It's perfectly normal for such a cut off time and 12 noon is actually quite a late check out time, in the past mine have always been at either ten or eleven am.

I assumed that all hotels book your room from a certain time on your date of arrival and when you get there is up to you but the room is of course booked for your arrival. The AI option is hazy as from your check out time you are technically not a paying guest of the hotel anymore.

We have just returned from an AI in Majorca and were pleasantly suprised that our bands were not removed after check out in the past whatever board option we were on was usually stopped after breakfast on the day of departure.

I think their terms and conditions will fully cover any claim against them(sorry)

I wouldnt of been happy either Angie and I personally think it is a very short sighted and possibly a costly mistake by the management there .

At the end of the day let's assume your sister had a wonderful holiday there . That one error of judgement has most probably put a complete dampener on her holiday and any review she makes will relect that . For the sake of a few hours and getting it right until she waves from the coach window the hotel has let themselves down big style .

Now I dont know if this is common practice in the Canaries .I have only ever been to Lanzarote and the A/I hotel there certainly didnt do that and neither have I experienced it elsewhere.

Yes I agree with everyone else on the room vacating for 12pm but certainly not the A/I being whipped away like a rug from under their feet.

As fwh suggests I do think a short letter of complaint to TC is in order although i'm sure they will have themselves covered in the small print . I would also be tempted to do an email complaint to the barcelo group as well with a copy to the management of that particular hotel just to at least clarify if this is hotel policy or the front desk making up their own rules .

lyn

we have only done a couple of AI but do a lot of Half board, the same principle seems to apply [certainly where we have been] your room is booked from 12 noon [or sometimes 2pm] on day of arrival, so if you take the cheaper option of night flights and eventually arrive at 9 am , your room will have been booked from the midday previous, till the designated time on day of departure, you can often at extra cost hold the room [usually for a max of 6 hrs] if its not pre booked for the next clients, half board usually finishes after breakfast on the last morning, all inclusive usually ends at the booking out time, occasionally hotels may make this available [either free of charge or at extra cost] for those on a night flight,we have only been to one hotel [think it was Spain or Greece] where instead of a wrist band you had a card and the meals taken crossed off so if you missed dinner on night of arrival you could still get one before departure but as i said only ever seen it once

yasus
wizard

Angiepangie - Not being funny but why did your sister not post on here herself? It might have been easier to try to help her with her queries direct.

Must admit I dont have a lot of experience of A/I's on the spanish islands and Canaries . we have been to a couple but mostly we have stayed A/I in Turkey and Egypt . We've never had a wrisband cut from us unless requesting a pair of scissors from reception when we are about to depart . Infact I usually still have mine on when I get home

I should imagine with HB as Brian says that would stop after breakfast.

Just read your post on the other forum and it feels to me like they wernt being particularly helpful towards your sis.

I've been on quite a few A/I hols and the common factor is vacating room by 12.00 noon, and then I have tended to use the luggage room. Most hotels do have a complimentary room, that you can use for a short time to shower, change etc, which I have used if not leaving until late evening. When my son was younger I also paid extra to keep the room i think until 4 ish, which helped. However, I have always been allowed to use the A/I facilities.

Same here miss pink

miss pink she offered to pay for a room but was told hotel full...her family of 4 had 10mins each to use shower room.

Angie I pre-booked mine in the UK before travelling - as I say this was a few years ago when my son was 'ickle - - I assume that you can still do this though. I wouldn't have thought you could extend when you are out there if not pre-arranged, as the other posters have said the room will effectively be booked by another holiday maker from noon onwards, and why should they inconvenience them?

Sunaddict wrote:

Angiepangie - Not being funny but why did your sister not post on here herself? It might have been easier to try to help her with her queries direct.

Sorry i nearly missed you there sunaddict. Good question..The person who cut her wristband off also cut off her fingers...... if i say she cant physically type would that be ok?..

Hello Charrie if your reading this

I dont think it would have made any difference dealing with her direct.

miss pink ..my si would never inconvenience anyone she is the most helpful caring person..Fair enough its right to vacate any room at 12 but to be left for 14 hrs with nothin but a 10 min shower & no AI. If it was me and my 3 wee ones i would have kicked up the biggest fuss..hopefully this will never happen to me.

If this is the first time she has ever travelled anywhere with no knowledge of vacating the rooms, by the way most of time this is stated in the t/o holiday brochures, then I can understand why you/she would be upset, but even if it was surely her first travel trip then as her sister why didn't you wise her up?

miss pink i have my sis on the phone and she tells me she was advised by TC she would hve room till 2am ...

Wise up ? its not about wising anyone up..

If someone from TC told her that they need sacking! Check out time is one of the most basic things in travel. It's the sort of mistake even a trainee wouldn't make as it's standard across the board especially in Europe. If I was told that I would have to question it.

Let's keep to positive advice please
does she have this in writing? Would definitely be worth following up on if she has. Even if not, then at least pointing out what has been said might stop someone else being given incorrect information. I can see why she would be so annoyed.

I've found most holidays I've been on, the hotels will try their best to let you keep your room on. Infact I've hardly ever pre booked it and usually get to keep it on if we have a late flight! Obviously if the hotel is full then they won't be able to do it but I guess if you're told by the TO that you CAN have the room till 2am then why would you pre book? Someones already told you that you have it!
If we have a late flight we tend to get the room booked until 6pm then shower off about 5:30, hand keys in at 6, Put cases in courtesy room and go out for the evening! I hate going home covered in sun cream!

I agree with chivas there . I've never pre-booked a late check out room from the UK either . Costs you a lot more .

most hotel's I've stayed in I just approach the reception the day before to keep our room at a fee , normally told to come back in the morning to see if that is possible . It's not alwats possible over school holiday time when hotels are often fully booked but I have always found reception staff to be very accomodating . If we can't keep the room then yes we have always had to check out at 12pm , put luggage in the luggage room and then the hotel either gives you a key to a room to shower in or they have showers available close to reception.

We have always just carried on as normal without even questioning whether we still have A/I . TBH I don't think restaurant staff etc would notice anyway if the hotel is completely A/I . They know your face and that you are staying there . I suppose it could be different if the hotel run different board basis's and use a card system . from what I remember this was the system used at loz zocus in Lanzarote and your card was checked and scanned at bars so in effect your A/i is run from the reception.

My experience of AI holidays matches with most folk here - room checkout @ 12, but AI continues till you leave for the airport.

This year we're away in July, so have pre-booked a late-checkout room as we expect it to be busier. Last year and the year before, we were away earlier in the season so just sorted it with the hotel.

Probl'y doesn't help the OP !

If your sister has been told by the TA that you'd have the room till 2am, then I'd certainly be complaining...

In my experience the check out is at before noon, check in from 3 or 4 pm.
All Inclusive or any meal plans start/end at these times. Sorry if I am repeating what others have said.

If your flight is late at 2am, realistically you could book another night, stay for all your drinks, evening meal and then freshen up in the room and leave for the airport. All you'd miss out on would be sleeping on a bed and the next mornings breakfast on the All Inc plan.