Gen Z are cancelling hotel check outs, labelling it an 'old people's' act

Herald Sun

13-06-2025

Along with ankle socks, phone calls, skinny jeans, dancing with your hands above your head, and wearing a black top with blue jeans, Gen Z have cancelled checking out of a hotel.
Lining up is an antiquated act, and moving forward we should be able to waltz out without saying a word.
That's the logic. Why wait just to hand a card over? That's valuable doom-scrolling time.
After a few days of hotel check-out rabbit-holing, allow me to explain what's going on (and the new rules of checking out of a hotel). The latest Millennial travel trend Gen Z has deemed uncool
The hotel check out theory made waves on on Sunday, with popular Instagram account @iamthirtaf posting: "Boomers will literally wait in a hotel line to tell someone at the front desk that they are 'checking out' instead of just going home."
The post cleaved people into two camps, with some agreeing it's time to phase out as much human interaction as possible from hotels, and others saying checking out is a habit worth maintaining.
Over on Reddit, a thread on this same topic popped up on Monday, discussing whether checking out was actually "wasting the clerk's time" or indeed saving them time.
Opinion was split, with some people saying it's polite to let staff know you're checking out, as they need to clean your room, and others saying it's unnecessary.
"I always check out at the desk," one said. "It lets them know that I have left and they can clean the room."
Another said: "If you can check out through an app, I'll do that. If there is no line, I'll let the clerk know. But I'm not going to stand in a line to let anyone know though."
In another thread, a hotel worker ranted about how it slows housekeeping down if you don't check out, furious that "out of around 50 check outs each morning, I see maybe 15-20 of them at the front desk."
She adds: "When did it become the norm to just walk out of the hotel without telling any of the front desk staff that you are leaving?" So, what's the right answer?
Simone Mitchell, Escape's Associate Digital Editor, hopes the front desk check out eventually becomes a thing of the past (though she still does follow a hotel's check-out policy).
"Oh my god yes," she said. "Flee the scene. Any opportunity to minimise small-talk with strangers, I am all for. I don't want to have to wax lyrical about how much I enjoyed my stay when I have an impatient Uber driver waiting."
"And increasingly - especially in south east Asia - they put the hard word on you to give a five-star rating on Google/Trip Advisor as soon as you concur that you had an enjoyable stay. Nope, a key drop box at reception is my hotel love language."
Escape Social Media Editor Edwina Hart is another fan of the Irish exit: "I'm all for a quick, fuss-free check out," she says. "Especially if it saves time when you're rushing to catch a flight!"
Escape Editorial Production Manager Alessandra Allegretti, however, says "it's basic manners to say bye and thank the the staff before going."
John Hannan, Escape Digital Director, says it's rude to leave without saying anything and that - for him - checking out of a nice hotel is all part of the experience (though he concedes that when travelling for business he's be happy with a drop off box).
Rowena Ryan, Escape Digital Editor says talking to hotel staff is how you can score upgrades, get local advice and see a friendly face - all things which add up to making your experience feel like a holiday.
As for me, a 30-year-old still confused about whether I identify more as a Millennial or Gen Z, I think checking out is an old people act that I would happily see abolished. So long as I don't have to download an app instead (no memory on my phone). The verdict
Is it time for checking out of a hotel to go the way of MySpace, Jason Derulo, Good Charlotte, Green Day and Fedoras? For the time being - the polite thing to do is to follow your hotel's policy.
Some hotels will have drop boxes for your room key. Others won't. So be guided by the place you're in. What's the future of checking out?
Some hotels have a digital self service option (which allows you to check out on your own) and a growing number of guests are using it (currently around 30 per cent of guests at A by Adina Sydney are using this system).
TFE Hotels' Global Marketing Officer, Katia Giurtalis explains that they are also testing people's check out preferences at a micro hotel lab called MM:NT, in Berlin. "Our theory is that there's a cohort of Gen Z and Millennial travellers in particular that are open to new ways of interacting with hotel services," she told Escape.
"We're using the lab to explore various hotel interfaces to see how we can adapt to changing behaviours and demands."
In other words: watch this space. Checking out is still a thing - for now. But not checking out is becoming more of a thing.
So - like self service check outs at supermarkets there's probably going to be both options moving forward. Put that in your ankle socks and scratch it. And now excuse me while I go cry into the nearest IPA.
Originally published as Apparently, checking out of a hotel is an 'old people's' act