mmogdan

I stay around 80 nights per year in Marriott properties and around 5 of those nights I genuinely need early check in. Today I arrived at a property having previously performed online check in with check in time at 11am and also sent the property a live chat message the day before.

On arriving I was told my room was not ready and reminded that checkin time is 3pm. It upsets me a bit that I rarely need this, but when I really do, it invariably doesn’t happen. I know the hotel was selling rooms the night before.

Do I have unrealistic expectations of the occasional request like this actually being considered?

should I have booked the night before to be safe if absolutely needed (I was staying in another Marriott property the night before so presume this would have resulted in stays not posting).

Please do let me know if I have unfair expectations.

TGLoyalty

It’s impossible to say in your situation without knowing where you’re talking about.

I would only book the night before if I needed the room super early as in 7/8 am but even then probably not in the Middle East and Asia as in most cases it’s international travellers and flights leave and arrive at all times.

11am is a standard early check in … I’d fill in the paperwork pre auth etc and maybe expect to wait until 12 but not until 3, unless I had booked a suite or something special as its highly likely these will be in use until 4.

ElevatorEnthusiast

I would operate under the assumption that Mobile Check-In through the app does pretty close to nothing. If you truly want to put in an early request, you should call the property beforehand and say that while you understand rooms aren’t guaranteed until check-in time, you would appreciate them assigning you the first available room as you will be arriving at X AM. You would likely forego any chance of a meaningful upgrade depending on occupancy.

diablo77

When I was in Dubai last year it was difficult to check-in early as most of the hotels were sold out. The best option a hotel could give me was to sleep in a room that was available until my suite was ready. Other hotels I had to wait in the club lounge while the room was being cleaned.
I usually book a cheap airport hotel for the previous day if I arrive super early.

littlevoices

There is the concept of Your24, only available to Ambassadors that formalises this more, and still doesn't always work. If very important you need an email conversation a few days before when you get your welcome email that asks about your arrival time - and even then it isn't guaranteed unless you've paid money. As such I would say it is, unfortunately misplaced expectations. The only guarantee really is a room booked for the night before (and that comes with unnecessary potential pain if they accidentally mark you as a no-show, so again, pre-communications are key.. and in your case you are right, runs the risk of double stays causing issues). I think a realistic expectation considering your status is that the hotel will let you sit in the club lounge until your room is ready.

Ryansox

Best advice I ever got was if I really needed an early check in was to book the night before, that would guarantee the room for me. Typically in a year, I only need early check in once or twice. Never had any issues at full service hotels getting a room early.

Jon Maiman

I am frequently but not always able to check in early (10AM). When the property has been unable to do so, I leave my luggage with them and get on with my day. While it is more convenient to have early room access, I haven't had a situation where it was absolutely critical. So, I just take my chances upon arrival.

I do use mobile check in some of the time. Like ElevatorEnthusiast I find it next to meaningless. Some properties actually process my check in and have a key waiting for me upon arrival (very rare). Most of the time, I essentially wind up going through the full normal check in process upon arrival anyway. Mobile check in was better years ago (pre-Covid) and more properties actually processed it and had a key waiting for me. Currently, my experience is that is an exception. I even get the notice that my key is ready shortly after I check in on property..That tends to support my theory that most properties aren't proactively do anything with mobile check in.

Bottomline, early access to your room will frequently be granted; however, it is still a courtesy extended by the property. Unless you have the status to use Your24 and have it set up for early access for your stay, you should only expect to receive your room at normal check in time.

--Jon

P.S. Since mmogdan is Euro based, I should note my experience is almost all in The USA. This is definitely a YMMV situation based on your geographic region for early check in access. Otherwise, the rest of my comments are still valid.

Kacee

If they had a room available they should have offered it to you. If they did not have a room available, then there's nothing to complain about.

CheckInPeach

The question is if the hotel just does not want to out of principle or if it really cannot because of capacity. The former is in my experience more an European thing (the rules are the rules) but in general I don't have issues neither with early checkin nor late checkout. Probably the higher the status the less discussions. I managed to check in at around 11am on several occasions, so it's doable but of course cannot be expected.

When I was Ambassador I tried that You24 once in the US, it was a hassle with a lot of "cannot be guaranteed but we try" comments. At the end it worked.

milehighj

On a couple of occasions I have also gotten the line "we could give you a normal room now, but the suite we were going to upgrade you to won't be ready till xx pm..."

SPN Lifer

If unavailable early, I simply make myself comfortable in the lobby, in chairs or on the floor, maintaining my polite and courteous demeanor, perhaps even taking a nap.

If they ask me to go elsewhere, I explain that I have nowhere else to go.

Sometimes a room becomes available after an hour or two, or they send me to the lounge.

travelingdrsuz

I have only been Gold prior to this year (in a stay now where I will leave Platinum and easily be Titanium later this year). Obviously, as Gold, I expect little but free high speed internet. However, sometimes if I have an early flight, I use the chat function. I did this not long ago in Chicago when I arrived mid-morning from Dublin. I said I would really appreciate if they could get me in any room type, but I let them know when I was boarding in Dublin. When I arrived they had a similar room and I was glad to take it. Because of that, I am staying there for multiple nights this August at the end of an international trip.

They certainly do not have to do this, but the good hotels will if a room is available. I would recommend reaching out prior to arrival, though, and being willing to accept a different room type if it's not a suite or something important.

VSLover

id say unrealistic only in the context of understanding it is not a guarantee. plus without any further information it is difficult to know what other factors could have resulted in your experience.

i can recall once in the last few years at the berlin marriott where i arrived around 11am but they gave me access to the lounge where i could work for a few hours before my room became available at 2pm.

otherwise if i am coming from a red eye then i will book the prior night because i want to ensure i have a place to decompress and get on with my day.

Schnit

If a room is ready I cannot imagine a hotel having a good reason for not honoring it to a titanium or higher. It literally costs the hotel nothing to let you in a few hours early, and it keeps a regular traveler happy, who is probably traveling on a business account. You annoy them and that spend goes elsewhere

kaizen7

Somehow early check in is not part of Bonvoy elite benefit.

From the elite benefits table, late check out is part of our elite benefit (priority for silver, 2pm guaranteed for gold, and 4pm guaranteed for platinum and above), but somehow no mention about early check in.

For me, I do try to notify the hotel about my actual time of arrival. But if the room is not ready by then, I have no problem with that.
(I will use Your24 if available or book 1 extra night if really needed)