At check-in and checkout, an AI receptionist answers the calls your front desk has the least time for. It confirms reservations, notes late arrivals, answers early check-in and late checkout requests by your rules, gives directions and arranges luggage storage or a transfer. It reads the reservation from your property management system (PMS) before it answers, and it sends billing disputes and refunds to your staff as a ticket.
For everything else the agent does, see our AI voice receptionist for hotels.
Quick answers
Which AI phone tools help with guests calling about check-in?
Look for an AI receptionist that reads the reservation from your PMS, so it can confirm the booking, note a late arrival and answer early check-in requests by your rules. Osvi's AI voice receptionist does this on every call and works with all major PMSs, including Cloudbeds, Apaleo, Mews and Oracle OPERA.
How can reception teams handle departure calls with AI?
Let the agent answer the routine departure calls: checkout time, late checkout, luggage storage and airport transfers. It applies your late checkout rules, opens a request for housekeeping or the bell desk and sends invoice and billing questions to the front desk as a ticket.
What does an AI receptionist handle at check-in and checkout?
It answers calls about arrival times, directions, parking, early check-in, late checkout, luggage and transfers, and it notes each request on the reservation. Billing disputes, refunds and anything that needs someone on site go to your staff with the room, the booking and a summary of the call.
What guests call about around arrival and departure
In HelloShift's June 2026 analysis of AI-answered hotel calls, about 17% of callers were servicing an existing reservation, with confirmations, late arrivals and early check-in. Another 19% were in-stay requests such as housekeeping and room access, 4% asked for directions or transportation and 4% were about billing or payments.
Most of those calls come at the same hours as the queue at the desk. Checkout runs through the morning, arrivals build through the afternoon, and the person at the desk can serve the guest standing there or the guest on the phone.
Check-in calls
| The guest asks | What the agent does | Who sees it next |
|---|---|---|
| "What time is check-in?" | Answers from your property information | Nobody |
| "Can you confirm my booking for Friday?" | Looks up the reservation and confirms the dates and room | Nobody |
| "Our flight lands at midnight. Can we still check in?" | Confirms late check-in and notes the arrival time on the reservation | Night staff, on the arrivals list |
| "Can we check in at 11am?" | Applies your early check-in rule and quotes the fee if there is one | Housekeeping, if the room needs to be ready early |
| "Where do I park?" or "How do I get there from the airport?" | Gives directions and parking details, and sends them on WhatsApp | Nobody |
| "I need a crib and a ground-floor room." | Adds the request to the reservation | Front desk, before arrival |
| "I can't find the lockbox code." | Alerts the person on duty with the room and the caller's number | Duty manager, right away |
The agent can also shorten the line at the front desk before guests arrive. With Osvi, guests check in online from a WhatsApp message, and the agent writes their ID and arrival time to the PMS, so the desk hands over a key instead of filling in a form.
Checkout calls
| The guest asks | What the agent does | Who sees it next |
|---|---|---|
| "What time is checkout?" | Answers from your property information | Nobody |
| "Can we stay until 2pm?" | Checks your late checkout rule, quotes the fee and confirms | Housekeeping, with the new time |
| "Can you hold our bags until this evening?" | Confirms luggage storage and notes it on the reservation | Bell desk or front desk |
| "We need a taxi to the airport at 6am." | Books the transfer by your process or opens a request | Front desk or concierge |
| "Can you email me a copy of my invoice?" | Takes the details and opens a ticket | Front office |
| "I've been charged twice." | Takes the details and opens a ticket | Front office manager |
| "I left my charger in the room." | Records the item, room and contact number | Housekeeping |
What goes to your staff
The agent passes these to your staff. It opens a ticket or alerts the person on duty, and tells the guest who will follow up and when:
- Refunds, double charges and anything that changes money already paid.
- Early check-in or late checkout outside the rules you gave it.
- Lockouts, key problems and anything that needs someone on site.
- Complaints about the room or the stay.
- A guest who asks for a person.
Each ticket carries the guest's name, the room, the reservation and a summary of the call, so your staff don't call the guest back to ask what they wanted.
Rules to write first
- Check-in and checkout times, and how they differ by room type or day of the week.
- Early check-in. State the earliest time, the fee, and whether it depends on the room being free.
- Late checkout. State the latest time, the fee, and the days it isn't offered, such as sold-out weekends.
- Late arrivals. State how a guest gets in after the desk closes and who is on call.
- Luggage and transfers. State where bags go, how long you hold them and who books a taxi or shuttle.
- Billing. Decide which questions the agent may answer, such as the deposit policy, and which always go to the front office.
Your team keeps these current in the Osvi dashboard. When the checkout time changes for a holiday weekend, staff update it there and the agent uses the new time on the next call.
What to measure
- Calls answered during the check-in and checkout rush, by hour.
- Requests the agent closed without staff, such as late checkout confirmed by rule.
- Tickets opened, and how long the front office takes to close them.
- Late checkout and early check-in revenue, if you charge for either.
- Reviews that mention arrival or departure.
Osvi's voice agent starts at $0.053 a minute, and you can buy it on its own. Online check-in and PMS integration come with the Premium hotel plan, from $309 a month for up to 5 rooms, billed yearly.
Resorts get more of these calls than most properties, with transfers, late flights and villas to find in the dark. See how the receptionist handles them on our page for resorts, or read how resorts handle after-hours calls.