Having to check out of a hotel earlier than you want to because of hotels' checkout policies is a drag. Fortunately though, there are now hotels offering flexible checkout programs that allow you to check out any time you want.
The New York Times reports that the chief executive of Patina Hotels & Resorts, Marc Dardenne, is planning to introduce a 24-hour-stay concept in a Singapore hotel scheduled to be opened in December. The 24-hour-stay concept allows guests to check out exactly after 24 hours of checking in. This means that if they arrive late in the hotel, for example, at 5 pm, they can check out as late as 5 pm the following day. According to the report, The Absalon Hotel in Copenhagen also implements the same checkout policy.
Peninsula Hotels, meanwhile, has been offering a better flexible checkout program for a few years now. At their Beverly Hills branch, guests can check out according to their own preferences, even more than 24 hours, and they won't be charged for it. Managing director Offer Nissenbaum said that such policy is implemented because it is the main reason why customers specifically return to their hotel, ensuring a 70 percent rate of return customers.
Though such flexible checkout programs are considered advantageous to the customers, Capella hotel group's chief executive and president, Horst Schulze, said that implementing such is difficult for a large property. According to him, the traditional checkout policy is for housekeeping reasons. Though that's the case, Capella hotels also offer 24-hour stays, and Schulze said that rotating cleaning service times have helped them implement such flexible checkout service.
"Not sitting in the lobby or beach with your suitcase and waiting for a flight is the definition of luxury to me," he said.
