KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians have recently taken to social media to vent their frustrations over policies adopted by some hotels, adjusting check-in and check-out times.
Several users on X and TikTok claimed that some hotels have changed their check-in time from 2pm to 4pm, while check-out times were moved earlier, from 12 noon to 11am.
They blame such policies for driving local tourists to travel abroad instead of spending their money on domestic travelling.
User Hakim H via his X handle @netnetwok urged the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry to look into the issue if they want the people to continue support efforts by Tourism Malaysia to boost the tourism sector in the country.
"The ministry must intefere with this issue related to the check-in and check-out (times).
"Or should we boycott the hotels that adopted this policy?" he wrote in the posting on Sept 22.
The post was accompanied by a screenshot of a hotel's check-in and check-out times from an online travel booking platform.
The screenshot showed the check-in time fixed at 4pm, while the check-out time was at 12noon.
User @NoorEzatty_ said most apartments and hotels impose a check-out time of 11am, which makes it stressful for travellers, especially for parents with babies like her, to rush when checking out of their accommodations.
Another user, @ariharosan, wrote: "I urge @MyMOTAC (the ministry) to pay attention to this issue.
"It's already challenging to encourage people to travel domestically, and I have also experienced the 11am check-out time."
A TikTok user, @zettysmomlife, said on the platform that the policy doesn't make sense, as travellers have less than 24 hours to enjoy the facilities at their accommodation when asked to check in at 4pm and check out at 11am.
"No wonder many people prefer going to Thailand. The hotels there are more beautiful, better and cheaper.
"And the hotels there use the standard 2pm check-in and 12noon check-out times," she said.
The ministry, in a statement, said it is monitoring the issue of hotel check-in registrations in the country and is giving serious attention to ensure that industry players provide clarification.
The ministry also said that it welcomes further information from the public regarding this issue, which can be sent via email to info@motac.gov.my.
The ministry also advised the public to always read and understand the terms and conditions set by hotels before making a reservation.
It was recently reported that nearly 100,000 Malaysian tourists took advantage of the long weekend in conjunction with Malaysia Day recently to vacation in Southern Thailand – contributing more than 1 billion Baht (100 Baht = RM12.95) to the local economy.