While planning a trip, many of us are very particular about choosing the hotels and homestays and are often ready to pay huge amounts simply to make our stays swanky, memorable and comfortable. But often, despite selecting the best properties, we do not get the experiences as expected. And sometimes it’s because of not paying heed to the necessary check-in and check-out protocols. These rules are unsaid but it’s very crucial for all of us to be aware of them. Here are 10 mistakes you need to avoid the next time you check into a hotel:
1. Not Informing About Early Check-In Or Late Check-Out
It might happen that your arrival time to a particular hotel is earlier than the check-in time or you need to stay two hours more after your mentioned check-out time. You must always let the hotel know about these timings so that they can make the necessary arrangements. If you tell them about the extra timings in the last moment, they might just charge you extra. Also, here are the worst mistakes to avoid while booking a hotel.
2. Not Paying Heed To What The Front Desk Agent Says
2. Not Paying Heed To What The Front Desk Agent SaysDuring the time of check-in, the person sitting at the front desk often explains details of the hotel, like how the internet works, the water system, availability of cars, etc. Do respect the person and listen to the information conveyed. It will make your stay in the hotel easier.
3. Not Asking For A Room Change
It is always advisable to get details about every nook and cranny of a hotel room before booking it so that you don’t regret later. Seeing the pictures and reading the descriptions aren’t enough. You need to call up the website customer care or more preferably, the hotel, to know what’s the exact location, size of the room, whether it is mountain or sea-facing, amenities included within the room rate, amenities with extra charge, etc. It’s good to note down all the requirements before calling up the customer care. Also, during check-in, ensure that the rooms provided to you fulfils all the required criteria. Otherwise, immediately ask for a change.
4. Not Communicating The Specific Requirements
You might have some special requirements, which you need to tell the hotel staff beforehand. For example, you might need lukewarm water early in the morning due to some health reasons. Or you might need an extra pillow or a towel. Communicate the information to the hotel staff right in the beginning. As, if you ask for warm water at 6 A.M. in the morning, chances are there, no one would be available immediately to cater to your request.
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5. Not Providing Contact Details During Check-In
Some people do not provide all the contact details like e-mail address and alternative phone numbers during check-in. But these are actually important. For example, say you leave something very important at the hotel and after check-out, they fail to reach you over the phone. Your e-mail ID will come to the aid then.
6. Not Doing A Final Check Of The Hotel Room Before Leaving
We check for many things before leaving the house, like whether we have taken our phone, wallet, cards, documents, etc. Similarly. while checking out of your hotel room, ensure that you’re carrying back all your belongings. Check every place in the room, the washrooms, the almirahs, under the table, the bed, the sofa and more before finally stepping out of your room.
7. Forgetting To Leave A Tip For The Housekeeping Guys
The ones who work day and night for making our stays in the hotel clean and hassle-free are the housekeeping staff. They clean the rooms on a daily basis, change the bedsheets and pillow covers, disinfect the washrooms and adhere to our requests whenever required so that we can laze out on our trip without many worries. So, they definitely deserve a reward. That’s why we should always leave a tip amount for the housekeeping staff before leaving the room.
8. Making Guests Wait For Long During Checkout
When we reach a particular hotel and are told to wait in the lounge area with luggage for hours, don’t we feel irritated? The same happens if we make a delay while leaving the room when the next guests are waiting. Thus, as mentioned earlier, we should always tell the hotel beforehand if we need extra time before checking out.
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9. Not Checking The Final Bill Properly
When we finally leave the hotel, the receptionist usually hands us a bill, that has the total amount we need to pay at the hotel. Check the bill properly to ensure that you are not charged for anything extra. Also, make sure that there aren’t any unnecessary taxes. Some hotels take the advantage of the naiveness of the customers and put extra taxes.
10. Not Consulting Others Before Paying Extra Charges
This happens mostly when you hire individual properties like a villa. For example, the property owner might say that there is an extra charge for cooking in a common ground near the property, but upon asking the locals, you might come to know its free. You might be told that only hotel owned cars ply in the area for sightseeing purposes. Consulting others, you might end up getting cheaper alternatives. Many hotels usually try to collect these extra amounts right at the time of check-in. So, you better be informed before paying the amounts.
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You won’t find a rulebook with these guidelines. But without these rules, you might just end up wasting too much money and also sometimes, losing peace of mind. Thus, in case you had already made mistakes like these, ensure not to repeat them. Meanwhile, here are 12 best beach hotels in India: