for almost six years and that's definately the earliest I've witnessed.
13 years
This thread was started to discuss check-ins from early flights, but it applies to any really early check-in.
The earliest I have had guests show up was about 5 or 6am too. I think I got off easier than you did though. We did have 24-hour reception, so at least I was wide awake when they showed up. It’s hard to jump into action and be the guests’ hero when you’re not expecting anyone and you’re still half asleep.
13 years
530am is a bit extreme. But I do think that hostels could cater better for people arriving from overnight flights. Unlike most people at 8 to 10am, these people often DO NOT want to be off to look round the city like everyone else, but want nothing better than to lie down for a while. This is a criticism of both hostels and guest houses: they are all geared to expecting people to turn up from 1400 to 2000h.
I think hostels near airports which receive many early-arriving flights could gain over their competitors by including in their publicity eg: "We welcome arrivals from night flights, open from 8am". No need to give guests their final beds till afternoon, but just give them a temporary bed or a couch in a quiet room.
13 years
Well the fact is most do. We all have check in and check out times. However to arrive at 530am you'd need to have booked for the previous night. You can't really kick out someone who has paid for a night at 5:30am because someone wants to check in early.
We do state very clearing on all our booking sites that check in times are from 11am and 10pm only. As I said above we don't have a 24 hour reception, having 30 beds it's not practical. As you say 'Unlike most people at 8 to 10am, these people often DO NOT want to be off to look round the city like everyone else, but want nothing better than to lie down for a while.' That's all well and good but I think you're being a bit nieve. THere are only two remedies for this situation. Firstly that the hostel makes the bed available at 8-10am and keeps every bed free for 24 hours before any guest arrives (in effect halving their takings). Secondly turfing everyone out of bed in the middle of the night to accomodate what is possibly 10% of their market.
It is completey impractical. I think that you're confusing what you'd like to see as it suits you with what is physically viable.
14hrs is maybe too late. Personally I take people from 11am people arriving at 8am? You'd have to kick people out by 7am. Otherwise you'd have to start charging people for a half day stay and and if it's only 10% of your customers that need check in's that early again you're missing out.
Businesses have, at a bare minimum, to break even. It can't be done that way and still survive.
13 years
Oohbunnies, you have totally misread my message and misunderstood my point. I agree with you!!! I am the opposite of suggesting that you kick people out at 7am. That is why I said:
No need to give guests their final beds till afternoon, but just give them a temporary bed or a couch in a quiet room.
I am indeed looking from the viewpoint of a potential guest. If I was landing in a city at 7am, I would favour a hostel that offers me a couch for a few hours to the 95% of others who tell me to walk around for 6 hours until my bed for the next night is available.
If you are a small hostel and cannot do this, that's OK. But if you CAN offer this from whatever time you open the desk, say 8am, you will have something extra to offer potential guests.
13 years
Here is another thread on the subject of early arrivals.
There has to be a time when an early arrival is not just “really early” but rather one DAY early and therefore subject to the charge for an extra night. Assuming that you DID have a bed for the guest to check into, what time would that breaking point be for you guys?
13 years
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell. I open my office at 8am. If they arrived then and the room was unoccupied. Being an experienced hotel managed I would make a big deal out of it explaining it wasn't something that was normally done just to squeak an extra few percent out of the staff rating on the reveiw. :P
13 years
I am curious what people think about having check in times by reservation only? For a small hostel. More specifically, having a phone number that you can call upon arrival or making plans to check in at a specific time before arriving. ??
13 years
Speaking from a backpacker's perspective, I don't like showing up at a hostel and finding a note on the door that says, "call this number to check in" because I don't always travel with a phone. I wouldn't mind being asked to make arrangements in advance to check in at some approximate time, but then I would expect someone to be there waiting for me when I showed up.
From a hostel manager's perspective, getting all of your guests to give you an accurate arrival time in advance could be quite difficult and frustrating. You may end up sitting and waiting for guests who don't show up until several hours after their estimated arrival time due to transportation delays, difficulty finding your hostel, or simply losing track of time.
If you're going to arrange check-ins by appointment, just be sure to make that crystal clear in your property descriptions and your confirmation emails, because I think a lot of people won't be expecting it.
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