Arriving before check-in? MakeMyTrip's rolls out guaranteed early check-in and late check-out feature

New Delhi: Online travel booking platform MakeMyTrip on Thursday announced the launch of a feature that allows travellers to pre-book early check-in and late check-out slots at hotels, villas and homestays, seeking to address one of the most common frustrations faced by travellers arriving before standard check-in times or departing long after checkout time of their booked accommodation.

The company said the service is now available across more than 10,000 properties in India and over 1,000 hotels and stays in 20 international destinations, including Dubai, Bangkok, Bali and Kuala Lumpur. Travellers can reserve early check-in or late check-out windows of three, six or nine hours at the time of booking.

The move comes as changing travel patterns increasingly clash with conventional hotel timings and often derails a person’s trip, especially those travelling with their family. According to MakeMyTrip's booking data across flights, buses and trains, 53 per cent of domestic travellers reach their destinations before 9 am, while 54 per cent begin their return journey after 3 pm. As a result, many passengers arriving on overnight trains, buses or early-morning flights often find themselves waiting hours for a room, while others are forced to vacate accommodation long before evening departures.


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Ankit Khanna, Chief Product Officer for Hotels, Growth and Emerging Businesses, said the company has focused on reducing travel-related uncertainty and that guaranteed room access addresses one of the most persistent pain points faced by travellers.

The launch marks what MakeMyTrip describes as India's first large-scale online travel agency (OTA) offering that allows travellers to secure early check-in and late check-out slots as a confirmed, prepaid service during the booking process, rather than relying on availability-based requests at hotel reception desks.

For travellers, the feature could reduce uncertainty around hotel access and eliminate the need to purchase an extra night's stay solely to secure a few additional hours in a room. And, this also creates an opportunity for the hotel operators to monetise inventory that often remains unused during off-peak hours.

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The company said demand for the offering has been skewed heavily toward early arrivals, with early check-in accounting for 77 per cent of all slot bookings recorded so far, compared with 23 per cent for late check-out.

The feature uses available flight, train and bus booking information to automatically suggest relevant room-access windows during the reservation process.

Abhishek Logani, Chief Business Officer, Hotels at MakeMyTrip said the company will extend the latest feature to additional properties and international markets over the coming quarters. "Price and location remain important, but flexibility and confirmed access are also becoming an active part of the booking decision. Partners have recognised this shift: early-morning and late-evening inventory that previously went unmonetized now has a structured, revenue-generating use," he said.