VENT - 3 O'Clock check in. Is this hard to understand?

[River Wren]

Some people!
I work for a small 6 room lodge. The owners live on site and I am the 'help'. I clean, cook, bake, answer phones and what ever else needs to be done. I took a call from a couple who wanted to arrive by 12 noon. I apologized to them that that was not possible as the current guests don't depart until 11 (if they leave on time), then of course we have to clean and turn the room.
Who shows up at 12? The very same people! What are they thinking? Is "your room will not be ready until 3" a difficult concept to grasp?

 

[Don Draper]

That is so rude, after you told them no. Did you check them in early?
That is a great point Joey...sometimes I feel like the problems we have here arise from the same PITA people being treated with kid gloves by innkeepers who don't know how to say no. They're not doing any of us any favors.

 

[JBloggs]

The longer I am in this business the more I am adamant about not letting guests in even 10 minutes before check in time. They figure if they are there you cannot turn them away. People, do it for all of us, please, stick to your guns. Don't let guests walk all over you. PLEASE, I IMPLORE YOU!
I just had messy guests here all week and am here taking a breather before I go back up and attack the room again. If the new guests showed up I would flip out! Do you want a friggin' clean room or not! GO AWAY!

I just double checked my reservation confirmation:
Check in: Our inn opens at 4:00 PM and you may check-in between 4-7 PM. Later arrivals please telephone early to let us know. Check out time is 11:00am.

 

[Lbird]

I had a call last night wanting to rent one of our rooms tonight for 2 days. I processed the reservation. then he proceeded to tell me that he would need a 6:30am check-in!

 

[River Wren]

That is so rude, after you told them no. Did you check them in early?
That is a great point Joey...sometimes I feel like the problems we have here arise from the same PITA people being treated with kid gloves by innkeepers who don't know how to say no. They're not doing any of us any favors..

That is so rude, after you told them no. Did you check them in early?
That is a great point Joey...sometimes I feel like the problems we have here arise from the same PITA people being treated with kid gloves by innkeepers who don't know how to say no. They're not doing any of us any favors.

No the wife asked to use the bathroom. I sent her to the room she was due to check into at 3 .... just so she could see for herself. (heh heh heh)

 

[DaisyMae]

i also do not let people in a moment before check in time (4pm - 6pm) i have had people stop by expecting to use us a a potty stop. absolutely not. i do not let them go to "their" room and i do not let them use our own private first floor bathroom. i tell them there are restaurants & coffee shops located about 1/2 mile away down on Main St. if they would like to relax there until it is check in time.
people think that once they make a reservation at your place that they are permitted to take ownership of you & your inn.

 

[JBloggs]

i also do not let people in a moment before check in time (4pm - 6pm) i have had people stop by expecting to use us a a potty stop. absolutely not. i do not let them go to "their" room and i do not let them use our own private first floor bathroom. i tell them there are restaurants & coffee shops located about 1/2 mile away down on Main St. if they would like to relax there until it is check in time.
people think that once they make a reservation at your place that they are permitted to take ownership of you & your inn..

people think that once they make a reservation at your place that they are permitted to take ownership of you

those are the guests I avoid. I gravitate toward those who do not do this. I had a man here this week who kept talking to me while I was in the kitchen preparing to bring the plates out and there were other people at the table who he could be talking with. He was at the table with his wife and kept shouting to me in the kitchen. It really annoyed me. I am not the star attraction at breakfast...leave me the heck alone! I AM WORKING.

 

[seashanty]

i don't know your location. but very often, folks had traveled to me for hours and there is no public restroom option (except 6 weeks in summer when 3 porta potties show up).
so i accommodated the need for a bathroom visit. i let them use 'my' bathroom off the kitchen after learning the hard way that i had to lock up and/or remove my personal items. but 'your room will be ready at 3' was repeated time and time again.
people just aren't thinking. often they want to check in and start doing whatever ... n.o.w.
amazing that they called ahead, were told the time for check-in, and came along anyway.

 

[Morticia]

The short answer is 'yes' that is a difficult concept to grasp. You explained. Never explain if you can avoid it. 'No, there are no check-ins until after 3 PM. Please feel free to enjoy an afternoon of ... until your room is ready for you.'
That said, we had an arrival at noon as well. 3 hours early and they had a purchased a package that was to be waiting for them 'on arrival' (at 3 PM, not noon). Well, the pkg wasn't ready and now it is and they're not here.

 

[Morticia]

i don't know your location. but very often, folks had traveled to me for hours and there is no public restroom option (except 6 weeks in summer when 3 porta potties show up).
so i accommodated the need for a bathroom visit. i let them use 'my' bathroom off the kitchen after learning the hard way that i had to lock up and/or remove my personal items. but 'your room will be ready at 3' was repeated time and time again.
people just aren't thinking. often they want to check in and start doing whatever ... n.o.w.
amazing that they called ahead, were told the time for check-in, and came along anyway..

amazing that they called ahead, were told the time for check-in, and came along anyway.

Not so amazing to me anymore. We had the same thing happen time and again. One person called us 2-3 times and then drove right in, got out of the car and headed for the door. We were outside doing some repair work (looking like the hired help at that point) and asked if we could help.
No, she was just going to go check in.
We explained that check in wasn't for another 3 hours, that we had not yet cleaned the rooms from last night and that she would need to come back at 3.
She told us she had just had 3 cups of coffee and been in the car for 2 hours and she was checking in.
I'm sorry she didn't plan her potty breaks or coffee consumption better than that but I was holding the ladder, hubs was 30 feet up and she wasn't getting in the house.
It was the best leave-taking huff I've ever seen.

 

[Don Draper]

It's always lose/lose...if you stand your ground and send them away you KNOW they're not coming back until late, so you end up waiting.

 

[Iris]

I had a call last night wanting to rent one of our rooms tonight for 2 days. I processed the reservation. then he proceeded to tell me that he would need a 6:30am check-in!

.

I had a call last night wanting to rent one of our rooms tonight for 2 days. I processed the reservation. then he proceeded to tell me that he would need a 6:30am check-in!

We get that quite often that is when we tell them they will have to rent the cottage for the night before as well as I am not going to kick the current guest out because someone wants to move in early. hellooooo. Those are also the guests who wait until the very last minute to move out or they overstay their welcome altogether - the kind that want a late checkout, blah. People, grrrrr....

 

[Copperhead]

I had a call last night wanting to rent one of our rooms tonight for 2 days. I processed the reservation. then he proceeded to tell me that he would need a 6:30am check-in!

.

I had a call last night wanting to rent one of our rooms tonight for 2 days. I processed the reservation. then he proceeded to tell me that he would need a 6:30am check-in!

Anyone wanting this is trying to push in something for free, and in this case it is a free night! My response would be (and has been) Sorry, that will be a 3 night stay and your total is $xxxx.