KUALA LUMPUR: The government should disallow late check-in and early check-out times in hotels, many online commentators said.
The issue of some hotels allowing guests to check in only at 4pm and insisting on check-out at 11am, recently went viral on social media platforms X and TikTok.
The New Straits Times surveyed comments on social media and found that many people thought this practice was unfair.
Most felt that check-in at 2pm and check-out at 12pm was acceptable.
But commentator Jude David said hotels in Thailand had made significant improvements, with many now offering check-out 24 hours after check-in.
He said if guests checked in at 8pm, they could check out at the same time the following day. He added hotels in Malaysia were doing the opposite.
Karthikeyen Ganesan said people wanted to check in from 2pm because they would have a longer time to rest and enjoy the stay.
"Imagine hotels changing to 4pm for their own convenience. Basically they are forcing people to just sleep and leave. You don't even get the feeling of staying at a hotel.
"We need government intervention to put a stop to this. They are basically taking advantage of customers. They are reducing their staff to maximise their profits and to stay competitive in the market .
"Of course the high-end hotels don't do this, but we need a standard operating procedure for hotels nationwide. Or else, nobody wants to support local tourism," he said.
Andy Bandara said after the pandemic, many hotels realised they could maintain higher profit margins by operating with fewer staff members and reduced services, even though guest demand had returned.
"Viable? Let the consumers be the judge. I say good luck maintaining this path."
Nitha Panu suggested a win-win situation and said that hotel booking platforms should highlight check-in and check-out policies so consumers can choose whether to stay.
Meanwhile, some comentators felt certain hotels had to implement such times due to staffing constraints.
Malcolm Ignatius said housekeeping staff needed enough time to thoroughly clean the rooms.
Similarly, Yunus Yunus said many hotels were short-staffed in housekeeping.
He said hotels with occupancy rates exceeding 80 per cent would need several hours to clean the rooms properly.
"With occupancy over 80 per cent, it takes a couple of hours to complete cleaning the rooms. Some with over 100 rooms hotels more or less having just over 10 housekeeping staff.
"It's difficult for them too to make sure all the rooms are in pristine condition with no stains and hair on the floor. If you can't have it, maybe you guys can just choose other hotels."