More than half of travellers arrive early or leave late. MakeMyTrip wants to solve for that at extra charges

If you are travelling to destinations such as Thailand or Vietnam, arriving early often means waiting until 2 pm to access your room. In Japan and other countries, the wait can be even longer, with many hotels opening check-in only between 3 pm and 4 pm. After a long-haul or overnight flight, those extra hours can turn into a tiresome inconvenience. 

MakeMyTrip is planning to solve for one of travel’s most persistent frustrations, and believes it could become a key booking decision for customers.

The online travel platform has today launched a confirmed early check-in and late check-out feature across more than 10,000 hotels, villas and homestays in India and over 1,000 properties across 20 international destinations, allowing travellers to secure room access outside standard hotel timings at the time of booking. The feature can be availed by paying extra charges that vary depending on the property and the time duration. 

While the option to call the property directly ahead of your arrival for an early check-in and late check-out, sometimes at no cost, still exists; however, it is entirely dependent on the hotel's discretion. 

As a result, the move comes as travel patterns increasingly clash with conventional hotel check-in and check-out schedules. According to MakeMyTrip’s booking data across flights, trains and buses, 53% of domestic travellers arrive at their destination before 9 am, while 54% depart after 3 pm. Yet most hotels continue to follow fixed check-in and check-out windows.

The company said travellers can now book early check-in or late check-out slots in three, six or nine-hour windows in advance, replacing what has traditionally been an informal request made at the hotel reception. The feature has already shown strong consumer interest. Early check-in accounts for 77% of all slot bookings made so far, while late check-out contributes the remaining 23%.

“Price and location remain important, but flexibility and confirmed access are also becoming an active part of the booking decision,” said Abhishek Logani, chief business officer, hotels, at MakeMyTrip.

How it could help MakeMyTrip is through paid early check-in and late check-out bookings generating incremental commission revenue, lift gross booking value, and deepen customer engagement by making the platform a more integral part of the travel experience i.e. improving consumer stickiness.

How does this work?

MakeMyTrip said the service is designed to benefit both travellers and hotel partners. Customers gain certainty around room availability outside standard timings, while hotels can monetise inventory that would otherwise remain unused.

The company automatically recommends relevant early check-in or late check-out windows during the booking process based on a traveller’s flight, train or bus schedule. The challenge is particularly visible for travellers arriving on overnight buses, early morning trains or red-eye flights. While many reach their destination before hotels are ready to hand over rooms, others with late-night return flights are often required to vacate by noon.

The mismatch is not limited to India. MakeMyTrip noted that on popular international routes such as Singapore, Bangkok, Hanoi and New York, more than half of travellers land before 8 am, while hotel check-in times in most markets remain fixed between 2 pm and 3 pm. In many cases, travellers end up paying for an additional night simply to guarantee a few extra hours of room access.

“Partners have recognised this shift. Early-morning and late-evening inventory that previously went unmonetised now has a structured, revenue-generating use,” said Logani, adding that the company plans to expand the feature to more properties and international markets in the coming quarters.

Ankit Khanna, chief product officer for hotels, growth and emerging businesses at MakeMyTrip, said the initiative is aimed at reducing uncertainty during travel planning.

“Early check-in and late check-out are one of the most persistent uncertainties, and arguably the hardest to crack. Making it a guaranteed slot turns a problem travellers had learned to live with into one they can settle before they leave home,” he said.

The feature is currently available across domestic properties as well as hotels in destinations including Dubai, Bangkok, Pattaya, Bali and Kuala Lumpur, marking one of the largest deployments of such a service by an online travel agency in India.

Over time, MMT expects to keep expanding this to more properties across India and to various global destinations.