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I am going to be traveling for a wedding soon and I will probably have to stay in a hotel in the local Jewish community over shabbat (they don't have capacity to host). I have a place to stay the other nights and I just need a room over shabbat. The problem is that by the time shabbat ends, checkout time is long passed. I don't need a room for Saturday night, but I can't think of any way to checkout of the hotel in time for that. Even if checking out is as simple as telling the front desk and doesn't require any melakha, I would still have to carry my stuff, which will include muktzeh down to the front desk for storage.

This must be a problem that has been solved before. How can one stay in a hotel for just shabbat but not the following night?

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    Sometimes if you ask the hotel in advance they will let you have late check out for a fee, depending how late Shabbat ends.
    – Double AA ♦
    Aug 17, 2017 at 19:52
  • This sounds more like a hotel policy question than a Halachic one.
    – Salmononius2
    Aug 17, 2017 at 19:54
  • @Salmononius2 some of both. I think the foundation of the question is based on getting some ideas of what one can do, in general.
    – DanF
    Aug 17, 2017 at 21:55

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This is a fairly common problem in U.S. hotels. I've found that most hotels are quite happy to accommodate your religious requests if you explain things in advance.

The easiest idea is to prepay your bill. This is actually quite simple in many hotels these days, as they automatically bill your credit card, anyway, and sometimes either slip a paper bill under your door in the morning or email your bill. So, paying is essentially done.

An electronic key is probably muktzah, anyway, and even if not, you couldn't use it to open your door. A manual key is not muktzah, so you can carry that around and submit it to the desk.

As for luggage - you could request before Shabbat that someone move your luggage for you and if you wish, leave a tip in advance or tip after Shabbat. Almost every hotel will store the luggage for you, somewhere.

Lastly, amazingly, you may be surprised that a number of hotels don't mind you staying in the room the rest of the day. If you happen to be in a suburb or somewhat remote area, and depending on the time of year, not that many people check in on weekends! Whatever it is, if no one is checking into your room Sat. night, the hotel usually does not mind your staying in the room the rest of the day. I know few people think of this, but when you reserve or check in, ask the manager if they have a room where they won't mind your staying in it the whole day at no charge.

In general, I think you can solve the main issues more easily than you think.

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  • I called the hotel and it seems they are able to have someone come take the luggage downstairs and store it until after shabbat.
    – Daniel
    Aug 18, 2017 at 5:56
  • Have a nice trip / stay. I don't need to know the location, but, if this is a hotel chain (such as Marriott), you may want to let us know. It's encouraging to know which hotels are most accommodating, and I think, it warrants a note of appreciation as well as a recommendation to future customers.
    – DanF
    Aug 18, 2017 at 13:25

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