Must-read for DIY travelers: 4 common questions about Japanese hotel stays answered by hotel staff

▲ Hotel illustration. (Photo / Reporter Yu rú)

Author /s2628034

I work at a hotel across from the main train station in a Japanese city popular with Taiwanese visitors. At work, I meet many guests from Taiwan, and when they have questions, the front desk often pulls me in to translate.

The following answers are given from the perspective of medium to large hotels. Those traveling with family or on a parent-visiting trip may find this helpful. Here are some common issues foreigners often encounter:

1. I booked a non-smoking room but was assigned a smoking room
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This issue almost always happens because “the guest booked through a booking website (like Agoda)”. These websites often fail to pass on your requests to us. So after booking through a website, we recommend calling or emailing the hotel to confirm, so you don’t walk into a smoky room and ruin your trip.

If you only bring it up at check-in, arriving early might still allow us to change your room. But if you arrive late, the front desk can only

Few check-ins that day → we can switch your room right away
Almost fully booked that day → Sorry, really can’t change it

For extended stays, if there’s a vacancy the next day, we’ll usually switch it for you, but during peak seasons it depends on luck.

2. Do I need to leave my key with the front desk? (Excluding room key)
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This applies more to larger hotels XD. We often get guests who “split up, one group takes the key, and the other can’t get in”.

My heartfelt advice for guests who split up: please leave your key at the front desk!! Just give your room number and name when you come back, and you can retrieve it. If you’re really uncomfortable leaving it and you can’t get in, just tell us nicely, and once we confirm your name, we’ll use a master key to let you in.

As for whether you can get a second key, it depends on the hotel’s policy. Some allow it, but our hotel gives only one key per room no matter how many people. Once, a guest yelled at the front desk over this for a long time—we hope you’ll understand if this happens to you Q_Q

3. Can I leave my luggage before check-in or after check-out?
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Japanese people ask this a lot too, and the answer is yes. Basically, any luggage you can pick up the same day can be stored.

But there are exceptions—see the scenarios below:

(1) If I’m leaving today to travel to a nearby city for two days, and will come back to stay at this hotel the day after tomorrow, can I leave my luggage here?

A: Most medium to large hotels will say [yes], though a few may not due to “peak season,” “no available space,” or “just a flat-out rule against it.”

Each hotel has different rules, but I can confirm that most major hotels in the Osaka series allow it.If you want peace of mind, just ask at check-in—you might make your trip a little smoother.

(2) If I’m leaving today to visit a nearby city for two days but will return to the same city the next day. I won’t stay at your hotel again, but can I still leave my luggage here?

A: No, no other answer—just no. We’re afraid everyone will think “after checking out, you can leave your bags here for days, why not use the free storage?” If that happened, I’d probably cry ←

We get asked question (2) every single day, but the answer is still no Q_Q

4. Is it troublesome for the hotel to hold items for me? Will too much stuff end up on the news (kidding)?

No one’s ever asked this, but I think a certain news story made a lot of people wary of hotels holding packages (?). In truth, medium to large hotels or business hotels all have SOPs for holding items for guests.

It’s literally our job. If the hotel website says they can hold items, then it’s fine. Unless there’s a limit on quantity, we’ll take even 100 packages from one person.

“It doesn’t cause us trouble—it’s part of our job.” That’s one of the things I learned after working with Japanese people for half a year. But one thing I want to tell you: “Please put the same name as the one used for booking when filling out the recipient name for the package” okay QAQ

Because at every hotel, one step in the SOP is always confirming which guest the package belongs to, so we can hand it over as soon as the guest arrives. Not being able to find the name on the package—that’s what really gives us trouble……

These small tips are hoped to make your trip more relaxing and enjoyable.

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