Friday Wedding- Hotel Checkin

Knottie1456058884

I am having a wedding on a Friday at 4pm.  Like most hotels, check in for our guests will not be until 3.  Is this a fairly common thing that I do not need to worry about or is there something I should tell my guests or do to help them?

charlotte989875

Knottie1456058884 said:

I am having a wedding on a Friday at 4pm.  Like most hotels, check in for our guests will not be until 3.  Is this a fairly common thing that I do not need to worry about or is there something I should tell my guests or do to help them?

When guests make their arrangements the hotel will notify them of check in times. They will plan accordingly. No need for you to worry about it or do anything else. 

cowgirl8238

Knottie1456058884 said:

I am having a wedding on a Friday at 4pm.  Like most hotels, check in for our guests will not be until 3.  Is this a fairly common thing that I do not need to worry about or is there something I should tell my guests or do to help them?

How many people are taking the day off and traveling to see your wedding?  How many do you think will be coming in the day before?  The reason I ask, is that some hotels will allow you to request an earlier check-in time, but it usually comes at a price.  In general I have been able to check-in earlier than the designated time about half the times I have traveled.  I think it depends very much on where the hotel is and how many rooms they have available/cleaned by the time you arrive.  Some might not allow early check-ins regardless of available rooms, the only way to know that is to call and ask.  I would also be a little peeved if a wedding guest before me got a room and I didn't because of "availability".

If an early check-in is out of the questions and you have a lot of guests that are planning to stay there, you could at least see if they will hold the luggage for those travelers (I believe most places will do this), and see if you can provide a place for them to change.  I personally don't travel in my wedding attire and would appreciate a place to get dresses that isn't a bathroom stall. 

kvruns

my theory is they are adults and can figure out what works best for them (whether it is coming in early, requesting early check in, or checking in after the wedding, etc). A 4pm start time is going to require most to take some time off work anyway so hopefully your guests can figure out the logistics without a problem 

ei34

Echoing PPs that guests will be able to figure out the logistics. 

thisismynickname2

I'm assuming your wedding is either at the hotel or really close by, right? Checking in at 3 should be enough time to get to the wedding by 4. 

This is also a somewhat regional thing but I've often been able to check in as early as noon or 1 if rooms are available. Only in one city did I have to pay to check in early.

short+sassy

My general experience with hotels is they will allow an early check-in for no additional fee, BUT it can't be planned on in advance.  It is a "if we have rooms available and we can accommodate on the day of, we will" policy.

In fact, not for a wedding, but I had a friend take red-eye for her vacation because that was (by far) the cheapest fare.  But then realized after the fact, she would need to pay for a "Thursday" night, in order to have a room available to crash and burn when she rolled in at 7AM on Friday morning.

With that said, OP, it is the responsibility of your guests to figure out how they want to handle it.  If it would even be a problem for any of them anyway.  As @thisismynickname pointed out, as long as the wedding is very nearby, many people could get ready in time, even with a 3PM check-in.

lyndausvi

short+sassy said:

My general experience with hotels is they will allow an early check-in for no additional fee, BUT it can't be planned on in advance.  It is a "if we have rooms available and we can accommodate on the day of, we will" policy.

In fact, not for a wedding, but I had a friend take red-eye for her vacation because that was (by far) the cheapest fare.  But then realized after the fact, she would need to pay for a "Thursday" night, in order to have a room available to crash and burn when she rolled in at 7AM on Friday morning.

With that said, OP, it is the responsibility of your guests to figure out how they want to handle it.  If it would even be a problem for any of them anyway.  As @thisismynickname pointed out, as long as the wedding is very nearby, many people could get ready in time, even with a 3PM check-in.

I've worked for many hotels and resorts.  That is very much the case.   Unlike a plane that is disembarked all the same time, hotels is the opposite.  People can leave as early as 5am or after the official check-out time,  which is generally between 10-12.        

Housekeepers do not come in until about 8 and might not hit the floors until 8:30.  Depending on the place they can up to 14 rooms to clean in one day.  (insane, I know).     The condition of the room makes a difference.   Some rooms are left so disgusting it takes longer to clean.

Then add in room categories.  Meaning, they may have a room available earlier, but its for a king room with no view and you booked a room for 2 double that had some-sort of view.  Or many you booked the suite, but the only one available is a standard room. 

Maybe they had a full house the night before.  Maybe they were pretty empty and thus have a lot of already cleaned rooms ready.

These things and more can NOT be planned in advance and so they are rarely guaranteed.     Some place will put priorities on certain rooms, but again those listed above come into play on whether or not it can be accommodated.