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What are the hotel check in/out procedures?

Bythebeach

Do tour participants have to physically check-in and out of each hotel during the tour or does the tour director manage that and hand out the keys/room assignments? (I assume that the initial hotel requires a trip to front desk upon arrival to let them know you are on a Tauck tour as people will be arriving different days and times). Do you ask the front desk for an itemized bill if you charge personal items such as room service or laundry which are not included in tour price or do the hotels automatically email guests the folio prior to checkout? What is procedure for luggage--do you bring it to lobby or leave it in room for bellman to collect? Will hotels (such as Marriott or Hilton brands) accept loyalty program numbers so you get credit for stay nights or points?

Comments

JaneP

My experience has been that you check in personally the first day you arrive but for all intermediate trip hotels your Tauck Tour Director does the check in and you will be given your room key on arrival. You will be billed individually for "extras" and can provide your card to the desk ahead of checkout or checkout on your own. Often the Tour Director will remind you to provide a card to the front desk for incidentals. It depends on individual hotel procedures, so they might provide a folio ahead or might not. If you haven't had "extras" all you do is drop off your key when you leave. Your Tour Director will give you information for each transfer as to when your luggage must be ready - typically early(ish) in the morning you will leave it outside your door. I have never had to take it to the lobby. I think it depends on what loyalty program you have as to whether they will give you points or credits. If I book flights through Tauck my airline won't give me credit, if I book on my own and pay, I can get credit. If you have a loyalty program I would just ask at the desk and see what they will allow.

Folsomdoc

I have found with Marriott and IHG that adding your number at check in gets you points for incidental charges. It’s not many points but helpful as one of these programs has all your points expiring unless you accumulate more within a year.

Ben

Luggage: your luggage will be delivered to your room when you arrive. Your tour director will give you the luggage pull time for each morning that you leave the hotel the day before. It is usually left in the room just inside the door with the provided luggage tags. Anything you wish to keep with you for the day you are responsible for to make sure it goes with you. On some tours the luggage will not be on the coach with you. For example: going from a pre stay hotel to the river boat. Going from Naples to Capri. Paris to Lyon. It will go ahead of you and you will not have access to it. If there is transportation during the tour such as a train from Paris to London, you are responsible for your personal items that you bring with you such as a day bag or backpack. You need to be able to handle that "luggage" on your own.

Check in to hotels: if it is a pre stay hotel you go to the check in desk and identify yourself as a Tauck tour person. You can leave your items with the bellman if the room is not ready. I typically will tip the bellman in this case. Once on your tour you usually will check in and check out at the front desk and leave a credit card for incidentals. On one tour, our tour guide gave us our keys. Check out and pay incidentals the morning you leave. Please do not do this just before the bus departure time. Some hotels will give you an email.

The hotel assigns you the room, not the tour director. We have been in a couple of hotels where there has been a room issue: shower drain was plugged, bed legs was broken. Both time the hotel was responsive and we received a nice bottle of wine at one and a very nice complimentary dinner at the other.

Not sure how points work.

kfnknfzk

Pre/Post tour stays - Your driver and bellhop will take care of your luggage upon arrival at the Tauck designated hotel. Keep your personal item with you. Upon check-in, have your passport and credit card (for possible incidentals) ready. Identify yourself as a Tauck guest. I always have my Tauck reservation number handy but never had to present it. You will be given a packet of information from the tour director. The desk agent will advise where the included breakfast will be each morning and the procedure to follow. Usually you just show your room key/card to the host/hostess and your name will be checked off a list. Rarely do we need to sign a breakfast check. The process has been seamless for years.

I always review and settle the hotel incidentals the night before to avoid gridlock the morning of departure. Be sure to verify the accuracy of the bill. In the morning, drop off your key/card.

I won’t repeat what has already been said about luggage other than to reiterate luggage will be pulled from inside your room. Be sure the supplied tags are on them. You are responsible for your own carry-on item.

Tauck has confirmed they no longer tip housekeeping staff, so I always extend a gratuity to them. Whether I tip the airport driver and bellhops is at my discretion.

Have a great tour.

Oops. One more important thing. When adding post tour days I always remind the front desk the night before my departure that Tauck has arranged for airport transfer at such-and-such time. They will verify it is in their system. You should have the car service’s phone number handy just in case something goes awry. I have never had that happen.

Claudia Sails

Concur with above posts though the check in process can depend on the tour. Yes the first hotel you check in personally at reception and they will usually give you some prepared information from the tour director. Things like what time/where for breakfast and the welcome reception, suggested things to see in the area, etc. For the follow on hotels most of the time when the coach arrives the TD is given envelopes with all the room keys to hand out. Goes very quickly. I did notice that in Italy it was more often the hotel staff doing this and was a fairly slow process.

Bags are almost always to be ready inside your room but on a couple of occasions just outside it. The daily schedule you get upon arrival will give you all the details like this.

The only luggage you need to bring down is any carryon beyond your one large checked bag. Things like your day bag that goes inside the coach with you or if you have a larger carryon there is a special compartment under the coach for those. Only accessible in emergencies. I travel with an under seat roller bag. That lets me get the big bag ready the night before and is big enough for toiletries, meds, nightwear, etc.

None of our loyalty programs for hotels gave us points on Tauck booked stays. It's worth giving them your number though as sometimes there is a benefit like a nicer room or access to amenities. Can't hurt.

Wan

I would like to emphasize that even if you have not used any "extras" at a hotel, always check your final bill before departure. It has happened to us several times that we had been billed for things we didn't use.

British

A few additions. When you check in to the first hotel, always identify exactly which Tauck tour you are on as several times we have been in hotels where more than one tour is starting there.
We have rarely received any info from the Tour director if we check in a day early. We always ask at the check-in on arrival to be sure, but often, the TD has not arrived that day. It’s worth doing research before you arrive for site seeing or asking the hotel concierge.
We always physically check out and usually pay the incidental bill the night before. Our worst incident was when a Ritz Carlton charged us for a post stay night that. We had paid Tauck for, they took it off on check out and then added it. Took months to sort out, they called us liars and so on. Eventually we spoke to Tauck who said that does happen and they sorted it. So check out and check your bill, don’t have it emailed!
We always give any hotel loyalty card information at check-in but only get rewards on anything extra we purchase like massages etc. unfortunately, all the Four Seasons that Tauck stay in these days don’t have a loyalty program…..or if they do or keep records of when you stay in them, we have had some sub par rooms compared to Tauck first timers.
Some Tour Directors are happy to get your carry on bags from your room for you. Rarely are bags collected from outside your room, it’s usually from inside….be careful on those days incase the bellman walks in and you are in a state of undress…yes it has happened. Sometimes bags are pulled in the middle of the night and the TD tells you it is ok if you are still sleeping.

JaneP

Number of people have indicated that luggage is always pulled from inside the room....not sure if I've just taken different tours, but I have had a number of trips where we put the luggage outside the room in the hallway. It has never felt insecure to me and I've never heard of anyone having safety issues with their luggage.

Bythebeach

All this info is extremely helpful. Thank you! In terms of luggage, if a Tauck tour description says they recommend bringing no more than a checked bag and carry-on bag, does this mean per person or per couple? In addition to this, can we each bring a backpack or underseat bag inside the bus or is that what Tauck means by a carry-on bag?

kfnknfzk

Each individual is allowed one (1) checked bag, one carry-on item and one personal item such as a purse. The carry-on may have to be stored in the coach’s undercarriage and you are responsible for taking it there. I cannot speak to tours having on-tour flights.

British

Yes, as above, one checked bag each. One carry on each….if your carry on is a roll along bag, it will be too big to fit in the overhead of a bus or under the seat in front of you. If the bus is not full and has some empty seats at the back, you can often put it there.. otherwise it will have to go under the bus and you won’t have access to it during the day. We never take a roll along, just a backpack .

MCD

I concur with the previous comments. I just want to add that I have used both Marriott and Hilton loyalty programs on many of the Tauck hotels to get points for incidentals. (I have never tried to redeem points for those charges.) At the Trianon Palace (now the Waldorf Astoria Versailles) I received a room upgrade to a huge suite and at the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, I was told that Tauck already had the best rooms, but they gave me a food and beverage credit of $25 that I used in the lounge. It never hurts to ask!

Ben

We each have always brought one checked bag-24 inch medium suitcase and a small carryon for the plane-less than 30 liters. Both were pulled in the morning and both have gone under the coach. we then have a small personal item on the coach-7 liters or less(small camera bag or cross body bag. Occasionally I will have a small backpack that was packed in my checked bag to use for a hike or bike ride.

SandyFeet

Folsomdoc is correct. I am going to Ireland with a different tour company. When I contacted the Hilton in Dublin about using my rewards points I was told that because a third party booked my room I could not use my points. I was also told to let them know my Hilton membership number upon checking in so I would receive some credit.

AlanS

If you look at the really fine print in your rewards programs info, it will typically say something about not receiving rewards at all or receiving rewards at a reduced rate. It will depend on your program, how you booked, or the rate booked. We have not been able to receive any points for hotels for years. Years ago, I called Delta when I did not receive full points for our Ireland trip flights- I booked air thru Tauck. Delta directed me to their fine print which said full points would not be accrued if fare was an un-advertised discounted fare, which the Delta fare offered by Tauck evidently was. Now you probably don't get any points at all with tickets purchased thru Tauck. I read an article recently that said the airlines make more money from rewards programs - fares jacked up to compensate for rewards and rewards points not used, than from ticket sales.

On a related topic- it seems Delta and likely other airlines are using AI assisted flexible pricing that tracks both your online inquiries and customer demand in general. Like Amazon pricing, prices are often adjusted nearly instantaneously.

As always the consumer is the loser!