Hyatt Place Early Check-In: More Details On Latest Change

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How often do you wish that during a hotel stay you could check-in early or check-out late? Hotel guest needs vary, and Hyatt is betting that securing an early arrival or late departure in advance is an option World of Hyatt members will pay a fee for. Hyatt Place early check in for a fee, anyone?

Hyatt Place recently announced new early check-in and late check-out options giving World of Hyatt members more flexibility in scheduling hotel stays. After successfully piloting these flexible check-in and check-out options in 2018 at 14 Hyatt Place properties around the world, these options were rolled out for all Hyatt Place locations. Currently there are 330 Hyatt Place hotels in 20 countries worldwide, and this Hyatt brand continues to increase its footprint.

The New Hyatt Program Particulars

World of Hyatt Member:

• Early check-in at 9am or 12pm: $10-50
• Late check-out at 2pm: $10-50

Discoverist:

• Early check-in at 9am or 12pm: $10-50
• Late check-out: 2pm upon request as a World of Hyatt benefit

Explorist:

• Early check-in at 9am or 12pm: $0
• Late check-out: 2pm upon request as a World of Hyatt benefit

Globalist: 

• Early check-in at 9am or 12pm: $0
• Late check-out: 4pm upon request as a World of Hyatt benefit

To reserve early check-in or late checkout at Hyatt Place hotels:

• Add it to your reservation when you book on hyatt.com within 7 days of your arrival
• Add it to an existing reservation on the World of Hyatt mobile app within 7 days of your arrival
• Look for an email a few days before your arrival and reserve it then

This early check-in or late checkout option is valid on eligible rates, including award nights and free nights using certificates.

Hyatt Place Waikiki views

My Conversation With Bryan Palmese, Hyatt Place Waikiki Assistant General Manager

When this new program was announced, I had my doubts about how the program would work in the “real world.” Would Hyatt Place guests actually pay an additional $10-50 fee for this option? After all, testing at 14 properties is a very small percentage to base results on. Is this just another add-on fee, like those pesky resort and destination fees?

Given my doubts and curiosity, I reached out with my questions to the management team at a favorite Hyatt Place of mine in Waikiki, which also happens to be one of the busiest Hyatt Place properties of them all. I was interested to know how hotel managers and staff are handling and feeling about these new options, so why not ask, right?

Here’s what I learned about the Hyatt Place early check-in/check out option.

What Are Hyatt’s Motivations With The Program?

Shelli: I recognize that Hyatt tackling the issues of early and late check out times is no small feat. I’m still not clear on the motivation for this, beyond the extra revenue. Yes, I know the Hyatt spin on all this, but I’m still not convinced.

Bryan (HP): Our motivation is to help do whatever we can to exceed our guest’s expectations. Guests have so many options for hotels, especially in our destination market of Hawaii that anything we can do to make their stay that much better, we strive to do. In Honolulu, we have quite a number of travelers arriving from Asia and Australia/Oceania. Quite often these travelers are landing in HNL in the early morning, so if we have the availability to grant them access to a room sooner, we are happy to offer this.

Shelli: Excuse me for saying this, because you know I’m a Hyatt fan girl, but on the surface this sounds like one of those “good for the guest” but really just puts more money in Hyatt’s pocket add-ons.

Bryan (HP): I understand the hesitation, and thank you for loving the Hyatt brand as much as I do. There are additional fees for certain levels of membership in World of Hyatt, but not all of the tiers have a fee attached to this program.

Ocean view from high floor room at Hyatt Place Waikiki

The Price Tag For Convenience

Shelli: I also see it leading to a lot of frustration on member’s parts because there is no guarantee, even though people will have high expectations.

Bryan (HP): I can certainly see that frustration as a member, but my hope is that this would be the exception, not the norm. Due to our location and market, we run at a very high occupancy year round, which boils down to a numbers game. That being said, we do have allocated rooms earmarked specifically for this program.

Here’s more information about the best way to save money on your hotel stays

Shelli: I need to dig deeper. I wonder what your personal impressions are about this new program. From the guest perspective, I see Hyatt Place guests and World of Hyatt members who choose a Hyatt Place property as budget conscious and not wanting to spend for add-ons. That’s what they love about the free breakfast.

Bryan (HP): I think it’s a great benefit to reward our World of Hyatt members. Quite often, I have arrived in a destination earlier than my check-in time and wished that I could get into my room earlier. I do understand the hesitation since there is an additional price tag attached. It comes down to what price tag do you put on convenience.

Business vs. Leisure Travelers

Shelli: Do you see this as an idea that will be more popular for your business travelers versus leisure guests?

Bryan (HP): It’s hard to say for us, Shelli. What separates the Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach from other HP properties is that we truly welcome everyday with “Aloha”. Because of this, our guests are not necessarily in a hurry to get into their rooms. I could see some of our business travelers from Asia/Oceania taking advantage due to their early arrival times on the island.

Main entrance to the Hyatt Place Waikiki

Exact Pricing And The 7-Day Rule

Shelli: As I understand it, the fee will vary from $10-50 Can you tell me the charge at your hotel?

Bryan (HP): We are currently charging $35, based on availability.

Shelli: I’m wondering about the 7 day guarantee window. Are there only so many slots at your hotel available for this new option? Also, by making this an option that can only be added 7 days prior to arrival, it seems like an extra hoop people will need to remember to jump through before their trips. I do understand the 7 days because the hotels need to figure out their occupancy rates.

Bryan (HP): We do have rooms that we make available every day. Our demand dictates how many rooms we allow for this program on a daily basis. The 7-day rule could be a bit tight for guests, especially if they are planning a trip to a destination location. We do this to ensure that we are providing exceptional Hyatt experiences for all of our guests. This time frame also allows us to maximize our daily operations for everything from staffing, to product inventory.

Why Is The Program Not Guaranteed & Subject To Availability?

Shelli: Hyatt says the program is “subject to each hotel and the market.” Given the high levels of occupancy at your HP, I see the rooms available for this option being hard to come by. Any ideas yet if that will be the case?

Bryan (HP): It’s still too early to tell. We are fortunate where we are to have so many guests that enjoy staying with us. Quite a large number are return guests that we know on a first name basis. They specifically stay at The Hyatt Place Waikiki Beach because of our amazing team members. We always try to accommodate as best as we can, so I hope this will not be an issue here.

Shelli: Hyatt says “no guarantee” and subject to availability. I know from observing and also from Hyatt employees that the whole issue of people requesting early check-in and late checkouts is very stressful. Knowing what time people check-out is impossible.

Bryan (HP): Having guests checking in earlier and checking out later does add a little bit of extra juggling for our Front Office and Housekeeping teams, respectively. We do have parameters for early check-ins as no earlier than 9am and the latest check out that we offer is 4pm. Fortunately, that 7-day rule comes back here to assist us in setting our teams up for successfully game-planning for days with these outliers.

Lobby and hotel front desk

Shelli: Was the HP Waikiki one of the test properties Hyatt used? If so, how did this all workout?

Bryan (HP): There were a few properties that went through the beta testing stages prior to launch. We were not one of these properties, so I cannot speak to how that process unfolded.

The Upshot

It will be interesting to watch how the individual Hyatt Place properties handle this new program. I’m grateful that Bryan took the time to do a Q&A to handle my doubts and answer my questions. Will non-elite Hyatt guests be willing to pay for these options? Given the $10-50 range, that answer will surely vary by property and person. As Bryan suggested, it’s the price we’re willing to pay for convenience.

What’s your thinking on this new program? Would you pay to check-in early or check-out late?