On check-out days, you have many time-sensitive obligations. Firstly, you must pack up and leave the hotel before noon. Secondly, you must catch the plane, train or bus taking you back home. There may be other things in your schedule, but these are the most important. Nevertheless, it’s common for travellers to sleep into the afternoon and miss everything. So, what can you do to prevent this?

Pretty much every smartphone now comes with an alarm, but it’s too easy to silence. The snooze button, for instance, feels like the best invention in the world come morning, but it decreases your chances of getting out of bed. Soothing alarm noises (especially songs) tend to fade into the background and lull you back to sleep.

Thankfully, our body sends signals to arise when it’s aware of something coming up. You’ve likely experienced your biological clock already—before writing an exam, attending an interview, meeting a new client, etc. That said, travel can screw with the biological clock, so you shouldn’t rely on it.

But what alternative do you have? Although considered a remnant of an old hospitality tradition, you can still request a wake-up call.

Guaranteed Wake-Up Policies

Most hotels guarantee their wake-up calls nowadays. In fact, hotels like the IHG Crowne Plaza comp the room if they don’t get you up within five minutes of the requested time. Even if you sleep through the phone ringing, you can count on someone coming to bang on the door.

Travelodge Hotels follow a similar policy and use extreme measures to ensure they deliver. Earlier this year, the franchise launched a new service called the cold call. Essentially, if you fail to answer the wake-up call, staff enter the room and dump a jug of cold water on your head. Try sleeping through that.