Booking hotel relative to local or home timezone

Question

I am new to the whole time and calendar change situation. I would like to travel to Fiji. If I left the 31st of May, and the flights state I will not arrive into Fiji until June 2nd, I would book my hotel/resort starting June 2nd, correct? Not starting from May 31st?

Answer 1

Generally speaking, when traveling all times listed are local times.(*)

For hotels, (which are notoriously stuck in a single timezone) the only time the people running them are concerned about is the official local time. That's when check-in and check-out times will be listed for, and if you call the front desk, you'll get the day staff versus the night staff based on what the local time is, not what the timezone you're calling from is.

"All times local" also applies to airplane flights. When an airline lists takeoffs and landings, the times listed are in the timezone for the respective airport in which the takeoff or landing happens. If those two airports happen to be in different timezones, the two times will be for those two different timezones (**).

Given that everyone you meet is going to act as if the local time is the "real" time, it's generally recommended to reset your primary watch to the local time as soon as you land (or cross the timezone). -- Your mobile phone will likely do it automatically, if you have cellular telephone network access.

So if your plane ticket says you land on June 2nd, that's in Fiji local time and as far as the hotel is concerned you would be walking in the door and checking in on June 2nd.(They have no clue how long you've traveled, or when or where you started from - they just care when you show up.) As lambshaanxy mentions, whether that means you want a hotel reservation starting the night of June 2nd, or whether you want a reservation starting June 1st with a late check-in, will depend a bit on the exact timing. But when you're doing the logistic planning to get you from landing to check-in, just remember: all times are Fiji local times.

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*) That's something that can sometimes be difficult to wrap your head around: as far as the locals are concerned, the local time is the "real" time, the local currency is the "real" currency, the local language is the "real" language, the local customs are the "real" customs, etc. As a traveler, your have to keep in mind that it's your timezone/currency/language/customs that are the strange/unusual/"fake"/foreign ones. In some cases the locals may be happy to work in yours, but only by doing the conversion of your "foreign" to their "real" for you.

**) In some cases, for short flights across timezones, this can mean that the plane is listed as arriving "before" it even takes off.

Answer 2

If you book a hotel starting June 2nd, you are not guaranteed to be able to check in until the afternoon, typically around 3pm.

So if your flight arrives very early, you may want to book a hotel starting June 1st, and let the hotel know you will arrive on the morning of the 2nd. Alternatively, you can ask if they offer a guaranteed (paid) early check-in service.

Answer 3

Unless things explicitly say otherwise, or you’re looking at something like Google Calendar (which will display events in your current local time, but should show the actual timezone if you go into details for the event), listed times for just about any travel related activity will always be in local time for the location that particular event is happening in.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Airline departure and arrival times (if the departure and arrival airports are in different timezones, the listed times will be for those timezones).
• Other transport departure and arrival times.
• Hotel check-in, check-out, and curfew times.

As an example, I recently took a business trip to Athens, Greece. The times listed for my flight from DAY to IAD in the US on the way were both in US Eastern time because both DAY and IAD are in the US Eastern time zone. For the flight from IAD to ATH the departure time was listed in US Eastern time, but the arrival time was listed in Eastern European time (because ATH is in the Eastern European time zone). The time for the scheduled taxi service from the airport to my hotel, as well as the hotel check-in and check-out times, were also listed in Eastern European time, because that’s where those things were happening.

This means you need to book the hotel for the time that it will be in Fiji when you are in Fiji, or June 2nd (at the latest, but more on that below). The same goes for any transport from the airport.

When you get there, you will find things much simpler if you update any clocks you have on you (such as a wristwatch or travel alarm clock) to match local time. Any computer you have with you may do this automatically once you have internet access (Windows and macOS do by default), any cellphone you have should usually do so automatically once you have a network connection (though if it’s not WiFi capable, you will probably need active cellular service), and any smartwatch you may have will often do so as well.

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As a general bit of advice, you should pay attention to the check-in time for the hotel. Most places only let you check in some time mid-afternoon at the earliest, irrespective of how long you’ve been traveling, and will often assume that if you have not shown up by midnight of the same day you’re a no-show. If you will be arriving significantly earlier than mid-afternoon, you have a couple of options:

• The hotel may offer an option for early check-in, either at a premium cost, or just as a free add-on. You must explicitly opt-in for such an offering if it exists, even if the hotel site lists it as an option, and you should be certain to get confirmation from the hotel that you will be checking in early.
• The hotel may offer luggage storage irrespective of check-in time. In this case, you can drop your luggage off at the hotel itself, and then go sightseeing or grab a bite to eat while you wait for check-in time. This can usually be requested on arrival, but may also have an associated extra cost.

In the absence of the above two options, or if your flight is getting in very early in the morning, book the hotel for June 1, and inform them prior to traveling that you will be arriving early on June 2. This is the costliest option, and you will need to get active confirmation from the hotel that you will be arriving far later than normal for a June 1 booking, but it should essentially always be an option.

The same approach is also preferred if you’re getting in very late in the day on June 2, book for June 2, but let the hotel know that you will be arriving very late in the day to make sure that you don’t get counted as a no-show.