It seems that most hotels have their check-in time around 3pm in the afternoon.

Are there any other hobbyest’s out there that prefer there sessions to be in the early afternoon closer to noon?

How do you go about getting a hotel that will allow check-in around 11:30am instead of 3pm or 4pm which would not work?

Also, how do you keep the hotel bill off of your credit card or debit card statement?

It's been my experience that the more expensive hotels and rooms in those hotels are more likely to have an early check-in available.  The hotel cannot guarantee an early check-in, so you have to call and 'get lucky' on the day of check-in.

Usually, you have to provide a credit (or debit) card to reserve your room, but when you check in, advise the staff that you will pay in cash.  If you wait until the next day, your credit card will be automatically billed, so pay the night before.

eagle

One option re: statement is to arrange for the lady to get the room and reimburse her for it. I have found that with a lady who I have seen before that has always worked out well.

Book the hotel directly and join their loyalty programs. If you do, you have the option to early check-in as they as they take good care of their loyal customers.
Hilton, Hyatt, Westin, etc all have loyalty programs.
If you book through Hotwire, Priceline, etc do not expect any courtesy + they always give you the worse rooms.

is a god-save for many hotels in this economy, and I have never been treated with anything less than courtesy and good service when I booked through them.

And I've often been able to check in an hour or two early, simply by asking. If they say "no", you can sit with your luggage in the lobby, looking forlorn. That often helps move things along.

Most hotels will allow early checl in if they are not full. Call the hotel directly and talk to the front desk or managfer. Some may charge an extra fee though. I have needed early check in often when travelling, quite often to change after traveling or a nap after a morning meeting where I had flown a red eye in.

As far as not showing up on a bill there are a couple of easy ways to avoid that. 1) pay with cash or travellers checks. I would still reserve it with a card, but then give cash when checking out or even when checking in. An alternative is to get a prepaid card and use that and keep reloading it.

You can't book a room without a credit card but you can pay cash when you arrive. As long as you have no incidental room charges there is no reason why anything should appear on your CC bill.  Be sure to use a credit card and NOT a debit card as hotels will actually put a hold on your card for a set amount and those funds will be unavailable to you for up to a week.  Also, that hold may appear on electronic bank records even if it doesn't show up on your paper statement at the end of the month.

I use priceline all the time and get treated very well. I get upgrades all and early check in when they are available.  No hotel can ever guarantee you an early check in.  Rooms need to be cleaned and if the property was sold out the night before it's going to make it tougher for them to honor all requests.  In general, the earlier you arrive the better shot you have at getting a good room and an early check in.

Hotels can be very accomodating on either side of the clock - pre checking in and when you're checking out. Particularly if you say you're not sure if you'll need to stay another night or not.

You never know until you ask!

However I find booking with clients around lunchtime is tricky - you have to time it well if you're leaving just after.

Tamara G x

Find a lady who has a discreet little place and skip the hotel...It is a win, win if she loves mornings too..!

I don't find that they do - particularly if you're just a nuisance to them insisting on a good room and being willing to move, which I always am. To the best room.

Again, it's amazing what a better experience you can get if you ask.

Tamara G x

The looking forlorn in the lobby thing works much better if you are:

Female
Busty
Damned hot

So I'm sure you have a lot more luck at it than I do.

expensive hotels they still require a credit card even if you pay in cash. In New York & other big cities for 4 stars and above is not possible to check-in without CC.

For starters do not ever use a debit card as they are required to take a deposit off of your card no matter whether you have pre-paid or not.  So use a credit card, tell them you will pay cash at check-out and then they will just hold it.

Early check-in is easy. Monday's are the hardest days here in LV (or rather used to be) and if they were full the evening before then it most likely won't happen.  Pick a very large hotel that in this economy is less likely to sell out entirely and oyu are all set. Also, check the convention schedule and don't pick a hotel that is hosting a large convention.  Easy way to check is to see if the hotel is offering rooms on their website the evening before and if so then you will be good to go.  I have always been able to check in as early as 9am outside of LV and 10am in LV by saying that I am coming in on the red-eye and am so tired that I would love to get in early.  Easy as pie!

Which is the case most of the time.  A pleasant attitude, a warm smile and a bit of patience goes a long way when checking in at a hotel.

If you are member of the Hilton Honors program Diamonds Level you have a guarantee reservation availability with early check-in. It does pay to be a member of those programs.

Hummm, you want an 11am date, how about getting the room the night before, what a concept, ask for a late checkout. duhhhhh