Hotels - Checking in early and fees.

SideWinder

SideWinder

SideWinder

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Hello,

So we went to a hotel around 5am (we emailed before to let them know) to drop off our bags, not check in, and come back later on around 12 or whatever time it was meant to be. This was in Turkey.

When we arrived, they hadn't got the booking and it appears Hotels.com didn't pass anything on. Obviously they were apologetic and we waited for 30mins and they secured the Suite room (the owner uses it for the family) and said we could go up right away plus no additional fees required. We asked twice.

The next day we were told to pay 150euros for the 'early check in'. We obviously disputed this, said no mention at all of this and they said 'it's completely normal/to be expected'. We thought they were trying to resolve and get us sorted as the rest of the hotel was full.

Anyone familiar with this logic?

Whenever I have checked in early, they've always demanded payment first. I guess if they ask, they won't get the extra money when they demand it after as customers have no choice...

We did pay in the end as the issue is primarily with Hotels.com so we'll sort that way. Plus we did have a slightly nicer room.
 
So a 5am checkin is definitely very early, in fact when we went to Hong Kong we effectively paid for an extra night so we could check in early morning. I don't think anyone could dispute 5am not being an early checkin as 99% of guests from the night before would still be using their rooms.

However, the fact you asked twice and were told no additional fees implies they waived that fee and you could argue if you'd known there was to be a charge, you would have just left bags in reception and come back at the checkin time (even 12 is quite early tbh).
 
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Normal hotel check in time is post 2pm. There is no way 5am is not considered early check in.

Since check out is usually around 11am-12pm, then they need to turn it over, allowing 2 - 3hrs, most hotel i've stayed at has an check in at 2-3pm.

But in the OP's case, i would have expected that to be all inclued/waived due to the error as part of the upgrade as you clearly asked them if there were any extra fees?
 
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My angle is surely they should have told us at the time there is a 150euro fee. We weren't asking to check in, they were busy trying to sort out where our booking even was.

We never requested to check in, we wanted to leave our bags. But instead they sorted out this Suite and twice said no extra fee.

But yeah, guess I am asking if its 'normal' to request 150euro AFTER the time period...apparently it is...
 
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Maybe as you mentioned you've ended up with a better room that's what they meant by no extra fee.
Still seems a bit weird to start requesting more money after the fact.
 
I've had to pay early check in when checking in at 7am. I was a bit miffed they were charging me as the apartment was empty anyway but whatever, they made it clear before I accepted.

If they told you about the charge after the fact why on Earth would you pay it? I definitely would not have.
 
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