Timing is everything: What to do when your hotel check-out and flight times don’t exactly line up.

On one of my recent trips, my husband & I were in Nashville and our hotel check out time was noon & our flight wasn’t until 9pm so we had a lottttt of time to kill. We were super lucky that we had friends in the area & since this was a family trip we saved Sunday just for them. We could store our luggage in their car as we explored & went to a fancy brunch, then we just hung out at their house in our comfy clothes chatting & watching House Husbands until it was time to head for the airport. It was honestly the best, but having welcoming friends may not always be an option.

On a trip to Denver we also had a late flight/early check out situation but no friends to kill time with. We planned to sleep in a little and check out at the latest possible minute. The Airbnb we were staying in was in an apartment complex with an office and they let us store our bags while we went to brunch in the area. It was a Sunday & they weren’t open all day, but not having to lug our bags for those few hours was very helpful. After that we decided to catch a movie, which is not my usual thing to do in a new city but we needed to kill time & you can’t beat the fancy theaters with the nice seats these days. It was a great way to be in some AC for a few hours without getting too worn out. In Denver they have a really nice Union Station that has a direct train to the airport which is not only convenient for airport transit but it is actually a really nice space. We were able to eat & drink there while charging our electronics & people watch in a really comfortable space. 

Tips:

• Check out at the very latest possible
• Check to see if your lodging will hold your bags after check out
• See if the city has a food hall or ‘union station’ type place where you can eat, drink, charge your phones, people watch, relax comfortably
• Catch a movie at a fancy comfy seat theater