Why you should consider automating early check-in and late check-out using your hotel management software

Hotel businesses that optimize and make their procedures as efficient as possible have a better chance of success. Not only do automated procedures help you to maximize your profit, but they also allow you to boost the average spend per booking by providing additional services such as flexible booking.

One of the processes that you can easily optimize with automation and hotel management software is early check-ins and late check-outs. But how will early check-in boost hotel revenue? The answer is easy: The first impression is the last. Considering the guest check-in process is the first time your guest is fact-to-face with your hotel, it is an important time to create a good impression. If you are not able to accommodate the guest’s need for early check-in, it can have a direct impact on the guest satisfaction level. In fact, Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality discovered that even a five-minute wait at check-in reduces guest satisfaction by 50%. That’s a lot!

Automating early check-ins and late check-outs are thus a terrific strategy to increase income, which we’ll discuss in more depth later in this post.

Let’s start with:

What is early check-in?

Early check-in is a service that allows guests at a hotel to check into their room before the traditional check-in time, which is usually between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Guests may arrive in the city on an early flight and be fatigued from travel, or they may like to leave their bags at the hotel before going out for the day to explore or to an important meeting arranged for the morning. It is an optional supplementary service that you may provide to your visitors for a fee.

What is late check-out?

Check-out is a term that refers to the process of leaving the accommodation. It is usually about midday to give the hotel staff time to clean the room, double-check that nothing has been left behind. Late check-out allows visitors to check out later than the hotel’s regular check-out time, providing them more time to shower after an early meeting, rest after a late night, or pack their baggage at their leisure. It’s normally a service that’s requested (and always subject to availability) at a hotel or tourist accommodation and can be added as an extra offering while booking for an additional cost.

How can automation help you monetize on an early check and late checkout?

Early check-ins may appear inconvenient since your staff must rush to have the room ready as soon as possible, but the additional revenue and client happiness are well worth it. Given that hotels aim to fill rooms at the greatest possible rate for the longest possible period, it’s understandable why hoteliers would want the room to be filled for longer.

More time equals a faster return on investment, which is critical to a hotel’s profitability. Early check-ins are useful in this situation. Using automation, the benefits of offering early check-in and late check-out increase significantly.

• Automation helps accurately calculate the early check-in/ late check-out charges.
• Through automation, these charges are added to the guest folio automatically.
• It helps reduce calculation errors from the front desk staff.
• It can upsell other services such as offering room services as the guests opt for a late check-out.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about what can you do to increase revenue in your early check-in and late checkout process.

5 Easy Ways you can automate and boost early check-in and late check-out process for higher revenue

• Optimize early check-ins with mobile check-in

According to Criton, 80 percent of hotel visitors would download a hotel app that would allow them to check-in, check-out, and access all hotel information. If that’s the case, why not take mobile check-in one step further and provide mobile early check-in? This implies that not only are you making more money on each booking, but you are also reducing the number of resources required to make that extra profit. The guest, in effect, takes check-in into their own hands, freeing up your front desk employees to focus on other things such as giving the finest possible service.

• Use Virtual Concierge

Virtual concierge is one of the simplest methods to improve client satisfaction since customers can ask questions 24/7 and receive immediate answers, and you can respond to service requests faster through direct messaging. A virtual concierge also allows visitors to check-in online from their phones, shortening lines at reception and allowing hotels to easily upsell early check-in and late check-out.

• Add check-in kiosks in the hotel lobby

The self-service option on a hotel kiosk is an alternative to traditional front desk service. It let hotels automate the check-in formalities so that staff have more time for real human communication with guests. Similarly, you can program the early guest check-in/ late check-out in the kiosk through the hotel management software, the system will calculate the charges and automate the early check-in/ late check-out process through the hotel kiosk.

• Use hotel management software to charge for early check-in and late check-out

Using hotel management software, you can automate various aspects of the upselling via early check-in and late check-out. You can automatically analyze your inventory each day to identify unsold rooms that are candidates for early check-in and late checkout. It helps calculate the optimum price to charge the guest based on room availability and helps offer guests the right room at the right time for optimized conversion.  Furthermore, software companies such as mycloud hospitality provide the option of charging early check-in and late check-out fees straight to the room folio. It’s another excellent strategy to increase supplemental revenue for your hotel.

Using the hotel management software and booking engine, you can upsell early check-in for the right price at the booking stage on your website or an OTA too. As soon as the guest is about the make the booking, the hotel management software will update the booking engine and it will update the offer to provide the option of early check-in at the right price. Isn’t that swell?

Throughout the consumer journey, your relationship with your guests is critical. Offering a variety of services that go above and beyond the competition helps your business to solve client “issues,” maybe resulting in more bookings. You may improve the perception of your brand and leave a lasting impact on one-time visitors by allowing them to book on a flexible basis.

Early check-in and late check-out are two undervalued options that may help your hotel’s bottom line by raising the total budget per booking. Not only are they a terrific method to improve client happiness, but it also allows you to generate a new income stream that complements your hotel’s core offering, therefore increasing total revenue; it’s a win-win situation for both guests and your property.