Please inquire about the billing method when checking into a hotel.

A tourist reported that he checked into a three-star hotel near Guangzhou Baiyun Airport earlier. He checked in at 5:30 am and left around 2 pm. He stayed for less than 10 hours, but the hotel charged him It charges a room rate of one and a half days, claiming that this is in line with "international practice".

Is it reasonable for the hotel to do this? In the hotel industry, does one day's room rate equal a 24-hour stay? How is the hotel room rate for a day calculated? The reporter interviewed relevant people.

Hotel charges are in line with international practice

According to teacher Cheng Luxuan from the Sino-French School of Tourism at Guangzhou University, according to international practice, hotels generally charge a room for one night before 12 noon the next day. A half-day room rate can be charged for the period from 12:00 to 18:00, which is a common international standard for hotel charges. According to Miss Zhu Min, manager of the public relations department of the White Swan Hotel, the White Swan Hotel currently charges according to the above standards. The new day is billed at 7 am. If the guest leaves at 2 pm, the hotel has the right to charge for one and a half days of room service. fee.

The hotel time period charging regulations need to be standardized

As for hotel charging, the country has clearly stated: According to Article 10 of the "China Tourist Hotel Industry Standards": "Hotel room charges are based on ' The calculation unit is room/night (except for hourly rooms). One day's room rate will be charged based on the guest staying for one room/night. If the guest checks out after 12:00 and before 18:00 the next day, the hotel can charge an additional half-day room rate. ; For those who check out after 18:00 the next day, the hotel can charge an additional day's room rate."

However, the "Standards" do not stipulate the morning check-in time, which has caused a lot of disputes. For example, this gentleman checked in at 5:30 in the morning. According to Teacher Cai, in the past, the hotel stipulated that 5:30 was considered the previous day, and 6 o'clock was considered the next day. If the guest checks in at 6:00, he can check out before 12:00 the next day; if he checks in at 5:59, he must check out before 12:00 that day. If he checks out at 12:00 the next day, If you want to rent a room, you will have to pay one more day's room fee. According to the charging method of the White Swan Hotel, assuming that his check-in time is 7:00 in the morning, according to the algorithm that the day starts at 7 o'clock, he only needs to pay one day's room rate when he leaves in the afternoon.

It is understood that there are still many hotels that calculate the new day at 8 a.m., so even if tourists check in at 7:50 a.m. and leave at 8:00 p.m., the hotel will still charge two A reasonable approach to the Kaaba fee.

It can be seen that since domestic hotels do not yet have a clear regulation on check-in time charges, each hotel's approach is different.

Understand the “business rules” to avoid disputes

During the interview, the reporter found that the interviewees repeatedly emphasized that they should understand the hotel’s “business rules” and communicate with them before checking in. When communicating with the hotel, it is best to set up a receipt and set the charging standards.

According to Cai Xiaomei from the School of Tourism of South China Normal University, because guest rooms cannot be stored, guests who checked into the hotel in the early morning did not "stay for one night", but there was actually one room that was vacant. "Guest room" It is impossible for anyone to leave in the early hours and immediately let another guest check in. "In other words, if the room is not rented out tonight, the hotel will lose money. Therefore, as a tourist, you should understand this "business rule" of the hotel and clearly explain the approximate check-out time to the front desk when checking in to determine the charge.

China's national conditions are more "humane". "If a room cannot be sold for a day, the day's income will be lost forever." This is a basic principle in hotel management. When guests make some reasonable special requests, we will provide certain discounts as appropriate, which is very effective during the off-season. However, it must be emphasized that this is not a universal rule.