Checkin/Checkout - two ideas to make more $ and give guests more flexibility?

I have reviewed numerous posts (like spent 15 hours so far? ) As I said in my first post, am targeting opening up in a couple months, when we close.
Regarding guests who try to checkin/checkout outside your posted hours, I was thinking of two separate ideas to accommodate this while making more $$$ - never heard these thoughts, although I am sure someone somewhere is doing something like this...
1) Flexible policy: Guests may check in earlier/check out later than posted times (assuming room is ready) at a cost of $7 per hour. After all, if the room is empty, extra revenue is profit...
2) "The desk is unstaffed after 9pm. After hours check-in have a $40 charge."
Thoughts?

Several on here are already doing that but a flat rate charge for early in and/or late out. I do not remember what it is.

Read on. We go over this many times in a year. Look for topics like 'early check in' to see how many handle this.
Don't charge by the hour. Think about what that says about your place!
Charge a flat rate for any early check in occurring from, say, noon to whatever your standard time will be.
Do the same, as you mentioned, for late arrivals.
Get the money in advance! You absolutely will get guests who insist they must, must, must check at noon who then don't show up until 6. You must wait for them from noon onward. They won't pay the fee when they arrive because they didn't check in early. They will not care that you say around for 3 hours waiting for them. Tough shit, that's your job, is what they will say.

Interesting ideas. I am so glad you are here checking things out and seeing what may or may not work for your place.
Once you are there then you can see it in action. Here are my 2 cents.
For example, breakfast hours:
It is not that we are inflexible. . .
When I have just one room of guests who walk in at check in and I ask them what time they would want breakfast? they stand there without an answer. Then they give me one. Then they come back and tell me a different one later on.
When they get here and know the breakfast times are 830AM, or say at your place 8am to 10am then they can plan their day around that. It is a simple guideline to go off.
We have breakfasts super early when requested to accommodate guests needs. Our business guests tend to need an earlier breakfast, as do guest speakers and such for graduations or events. So...they are told they can change it if they tell us today so we can plan for it.
Why am I sharing this Undersea? Because the more times, dates, costs you charge the more confused people will be! You will lose this battle, trust us.
We have a saying "People don't read" and trust us on that one. Call it being road weary, or a different place, whatever the reason people are disorientated they are overstimulated and can't hear nor do they read.
Now as for the late check in, you better be prepared to handle those, as "stuff happens" and you can't penalize a person for being on the road and traveling. They are staying with you, they are the guest, so need to be treated as such.
- - Early Check in - - not so easy, you are busting your rear to get the place ready for new guests while other guests are lingering and won't go...then you find a big ol' stain in the middle of the carpet and a backed up toilet, you have to go to the hardware store and clean and then make up the room, amongst everything else. So I am less lenient on someone knocking on the door early.
Our inn opens at 4pm. (Until then there is a note on the front door that says our inn opens at 4pm. If you don't lock your front door people will come in.)
(That is me, here, I don't have a partner working here with me during the day). Late check outs on a Sunday may be something more worthwhile of some extra $$... once they are there they may be enjoying themselves and willing to pay a late check out fee.)
ARE YOU UNMANNED AT NIGHT?
I ask as your no front desk staff comment. To me that means the B&B is unattended and vulnerable. Be careful stating that.

I have a charge for early-check-in. Why? Because it means we have to get the room done first and have someone on site to accept their arrival. Late check-out would mean that I would need to keep someone there, well over the cost of $7 an hour to keep someone there.
I also allow self check-in. It's actually easier for me, since I don't have to worry about their arrival time. Why would I charge for that, it means that I don't have to be there, room can be done last and at leisure.
I want to make more money, there are better ways to do this, like raising rates for popular days. In fact, I put up the cost of weekends this summer already.

My check in times are between 3 and 6. Check out is 10 ( guests linger up until 11). I state that early check ins may leave their luggage with me if they'd like to leave and explore. Can't show them their room unless it's ready but I need all that time in between. I am a one-woman show. I couldn't offer a late checkout even if I wanted to. Besides, once rearranged all my reservations to accommodate someone who was willing to pay for a late checkout and they were a no-show. And this was at the time when I was fighting with Booking.com to make last minute reservation requests with a mandatory credit card number (long story).

I missed the late check out piece. As JB said, no one reads, even us!
We say there is a $50 late check out fee. Have never collected it. As soon as we say it and ask for the credit card, the guest scampers out the door to avoid the fee.

Our check in is 3pm and our check out is 11am. When they book we tell them that we allow for check in earlier than that. If the room is ready they can go right in, if not then we will hold their luggage(s) in our closet if they want. (No promise that it will be ready before 3pm.) In the summer it is popular and when the room is ready the guests are delighted. If not, they bring in their luggage(s) and put it in the closet themselves. No disappointment. Most opt to ring for them when they arrive later on. Only 1 percent take up the offer to put them in their room when it's ready.

I just came back from a quick trip to Vegas. One of the hotels I stayed in sent an e-mail the day of arrival offering a self check in by e-mail. Check in time was 4:00, but if the room was ready, what time did we want to check in? They had each hour listed with a radio button to click. I played around with it and anything before 2:00 showed there would be a $50 additional fee. I clicked 2:00 and got an e-mail around 2:10 that said my room was ready and where to pick up my key. There was a special window in the registration area and I didn't have to wait in the extremely long line.
The morning of check-out I got another e-mail from them offering a self check-out link and told me where to drop my keys.
Loved it!

Breakfast Diva said:

I just came back from a quick trip to Vegas. One of the hotels I stayed in sent an e-mail the day of arrival offering a self check in by e-mail. Check in time was 4:00, but if the room was ready, what time did we want to check in? They had each hour listed with a radio button to click. I played around with it and anything before 2:00 showed there would be a $50 additional fee. I clicked 2:00 and got an e-mail around 2:10 that said my room was ready and where to pick up my key. There was a special window in the registration area and I didn't have to wait in the extremely long line.
The morning of check-out I got another e-mail from them offering a self check-out link and told me where to drop my keys.
Loved it!.

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Where were you? I just got back, too!

Morticia said:

Breakfast Diva said:

I just came back from a quick trip to Vegas. One of the hotels I stayed in sent an e-mail the day of arrival offering a self check in by e-mail. Check in time was 4:00, but if the room was ready, what time did we want to check in? They had each hour listed with a radio button to click. I played around with it and anything before 2:00 showed there would be a $50 additional fee. I clicked 2:00 and got an e-mail around 2:10 that said my room was ready and where to pick up my key. There was a special window in the registration area and I didn't have to wait in the extremely long line.
The morning of check-out I got another e-mail from them offering a self check-out link and told me where to drop my keys.
Loved it!.

Click to expand...

Where were you? I just got back, too!
.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

Where were you? I just got back, too!

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When I saw your first post about the wedding and being in Vegas, I had just gotten home!

Breakfast Diva said:

Morticia said:

Breakfast Diva said:

I just came back from a quick trip to Vegas. One of the hotels I stayed in sent an e-mail the day of arrival offering a self check in by e-mail. Check in time was 4:00, but if the room was ready, what time did we want to check in? They had each hour listed with a radio button to click. I played around with it and anything before 2:00 showed there would be a $50 additional fee. I clicked 2:00 and got an e-mail around 2:10 that said my room was ready and where to pick up my key. There was a special window in the registration area and I didn't have to wait in the extremely long line.
The morning of check-out I got another e-mail from them offering a self check-out link and told me where to drop my keys.
Loved it!.

Click to expand...

Where were you? I just got back, too!
.

Click to expand...

Morticia said:

Where were you? I just got back, too!

Click to expand...

When I saw your first post about the wedding and being in Vegas, I had just gotten home!
.

Click to expand...

Breakfast Diva said:

Morticia said:

Where were you? I just got back, too!

Click to expand...

When I saw your first post about the wedding and being in Vegas, I had just gotten home!

Click to expand...

We had great weather! Hard getting used to the cold again.

No early check ins prearranged - why?
1 - Those who swear they need to check in early don't show until well after the start of check-in - why? they stop along the way and are having fun and think that's no problem because you are there with nothing to do anyway. Definitely charge the early arrival fee up front if you are doing it so they are tied to coming early or they won't and you'll be sitting there steaming
2 - After doing breakfast and getting people checked out and getting rooms ready, you may want to have a bite for lunch. If they're showing up early and taking up that time before the regular arrivals start, you'll never have a minute to stop. Get's old quick.
3-Stuff does happen in rooms that you'll have to deal with on an emergency basis - stains on carpets, towel bar ripped out of wall, broken handle on shower fixture that you need to run to store for. Booking an early arrival means you are required to stay there and cant get to store and get it repaired. Doesn't happen often, but it's something to think about as it's happened to us a few times.
Late checkout - nope. We don't knock on doors but our sign in sheet does say that late checkout fees accrue after 11:30. People see this and move right along. Remember if this happens on Sunday and you want to do something when everyone is checking out that those late checkouts again require you to stay and see them off. We are a destination location and almost every weekend everyone is checking out on Sunday. As soon as they are gone if we have no one coming in, we take off for the day and do something fun for ourselves. One late checkout would interfere with this and not worth a few extra bucks.
All things to think about that we never imagined before we opened. You're already there for the guests so many hours, don't you want any for yourself with no one there? Again, it all depends on what you want and how you run your business. Good luck with your opening.

I think MT Keeper had it correct in terms of making sure that your decision doesn't let the business disrupt the very extra important way in which you find balance.
We do not offer an early check-in unless we can and we most often restrict that to 2 hours prior. We gladly accept drop offs since we know that is in the best interest of our guests who don't want a car full of valuables while they are away from there car on a hike etc. We do both of these as a courtesy.
We do have a half-day rate that we have used in the past. It allows those who want to stay until late before catching a redeye to do so. We do not advertise it, but it is our policy and we offer it if asked about late check-out.
One thing to consider if you have a clientele and location that would have it make sense is to consider a, "Stay a little longer" package with the choice of early check-in or late check-out and a reduced rate for the second or third day. All that would depend on what you patterns are and whether it would help or hinder your ADR.

OTOH, we don't charge for late arrivals. Guest just called needing to check in after midnight. No problem. They let themselves in, l'm sound asleep.
But the early arrivals make us crazy. They show up anywhere from 8am onward. And they expect their room to be ready! Or they just want to drop off 5 suitcases. And use the bathroom.
We don't have suitcase storage. You drop it off, it sits in the living room where anyone can go thru it. We don't have a common area bathroom. You use the laundry room toilet which is just that. Toilet. No sink. And no, you're not coming in the kitchen while we're cooking to use that sink.
We try to accommodate as many curve balls as we can, but this isn't a hotel.
If someone calls absolutely needing an early check in, I will go to 2 pm, no charge. Anytime before noon you need to book the previous night. Between noon and 2? $25.
But, because of everything mentioned here that can go wrong, I prefer not to have early arrivals at all. The other problem is the guest who won't leave. They don't answer the door. Or phone. And, this is always the guest whose credit card you don't have, for whatever reason!
Plus, if you are doing this alone or as a couple, and not with staff, you are up at 5am and working straight thru until check in ends. You need time to sit down to eat, go shopping, get to the Dr, get a haircut, etc. Not to mention schlepping laundry and answering guest questions. Doing email. Making reservations. Taking phone calls from people who want to know everything there is to do so they can book the cheap hotel down the street.
If you are going to charge for early/late check in, make it worth your while.

Early check in really depends on the day and if you have staff. I was up early cooking and serving breakfast for eight rooms, then doing dishes and cleaning up in between stripping beds and scrubbing toilets to get ready for check ins - there was just no way I could deal with even one early checkin because at some point I needed to stop. Just stop. If I had lots of help - sometimes, I could work it out. But other times there were housekeeping issues, or repair issues or I just plain needed to go grocery shopping or work on the books or (seriously) shower! and rest! Sometimes depending on the mess in spite of only having a few rooms booked I was just out straight.
Even if I charged it didn't work for me ... I realize guests didn't understand 'the why' .... After they stayed they would ask, "How do you DO it all?"
The great thing about running your own business is you can try it - see if it works. If it doesn't work for you - you stop, if it works - you press on. Every innkeeper is different, every place is different, every DAY is different. Most innkeepers are constantly adjusting and tweaking. I wish you well.

We don't offer early checkin as an option. If they show up early and the room happens to be ready, we'll check them in. Otherwise, come back at 3.
We occasionally get skiers who ask for an early checkin before they go to the slopes. If the room is vacant from the night before, I offer them a $50 early check-in.
We occasionally get skiers who want to keep their things (or pets) in the room and check-out past 11 after a day on the slopes. Again, if I don't have the room booked for the next night, I offer them a $50 late check-out until 3pm.
And if they want early check-out in the morning and want to miss breakfast? Ab-so-tiving-lutely.

It sounds simple doesn't it! It is not til you have worked the business and start feeling like the business owns YOU instead of you owing it that you will understand what we are saying here.
This is not saying I won't do it, but I will not advertise an early check in. I have done them when it is convenient for me and would not commit to it until the day of or day before arrival.
There are things that need attending to behind the scenes and having people pop in early prohibits that from occurring.
Late arrivals have become very easy with the key-less entry systems so the time restraints are not placed on you.

A suggestion for you while you're still in the planning stages. This is from a business class I took years ago before I started my first business.
Make a list of every activity you need to do in a day, a week, a month, a year. (Some activities you only do once/month.)
Next to that put down how long you expect this task to take if you do only this task and no other task at the same time.
Next to that put down who will do this task.
Next to that put down if the task can be skipped for one day, week, month if the person who does the job can't. (Sickness, accident, they quit, etc)
Ex:

• Breakfast (break it down further as well into prep time, cooking, serving, table setting, cleanup)..... 4 hours..... Self and partner
• Clean rooms.....30 minutes per room..... Housekeeper
• Answer phones....
• Take reservations.....
• Give directions.....
• Check in..... 10 minutes/room
• Check out.....
• Marketing
• Laundry
• Breakfast, lunch, dinner for self and family
• Blogging
• Website updates
• Self improvement classes
• Tourism conferences
• Repairs and maintenance
• Vacation
• Etc

If you do this in advance you won't be stunned to find there are not enough hours in the day to do everything. I had enormous plans when we first started that quickly got scaled back when I realized 2 people cannot run a B&B of this size, grow and can their own food, source only organically grown meat, etc.
Out the door went sheets that required ironing everyday. Out went tchotchkes that had to be moved every time I dusted. Out went the rocking chairs that scraped and dented the walls. Out went the white pillow shams that turned gray after a couple of washes. Out went every bit of bedding that could not be washed in a machine.

Copperhead said:

It sounds simple doesn't it! It is not til you have worked the business and start feeling like the business owns YOU instead of you owing it that you will understand what we are saying here.
This is not saying I won't do it, but I will not advertise an early check in. I have done them when it is convenient for me and would not commit to it until the day of or day before arrival.
There are things that need attending to behind the scenes and having people pop in early prohibits that from occurring.
Late arrivals have become very easy with the key-less entry systems so the time restraints are not placed on you. .

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Today due to weather I told three guests they could check in at 1pm as they called worried about driving. One showed up at 1pm, one showed up at 2:20 and the other arrived at 3:15. See what I mean about those who need to check in early not showing up when they say unless they're paying for it. I'm now heading out to the food store because I couldn't go earlier from 1-3 like I typically do because I told them they could check in.