At reception, every arrival takes time
A guest arrives. Reception has to check their identity, find the booking, complete the guest form, get a signature, take payment or a guarantee, explain the opening hours and hand over the key. One by one, these steps are quick. Added together, and multiplied by the late-afternoon arrivals, they create a queue.
Meanwhile, the guest who has just finished a long journey waits on their feet, and the receptionist has no time left for the welcome itself: the smile, the advice, the attention that make the difference.
What is online check-in?
Online check-in, also called pre-arrival check-in or web check-in, means the guest prepares their arrival themselves, from their phone, before they come. A few days before the stay, they receive a link to a simple form. They fill in their details, give their arrival time, add any special requests and accept the terms of the stay.
On the day, reception finds a file that is already complete. Arrival comes down to a greeting, a quick check and the key.
What the guest can prepare before arriving
- Their contact details and those of the people travelling with them.
- Their expected arrival time, so the room is ready at the right moment.
- Special requests: cot, quiet floor, allergy, special occasion.
- Services to book: breakfast, parking space, restaurant table, treatment.
- Formalities: acceptance of the terms and, where local rules require it, the registration details for foreign guests.
One rule shapes the form: only ask for what is needed. A short form gets completed; a long one gets abandoned. Data protection rules (GDPR) also require you to collect no more data than necessary.
What reception gains
- Shorter arrivals and a queue that clears at peak times.
- Rooms ready at the right moment, thanks to arrival times known in advance.
- Special requests handled ahead of time rather than discovered at the desk.
- Time given back to welcoming, advising and looking after the guests who need it most.
Online check-in does not replace reception. It takes data entry off its hands so it can focus on what no form can do: welcome people.
Our solution: arrival prepared from the guest’s phone
What Clarendis puts in place: 48 hours before arrival, the guest receives a form to complete from their phone. Their answers go straight into the hotel management system, into their booking file. Reception has nothing to re-key: when the guest walks in, everything is ready.
The form follows your brand and your terms, is available in your guests’ languages and adapts to the way you work. Guests who prefer to check in at the desk do so as before: nobody is forced to use their phone.
Putting these tools in place in your hotel
Take action
- Hotel PMS and management system
- Free digital welcome book
- Concierge applications
- Our hospitality solutions
- AI systems guests accept
- Premium Hospitality
To review the police form and tourist tax rules: the free training “Welcoming guests by the rules”
Frequently asked questions
How does hotel online check-in work?
Before the stay, the guest receives a link to a form. They enter their details, arrival time and requests. The answers land in the booking file, and reception only has to welcome them.
When should the check-in form be sent?
We send it 48 hours before arrival: early enough for the guest to have time to complete it, late enough for the information to be current.
Do guests have to check in online?
No. Online check-in is offered, never imposed. Reception keeps welcoming guests who prefer the usual way.
What information can a hotel ask for?
Only what is needed for the stay and for the hotel’s legal obligations. Data protection rules require you to limit what you collect and to tell guests how it is used.
Where does the information entered by the guest go?
Into our hotel management system, straight into the booking file. Reception has nothing to re-key.
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