It seems as though there are pictures and videos on Twitter of people standing in line waiting to check into a Las Vegas hotel every week. This used to happen every now and again prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today it seems as though standing in line to check into a Las Vegas hotel is a regular occurrence. One reason for this is simply not enough people working. Another is faulty technology that is supposed to streamline the process so casino corporations can get by with fewer employees.
Many of these problems are at casinos from the same company. However, this issue isn’t exclusive to one company. I’ve seen these long lines to check into a hotel up and down the Vegas Strip.
You’ve probably seen the recent issue one night/morning at Caesars Palace.
Waiting in line to check in at Caesar’s Palace. I first tried checking in at 7 pm. The line was approximately 3-4 hours long. I left (and hopped around town with luggage) and came back at 1.40 am. It’s 2.50 am. Still waiting. pic.twitter.com/jk3Vl8Cxhs
— Benjamin Lee (@blankcheckben) July 11, 2023
Evidently, there was a room-inventory issue the night of the above incident. Unfortunately, this is no longer a rare occurrence. If you do a search on any social media you’ll find too many pictures and videos with people complaining about waiting in line to check into various hotels.
I’ve had some kind of upper-tier status with casino loyalty programs for years and haven’t faced this problem myself. I also use the invited guest line if I have an offer. This is usually as quick as the VIP line.
There’s a checkin line for rewards club members of any tier. If you hate standing in line and are not a member when you check in you might want to send someone to sign up for an account. There were 2 people here and 50+ in the regular line when I left the mirage. pic.twitter.com/Oyrk2P7Z0T
— Marc (@MeltzVegas) December 26, 2022
For what it’s worth, you don’t even have to be an upper-tier rewards program member to get a short line. The Mirage has a special line for any rewards program member. The day I visited last year was shortly after Hard Rock took over and before many visitors were members of the new program.
The larger casino chains have kiosks and mobile check-in to avoid these long lines. Since I don’t deal with this I asked why people spend so much time standing around waiting for a room.
Looking for Info
I was looking for information that didn’t include people requesting a room upgrade, specific view, or attempting the $20 trick. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many answers that weren’t sarcastic and directly answered the question.
Reasons People Stand In Long Lines To Check In
Believe it or not, there are reasons for some people to wait in line for hours in order to check into a hotel. One thing I heard often is that there seem to be a lot of technological issues when guests try to check in using a kiosk.
The kiosks are frequently broken at some of these hotels. Similarly, mobile check-in doesn’t always work. This appears to be primarily an issue at Caesars properties.
Additionally, mobile check-in and kiosks sometimes send guests to the check-in desk where they’re forced to stand in line.
The other standout answer is that even when the kiosks are working, they don’t accept foreign identification. I never considered this but was sent this response numerous times.
Obviously, there are seniors that don’t know how to use kiosks or mobile devices to check into a hotel. My parents would fall into this category. I imagine they aren’t alone.
Similarly, there are some who don’t like using phones or kiosks for any purchases due to privacy concerns. My parents would probably fall into this category too. They still use a flip phone so mobile check-in would be impossible.
It appears as though some people have an issue with kiosks using their government ID name versus the name they commonly use. For example, a person may use the name Mike on a credit card reservation but have an ID with the name Michael and the kiosk technology doesn’t understand.
Evidently, Caesars’ kiosks don’t remove resort fees for Diamond members. This would be an issue for those who check in when Diamond check-in is closed. I’m not sure why someone wouldn’t check in and deal with this the next day but it’s interesting enough for me to share.
I’m sure there are more reasons for standing in line. Feel free to share some that don’t involve room choice or upgrades in the comment section below.
