Wouldn’t it be great to receive notice from those travelers planning to check-out early? Or even just having an idea of when guests are actually checking out for the day if they don’t stop by the desk? Your team needs to know when a room is ready for turnover so you can get your next guests checked in on time. With digital messaging, the answer can be easy. But is it worth it?

The short answer? Yes.

But, here's the long answer.

Express check-out through digital messaging can be a driving force in hotel efficiency. It can cut down front desk lines, limit guest and hotel staff confusion, and streamline early room turnovers. How? Well, first, imagine check-out without a digital messaging platform.

The guest who doesn’t say “goodbye”

There is a guest in room 309. Check-out is at noon, but the guest is ready to leave by 9:00 AM. They go down to the front desk, and there is a bit of a line. The guest then leaves without notifying the front desk because they just don't want to wait. 

Room 309 now sits available but unclean. Check-in is at 3:00 PM, but people are starting to trickle in, trying to check in early. 

Some guests can check-in to rooms that were turned early, but others are forced to wait until potentially empty rooms are turned over. As the line begins to pile up, it is now a combination of guests wondering when they will be able to check-in and others "just seeing if their room is ready yet." 

It is now around 1:30 PM, and room 309 is finally being cleaned - about four hours after the guest has left the hotel. 

"But wait, couldn't that guest just call the front desk?" 

Well, yes, of course! However, there are also various other guests calling the front desk with many other questions. "What time is breakfast?" "What time is check-out? What time is check-in?" "I am checking out early. Do I need to do anything special?" "What's the Wi-Fi password?" "How late does the restaurant stay open?" "Where is the nearest bar?" "Are there toothbrushes at the front desk?" "Is there a number I can text if no one is at the front desk?" The list can go on. Not to mention that phone anxiety is real--many guests will decide to leave just to avoid speaking on the phone with someone.

Plus, while fulfilling phone, email, and in-person requests, the front desk must also communicate to housekeeping that someone has left. This message could be relayed immediately, an hour later when things have calmed down, or it could be forgotten - an understandable but crucial mistake. Front desk jobs are no joke.

An easier way

But wait wait! There is one more scenario. What if the guest from 309 could text the front desk? How would that look?

After texting the front desk of his early departure, the front desk agent can now create a ticket for housekeeping to overturn room 309. And, that would be the end of scenario three.

Nowadays, most platforms such as HotSOS, Quore, and Synergeymms have the ability to allow staff to create a ticket directly within the messaging platform. 

On top of that, the front desk agent never has to leave their post or pick up a phone/walkie-talkie to alert housekeeping, making it easier to attend to guests right in front of them and internal communication more efficient. 

But how did the guest know they could text to check out? Well, HotSOS, Quore, and Synergeymms also have the ability to send automated messages on the last day of a guest's stay with instructions on the different check-out methods.

But wait wait wait, digital messaging isn't just used for express check-out? Guests can receive automatic check-out instructions? What else can digital messaging do?!

Lots. 

But for now, think on this question.

Which scenario above sounds like a better experience for both the guest and the staff?