What To Do If Your Hotel Isn’t Ready for Check-In Yet and All You Want to Do is Sleep
After hours in the air, we all want to hurry to our hotels, flop on the bed and take a nice long nap.
But with red-eye flights with early morning arrival times, sometimes that just isn’t possible.
Most European hotels and lodging have check-in times around 3:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m. at the earliest. Many, depending on where you’re traveling, have even later check-in times. It’s not uncommon for independently-owned guest houses and inns to have a check-in time that’s around 4:00 p.m.
If you’re traveling from North America and arrive at your destination in the morning, most properties allow you to store your luggage while you’re out and about until check-in time. However, if you absolutely must have access to your room upon arrival you can either a) request an early check-in in advance or b) book your room for one additional night in advance.
Early check-in often comes with a fee, but you may not be charged if your check-in time is not too far off. With the latter option, you do pay for an extra night that you’re not actually in the room, but you’re also assured that you have your room upon arrival. If you choose this option, be certain to contact the property on the first day of the booking so that you’re not considered a no-show and have the entire booking canceled. This option is especially worth using if the hotel offers discounts based on the number of days booked.
Consider your arrival time and determine whether early check-in will be necessary for you. Even if you cannot get to your room as soon as you leave the airport, try not to plan to do too much right off the bat. You’ll want to make sure you can fight off jet lag and enjoy your vacation.