The last 20 mins before check out - what do you do?

[TonyHancock]

I only used the porters this time as I had the dive bag which was heavier than normal and didn't want to get sweaty before the 30 hour trip home...

Does that mean you had to check luggage? :shock:

 

[simongr]

Only when I have dive gear...

 

[simongr]

Nice idea Rok - sadly I am in Jeddah - that cold beer on the flight ex-DXB is going to be like a scene from Ice Cold in Alex:

ice cold in alex - YouTube

Had to wait until HKG for a proper cold beer

 

[Simo]

Generally my last 20mins before check out is either just one more ph call send another e mail.

OR, I have 20 mins and i still have not packed showered or anything.....

 

[pagingjoan]

Generally my last 20mins before check out is either just one more ph call send another e mail.OR, I have 20 mins and i still have not packed showered or anything.....

Now that scenario sounds familiar!

 

[malmacdowall]

Nice idea Rok - sadly I am in Jeddah - that cold beer on the flight ex-DXB is going to be like a scene from Ice Cold in Alex:

ice cold in alex - YouTube

Great clip ... Makes me want to see the rest of the movie...

 

[Happy Trails]

Refill the empty bottles from the mini-bar with tap water or cold tea.
(Hold the flames, just kidding)

 

[Sprucegoose]

20 minutes is pure luxury!

Where do you organize such time!

 

[anat0l]

Hmmm... for me it's usually mad time.

Hopefully by T-20 mins I'm showered and changed. If not, then everything else is more frantic.

Also hopefully by this time I've half packed everything, otherwise madder still.

Check bathroom for any items left behind. Check bedside tables and drawers. Check study table. Check the wardrobe.

Pack bags. Why doesn't the bag pack the same way you packed it at home. No time to wonder, just press down hard and close the zip.

Pull out electronics at the last minute, because they're either charging and/or a download is finishing.

If not finished all of this by T-5 mins, call reception to request a minor extension of checkout time. Mostly they will allow another 30 minutes.

 

[Flashback]

For me today my last 20 minutes will consist of a quick dash around to thank the maids for their wonderful service, ducking into the kitchen to thank chef & co. for their cooking and then grabbing the driver to take me to the airport :mrgreen: It's a tough life... but someone's gotta do it:!:

 

[misstam]

double check shower, wardrobe, desk & fridge. Get phone & laptop off charge. I'm basically packed the night before to save the hassle of last minute rush.
Have a coffee/tea & pack the remaining sachets if they're something like T2. Grab my Ikea Family/Flannerys card from the card slot.
If I'm traveling with a tour party, I'll call the party animals to make sure they are..awake.

 

[Netty]

Staying at the Fairmont in Singapore and there's a note above the key card slot to say that housekeeping have ways of knowing if you've left cards in the slot and they will come in and remove them. Last 20 mins for me is always spent frantically shoving everything in, sitting on bag and trying to zip up. All the best intentions and nothing ever changes. I also pack for 2 months round the world about 1/2 an hour before I leave for the airport, but I do 'think' about it for day's before hand. I have been travelling like this for 30 years and I can't seem to improve my system at all

 

[Netty]

.....I'm supposed to be checking out of Fairmont in 20 minutes but I'm still sitting in Starbucks fooling around with email. Better go and pack...

 

[Nigelinoz]

I do all my packing apart from toiletries etc the night before,I actually empty the bag and repack it neatly,I also iron my clothes for the next day the night before so
I'm basically ready to go,I always make a point of having breakfast outside the hotel on the last morning,then I return about half an hour before check out,take the
iphone off charge and have a final coffee before checking out with about 10 minutes to spare.

 

[Flashback]

.....I'm supposed to be checking out of Fairmont in 20 minutes but I'm still sitting in Starbucks fooling around with email. Better go and pack...

Don't you get free internet just by signing up to their loyalty program anymore? :shock:

 

[ozbeachbabe]

We were in NYC staying at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tribeca which conveniently has a Starbucks on the ground floor. Our Supershuttle pickup was booked for 0630 when Starbucks was due to open so the biggest quandry at the time was whether Starbucks was going to be open before the shuttle bus arrived.

Anyway we're just about to leave the room & we get a call on our cell phone that the shuttle was waiting out the front. As we weren't on the footpath right at that time the driver said he'd pick up some other people then come back for us.

Didn't get the coffee & couldn't see a coffee shop at LGA either prior to our NW flight to MSY. Wi-fi non-existant also.

So moral to the story is when in NYC you need to be early to be on time.

double check shower, wardrobe, desk & fridge. Get phone & laptop off charge. I'm basically packed the night before to save the hassle of last minute rush. Have a coffee/tea & pack the remaining sachets if they're something like T2. Grab my Ikea Family/Flannerys card from the card slot. If I'm traveling with a tour party, I'll call the party animals to make sure they are..awake.

My brother is travelling with a tour party to NZ early on Monday morning & told me "I've told everyone to meet me at checkin at 0500".

I told him "rule no. 1 particularly in the music biz - don't expect everyone to be there".

 

[Netty]

Don't you get free internet just by signing up to their loyalty program anymore? :shock:

Yes, but they don't serve "Venti Java Chip Frapaccino"

 

[vitagen]

I check the room a couple of times, I always keep my small backpack (Lowepro Flipside 200) with my phone, camera, passport etc. I wait for the porters to come and collect the luggage.

I try to take a breather and check the room again and off I go!

 

[misstam]

My brother is travelling with a tour party to NZ early on Monday morning & told me "I've told everyone to meet me at checkin at 0500".

I told him "rule no. 1 particularly in the music biz - don't expect everyone to be there".

Amen to that! Musicians & 5am Call in the same sentence?

 

[SteveJohnson]

If I'm still in the room that close to check-out time it's because I am frantically packing!!

I usually try to be out early so I can avoid the big queue at the front desk because almost everybody else is checking out at the same time.

If it's a nice hotel with a nice room and I don't have much luggage at all, if it's just my wheelie-bag and laptop bag, then I will do an 'express checkout' by filling out the form and dropping it into the box near the front desk, or I'll check out on the TV. Then I make a cuppa, Nespresso if they have the machine in the room or green tea otherwise, sit back on a couch by the window with a book or my iPad and read or relax.

If I'm on a 'club floor' with an executive lounge I'll head up there quite a bit earlier, check out there and then sit there having a nice coffee and some snacks until I'm ready to go.