Hotel shrinkflation scandal as major chains charge extra to check in before 5pm

Major chains are charging guests extra to check-in before 5pm, an investigation has found.

Consumer magaing Which? looked at check-in times across 10 major hotel chains including easyHotel, and Mercure and found the worst example was luxury chain, Macdonald Hotels and Resorts. It tells guests to arrive at 5pm, and check-out is at 10am the next morning. That allows guests just 17 hours to enjoy their room and the hotel’s facilities.

Macdonald Hotels told Which? that their 5pm check-in is reserved for its self-catering apartments, where larger spaces and longer stays require more thorough cleaning. However, nowhere on its website is this made sufficiently clear. What is clear, is that if guests want to check in at 3pm or sleep until midday, Macdonald, known for its 4 and 5 star resorts, charges an extra £29.

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Guests Britannia Hotels, which is regularly voted the worst hotel chain in the country and was the subject of a and easyHotel get just 19 hours in their room: they are asked to arrive at 3pm and leave by 10am.

Travellers keen to have a lie-in might find a Holiday Inn or Travelodge stay more agreeable. Among the chains Which? looked at, both brands were the most flexible with a 3pm check in and a 12pm check out time, allowing for 21 hours in the room.

Much like budget airlines, the research shows that hotels are also now stripping away the basics and charging customers for privileges that used to be free. Early check-in is now an upselling opportunity for hotels.

Which? found the Sofitel Heathrow Airport hotel, for example, allows guests to add early check-in at the booking stage if they plan to arrive before 3pm, but it will cost an extra £90. The cost of staying beyond 12pm the next day is an even more eye-watering £120. Pre-book online and it’s a flat fee. However, guests can contact Sofitel directly to negotiate. A Which? researcher was quoted £20 for every additional hour past the midday check out time.

In comparison Mercure hotels charges £10 for every hour before 3pm check-in, so an 11am check-in would cost an extra £40. Across hundreds of hotels and hundreds of thousands of room sales every year, the earnings around guests checking in later and checking out earlier are likely to be significant.

‘Just sit back and count the money,’ is the advice from HotelFlex – a technology company designed to help hoteliers upsell those free hours. It uses automation to predict the departure and arrival time of guests, so hotels can better target sales of early check-ins and late check-outs. It’s likely why guests are now bombarded with texts and emails from their hotels asking for their arrival time. The later they arrive, the bigger the potential profit for hotels.

The investigation found that some hotels are potentially cashing in by selling rooms twice within 24 hours. One property in London St Pancras offers day-only bookings between 10.30am and 3.30pm costing £70. That timing is convenient given the 10am check-out and 4pm check-in, and that it takes around 30 minutes to clean the average hotel room. The listing is advertised on Dayuse, which is a Booking.com style website for guests who want to book a room for a few hours in order to make the most of the hotel’s amenities rather than stay overnight.

If hotels sell their rooms overnight and again in the day, this provides them with more upselling opportunities and they can quickly make an awful lot more money from guests.

Brand	Check-in time	Check-out time	Time in room
Holiday Inn	3pm	12pm	21 hours
Travelodge	3pm	12pm	21 hours
Hilton	3pm	12pm	21 hours
Marriott	3pm	12pm	21 hours
Premier Inn	3pm	12pm	21 hours
Copthorne	2-4pm*	12pm	20-22 hours
Mercure	3pm	11am	20 hours
Britannia	3pm	10am	19 hours
easyHotel	3pm	10am	19 hours
Macdonald Hotels and Resorts	3-5pm	10am	17-19 hours

• Macdonald Hotels and Resorts lists the 5pm check in on their and says it allows guests to use the facilities before 5pm if the room is not ready.

A Macdonald Hotels spokesperson said: “This Which? article presents a false impression by failing to differentiate between our hotels and self-catering resorts.
“Our check-in times have remained consistent over multiple decades. In line with industry norms, guests can check-in at 3pm and check-out at 11am across the vast majority of our hotels at no additional cost. Guests will find the individual check-in times for each of our 30 properties clearly displayed on the appropriate hotel’s homepage.
“A later check-in time of 5pm applies only to our 10 self-catering resorts, which involve a different guest experience and longer stays. These units require more extensive cleaning and preparation to ensure the highest standards for our guests.”