Flights depart and land at all hours, and no matter how much you try to plan a perfect trip, some things are out of your control. If your flight lands early in the morning or departs late at night, you might wonder what to do with your bags outside hotel check-in and checkout hours.

Can you leave your luggage at your hotel before you check in? Will a hotel hold your bags after checkout?

We have some luggage storage solutions for you if you'd prefer to avoid paying for an extra night before or after your trip to store your bags.

Will hotels hold your luggage?

Yes, if you are a guest, most hotels will hold your luggage for free at the bell desk, in a designated storage room or a locker. Usually, a bellhop will attach a sticker or a tag to your luggage, write down the number of pieces you’re leaving and hand over a receipt so that your bags can be identified when you return to pick them up.

It’s not a perfect system, but it does work for the purposes of matching the bags to their owner, especially after a shift change at the bell desk.

In some cases, hotel luggage storage isn’t complimentary for guests, and you might be limited in terms of what type or size of luggage you can leave behind. For example, explosives, poison and flammable liquids can’t be stored for safety reasons. In either case, it's best to read a hotel’s policy before you make a reservation.

Can hotels hold your luggage if you’re not a guest?

Let’s say you have a reservation at the hotel, but check-in isn’t until 3 p.m. — and it’s 9 a.m. Because you’re not an official guest yet, the hotel’s policy may not honor your request to store your luggage for a few hours before check-in.

However, it is possible to make an unofficial arrangement with a bellhop and make sure to leave a tip. Having said that, if your bags go missing or get damaged, the hotel won’t be liable for them.