I am just a whiny soccer mom

[Hyndis]

Anytime I go on vacation and arrive at the destination earlier than the check in time, I've always just gone shopping/ checked out local dives/ explore whatever until that time. You know, do what I was there to do in the first place

This woman was just being a jerk

Same.

And an early dinner/late lunch as a nice restaurant is usually the perfect way to unwind from a long trip, after which the room will be ready for you, and then you can relax and enjoy the evening.

I don't get why people often jump specified times and then complain that things aren't ready yet, such as trying to check in before the room is ready, trying to deliver something before the delivery date, stuff like that. The time is posted for a reason.

Also, when going on vacation, I do stick to one firm, absolute rule.

Only bring as much luggage as you can personally carry. I will not help you with your luggage. Do not complain to me that you brought 6 suitcases of luggage, most of it pointless and useless. Just because I'm able to put all of my luggage into a duffel bag small enough to be a carry-on item doesn't mean I'm willing to haul around your suitcases full of lead bricks. Yes, my hands are free most of the time, but I didn't go on vacation to be a pack animal.

[Gerrinson]

Yeah, a few weeks ago we had a guest pitch a fit because she wanted to check in them minute she arrived and we don't guarantee check in until 3:00 PM. Also, her room was still marked as dirty in the computer, which means housekeeping wasn't done with it yet.

Oh, yeah, did I mention that she showed up at 2:30? That 1/2 hour was obviously worth a screaming fit...

And for some reason the dining room manager came over to the desk (where she has no authority) to bitch out the desk staff about following policy (said policy being "stupid because the guest wants to check in now!") and she also chewed them out because the computer won't let them check a guest into a dirty room. Again,

I don't outrank the dining room manager but my boss does, so I gave him a heads up and he headed down to see if he could get at least one of the hag beasts to stop berating the desk staff.

Lady kept complaining until at least 3:15. If she had just shut up and waited like all the other adults she'd have been checked in by then.

And this is one of the reasons I won't put in for the innkeeper position at one of our other properties. If I had to deal with a woman like that I'd have just cancelled her reservation and booted her off property with a

The other reason is that they probably wouldn't give me the job as they are aware of my position regarding EW guests.

[draftermatt]

You know, I hate the mid afternoon check in times too.

But I make do people!

[jerkface11]

So she and her kids could have slept in for another 4 hours and still checked in on time.

[paperfiend]

I'll admit DH and I have showed up at a hotel at 7:30am... but we weren't actually expecting to check in right then, just to hopefully leave our suitcases so we could go walk around until a more appropriate check-in time.

(This was in Asia, on an island - no rental car to toss the bags in - we changed our plans last-minute and came in a night early. We booked a room in a hotel we thought would be okay just for one night, and planned to switch to our other nice, previously booked hotel the next day. The last-minute hotel was the absolute worst experience I have ever had in a hotel, and we couldn't take it anymore - we had to get out as soon as we could in the morning. Thus the walking with our bags to hotel #2 at 7:30 am).

The staff at hotel #2 were wonderful, they took us through the passport verification/paperwork part of check-in right away, and our room was miraculously ready by 10am. Though maybe the fact that we were sweaty - 90 fahrenheit out, and really humid - and hadn't had a shower b/c of the yucky facilities at hotel #1 had something to do with getting us out of their lobby!

[Emrld]

I have always checked with hotels to see if they have room to store luggage if I arrive early.
Most of the vacations I take anymore land me in hotels that are more than willing to start the check in process and hold my luggage for me.
On the reverse end . . .if I have a mid day flight out and know they are willing to hold luggage . . .I get up and get going and get out of the room. This allows houskeeping access to it to get started on their clean up process. Why waste a moment somewhere I may or may not see again sleeping in (that is what the plane ride is for)

Oh wait - I forgot I am not an SC - I have a brain that I use on occassion.

[Music Mo-Gal]

This must have been her first time ever staying at a hotel. Otherwise, how would you NOT know that check-in time is usually around 3 or 4PM? Sure, sometimes you can get in early if the room is ready, but showing up at 11AM and pitching a fit is just ridiculous.

[taxguykarl]

Checking in before 3PM or after 6PM (with reservations, needless to say) is generally a crap shot in my experience.

I've been lucky in most instances and have been able to get the type of room I sererved.

How does pitching a bitch accomplish anything?

As for that ice cream nonsense: "Wait, you admit to buying perishables without a place to store them".

Most motel and BB rooms where I stayed had a small refridgerator, but I wouldn't dream of stocking up on perishables before check in.

That's just me...but then I have a 3-digit IQ and a dime's worth of judgement.

[Sliceanddice]

rememer this wasnt a hotel room no this was like booking theentire hotel and bitching that the other guest haddnt left yet. Lady the cleaners ahve to clean and entire house for you ,change the sheets amke sure its decent dont bitch, if you cant not bitch the go find something to do.

[Enjis]

Every hotel I have ever stayed at will hold my luggage for me if I come early (then I will go and have dinner or something)

They have usually held my luggage if I have checked out, but will not be leaving for the airport for another few hours (very nice of them!) during which time I will shop or eat or just hang out.

But then, I am ALWAYS polite and smiling...I say 'please' and 'thank you', I wait my turn, I ask for exceptions to the rule with a smile, and if I can't get it, I take it with good grace. Mostly, hotel people will bend over backwards to help people who are nice.
Why the heck don't more people get this simple fact??

[Peppergirl]

Had she not gotten booted, I'd have have done her one better and made sure she got the LAST cleaned room in the entire property. In other words, cheerfully let her know at 3:58pm that her room was available.

It's just like the people who call me in the middle of a snowstorm about their cancelled flight and have the gall to bitch and whine about having to hold to reach us. It's the strangest thing, my typing speed suddenly falls from about 85 wpm down to about 20. I make sure I take as LONG as humanly possible to look up alternative flights or weather info. Talk nice to me, however, and I'll walk through fire to get you on a different flight.

I like this outcome much better, though.

[BookstoreEscapee]

When I went to Key West we got to the hotel a little early and our rooms weren't ready. We all grabbed our bathing suits out of our bags, and the desk clerk stashed everything in a closet behind the desk. We went in to the bathroom to change and then hung out at the pool until we could check in.

And Hyndis - I hear you on the luggage thing. There were 8 of us on the trip, which was a pre-wedding girls' vacation for a friend of mine that was getting married. My mom and I each had set of luggage that was a rolling suitcase that was made to fit in the overhead compartment of a plane, and a matching carry-on tote that slipped over the handle of the suitcase. That was it. The other 6 on our trip between them had 8 checked bags plus carry-ons. For a 5-day trip.

[tollbaby]

11 am. Golly, I can't believe anyone would be stupid enough to try and check in that early.

I know of lots of hotels that will let you in before check-in time to drop off your luggage - if my flight arrives at 6am and check-in time is at 4pm, what the heck am I supposed to do with my suitcases during that time period? :P

[South Texan]

I admit that I also am one who tends to show up earlier than the check-in time, but I never would dream of throwing a tantrum if the hotel could not check me in when I arrived. That is suckiness run amuk. I have a feeling it also makes the hotel staff treat you with the bare minimum of civility.

[dithers66]

what's going on here? I thought your manager never took a stand and caved a lot? Did s/he get a gf/bf who gave them a backbone?