“Checking out” of a hotel is definitely more of a breeze than it once was, but there’s an argument online about the proper etiquette.
A Gen Z woman posted a TikTok of her walking out the door of a hotel and into the parking lot, with the tagline: “Older generations: This is how you check out of a hotel. You just walk out.”
In the caption, she added, “The front desk doesn’t need you to tell them you’re checking out, and they don’t need you to hand them your room key.”
That may be TECHNICALLY true at a lot of places . . . but people in the comments are calling this RUDE.
One person says, “As a former housekeeper, it makes our jobs a lot easier if you’re polite and let someone know.”
Others say they let the staff know if they’re leaving EARLY, but not if they’re leaving AT the check-out time, because “what’s the difference?”
And others say they always give someone a heads-up, in the hopes that it makes the process of cleaning all the rooms more efficient, and possibly allows for the next person to get an early check-in that might help them out.
Some people say you should always check-out at the front desk to get a receipt and make sure there weren’t any additional charges, but THAT may be a bit of a Boomer take, since most places leave a receipt at your door, or have it sent digitally through email or an app.
Someone says they don’t bother the front desk if they can check out in the app.
And someone else says, “I try to check out, but no one is at the front desk.”
Finally, someone says, just let them know as you’re walking out, it takes 10 seconds max. (Careful) “Weird thing to feel like a bad-a** over.”
@the.shit.chatThe front desk doesn’t need you to tell them you’re checking out and they don’t need you to hand them your room key.