guaranteed arrival
A hotel reservation that is either prepaid or secured by a credit card, and will be honoured regardless of the guest's check-in time.
guaranteed arrival: a reservation the hotel must hold past normal hours
A guaranteed arrival is a hotel booking secured by advance payment or credit card authorization, meaning the room is held for the guest even if they arrive after the standard check-in time, typically after 6 p.m. or midnight depending on the property. The guest remains liable for the room charge regardless of whether they show up, check in late, or fail to arrive at all. This contrasts with a standard reservation, which the hotel may release and resell if the guest does not arrive by a set cutoff time.
The guarantee is created either through prepayment (full or partial) or by the hotel obtaining a valid credit card number at booking. Some properties use a deposit model, taking a single night's charge at reservation time. Others use an authorization hold, capturing funds only if the guest fails to arrive or cancels outside the cancellation window. The specific terms vary by hotel policy and rate type.
Guaranteed arrivals protect both parties: the hotel secures revenue for a committed room night; the business traveler or conference attendee gains certainty that late arrival due to flight delays or traffic will not result in a lost reservation. This is especially valuable in peak travel periods or in markets with high no-show rates. The term appears on confirmations and in booking systems as a status flag.
The no-show risk drives industry practice around guaranteed bookings. A guest with a guaranteed reservation who fails to arrive incurs a one-night charge unless they cancel within the stated window, often 24 hours before arrival. Hotels justify this policy because they cannot resell a held room after the expected arrival window passes. Group bookings and corporate contracts often include guaranteed arrival requirements with sliding cancellation penalties.
In logistics and freight forwarding, the term takes on a related but distinct meaning: a carrier offers guaranteed arrival as a service level guarantee, pledging delivery by a specific date for an additional fee. This is common in time-sensitive trucking and less common in slower ocean freight. The guarantee typically includes compensation for late delivery and often requires the shipper to book a dedicated or consolidated shipment rather than LTL (less than truckload) service.