Hospitality leaders weigh in.
We’ve all been there; it’s the end of a hotel stay, and you’re in a rush to get on the road because you’re late for a big meeting during a business trip, or you need to make it to the airport on time to catch an early flight out of town.
In the North American hospitality industry, a long-debated question has recently resurfaced and circulated its way across various digital travel forums in a heated debate: Do you really need to “formally” check out of your hotel before departing? Is it necessary to take the time and effort to visit the front desk, return your key, get a copy of the folio, and verify the on-site staff is aware you are now leaving?
What if the front desk isn’t even staffed 24/7? Or, what if you’re embarrassed because you stayed past the property’s designated morning checkout time, and you don’t want them to know it took you 37 extra minutes to pack?
In a prior era, it may have been considered extremely poor etiquette to blow off this more formal, traditional travel custom but today, things have become more complicated with the modern technologies available in a post-COVID world. Hotel management companies have invested a significant amount of money and energy toward offering contactless operational tools that can admittedly save time, but perhaps can take the soul out of traveling.
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We asked a dozen industry experts—including hotel general managers, hospitality tourism management company leaders, and technology company spokespeople—to weigh in on the debate. Offering their insights, experiences, and opinions, these experts share how travel check-out processes are evolving and what they expect to see going forward.
Touchless Technology Is Taking Over
For better or worse, due to modern technology, you don’t need to talk to a single person if you don’t want to, while staying at most hotels across America. Mews is a hospitality operating system that powers more than 15,000 properties around the world, including brands like Lark Hotels, Gravity Haus Hotels, and Staypineapple, which offers hotels’ virtual concierge software via a digital link.
Their technology summarizes room charges, including parking fees, spa treatments, and in-room dining expenses to create an instantaneous digital folio available to the guest at their convenience. Mews even “releases” the room and alerts the on-site housekeeping that it’s ready to clean it and prepare for the next guest when you’ve let it know you’ve departed.
TMC Hospitality (the parent company of Drift Hotels and Bode Hotels) operates similarly, sending a text message to travelers on the morning of their departure with a simple ‘click to notify staff’ option when they’re gone. Similarly, hospitality brand AvantStay has declared convenience is queen, offering everything from check-in to late checkout requests via SMS or through an app.
“Think about it: you can order food, call a ride, even check into flights from your phone. Why should hotels be any different?” Some hotels, especially those offering luxury or bespoke experiences, may still choose to keep an in-person checkout to collect feedback or build a personal connection with their guests, and that’s a perfectly good reason to do so. But it should be a guest experience decision, not a technological limitation,” says Mike Coscetta, President of Mews.
Digital Progress vs. An Analog Revolution
Personal preferences and habits also depend on the generation and type of traveler involved. A study conducted by Mews claims 7 out of 10 travelers would rather check themselves in/out than deal with the front desk. And for Gen Z? That number jumps to 8 out of 10.
At Holiday Inn Express & Suites Union Gap – Yakima Area, which has “express” in its name, General Manager Marissa Contreras says she estimates only about 10% of leisure guests formally check out, but this number jumps to roughly 40% with corporate travelers. She attributes this to corporate guests needing timely, itemized printed receipts for submitting travel expenses.
On the other hand, Felix Schlokat, General Manager at Hilton Cancun, an All-Inclusive Resort, says his leisure guests generally do benefit from taking the time to complete their formal check-out process, due to the hotel’s location and all-inclusive model. They can return their all-inclusive bracelets, double-check their folio, and confirm and finalize airport transportation in person before they depart.
“In a world which turns faster every day, digital will be the way forward,” says Schlokat. “However, the option for personal interaction will remain important, particularly for guests who value human connection and personalized service.”
But whether it’s an analog renaissance fighting against the digital revolution, many hotels — especially more upscale brands — still want to preserve the crucial element of in-person touch-point opportunities with their visitors, to garner guest feedback about their stay.
“Those final interactions often leave a lasting impression for both the guest and our team,” explains Tessa Peterson, General Manager of The Allison Inn & Spa, an upscale, rural boutique property in Newberg, Oregon. “At more intimate, boutique-style properties, these settings naturally cultivate relationships, and many guests choose to pause, express gratitude, and say goodbye before they leave.” Peterson says nearly 80% of their guests still favor an in-person check out experience.
It’s a similar experience overseeing operations for John Hamilton, the General Manager of the boutique Casia Inn in Sonoma.
“The nature of our property is it’s super small. It’s intimate. We get a lot of face time with our guests, and we get to guide them throughout their trip and their itinerary,” explains Hamilton. “So, a lot of times they will come by just to say goodbye, to check out, and kind of give us their thoughts.”
Considering Your Fellow Travelers
When possible, Hamilton tries to pre-assign guests to rooms based on their preferences and will add special amenities if they’re there to celebrate an event like a birthday or anniversary.
“We like people to feel like they’ve been expected. We’ve thought about the quality of your stay. That’s kind of where the hospitality element of hospitality comes into play,” he says. “We’ve anticipated your needs. We know your names. We like that you’re here, and we’re going to take care of you.”
Letting the front desk team know you’re going to be departing at a certain time can assist teams, like John’s, in readying the rooms for folks in a way that can make them feel hosted and cared for. This can be the difference in a future guest’s experience.
“If someone has a wedding or job interview, getting into that room early becomes a real ‘need to have,’” points out Thomas (Thom) Caska, Complex General Manager at Casa Marina Key West. “We host 100+ weddings per year, many starting around sunset, which in the winter months line up exactly with check-in time.”
Caska says his team has become talented at prioritizing wedding guests, so they can get into their rooms early and get ready, but it can take extra time and detective work to figure out when the previous guests have left, if they haven’t formally checked out.
How Hotels Are Evolving
“One of the primary benefits of checking out in person is that it allows the team to gauge a guest’s experience firsthand, noticing cues like body language and tone so we can promptly address any issues and ensure a great stay,” says Caska.
This is something I learned through firsthand experience after being mistakenly charged for valet parking on a trip where I didn’t have a car. It was much easier to solve the situation on-site via a quick conversation with a front desk staff member as opposed to having to call a corporate phone number and plead with them to reverse the charge after I’d departed.
Do the lessons these hoteliers have in their own professional lives affect their habits when checking out IRL during their own travels? In a way, yes. Some of them said they know to gauge and avoid what are traditionally the busiest times, so they don’t add to the existing lobby chaos, and others say it’s made them more aware of cultivating a real human relationship while on the road, and offering thoughtful in-person feedback, before taking off.
“Personally, I love checking out in-person. My wife, however, would much rather just pop on her sunglasses, grab a coffee, and get on the road,” chuckles Caska.
Conserving a Touch of Human Connection
Every individual who shared insights for this piece agrees they’ll continue to support whatever process makes the visitor’s experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible. But the overwhelming majority also shared that letting the team know when you’re planning to leave is much appreciated to maintain one of the most vital elements of genuine hospitality: a bond between the guest and host. This is something that humans have been doing for decades, across various forms of travel, and that is to maintain human connection.
Even though it turns out most hospitality spokespeople widely agree that you do not technically have to check out in-person, they also agree that the benefits gained from doing so — including helping the hotel run more smoothly and enhancing the experience of the next guest — do make it worth the five minutes out of your day.
This simple but underrated interaction of conversing with a real live person, who looks you in the eye and bids you farewell with a friendly few words, can make all the difference in ending your visit on a positive note.
“With ever-advancing AI and hotels already pushing contact-less check-in, mobile keys, and contactless departure, it’s a tentative future that we’re looking at,” says Contreras. “For what it’s worth, I hope that we start to put a little bit more human interaction back into the hospitality industry.”
Caska agrees that there’s value in preserving these short but meaningful in-person interactions.
“The light and warmth of hospitality come from people.”
