I got in on an earlier flight, and arrived at 6 it was a pain in the ass… I literally had to walk around for like 4 hours until things opened, and I was so tired and weary all day.
Normal checkout is around noon, after which housekeeping will do their magic. While they generally don’t need a whole lot of time per room, they usually have A LOT of rooms to cover, so this can take a few hours. So checkin at 6 is reasonable.
However, there is some leeway there. Returning customers can usually request a later check out. I do this often so I don’t have to haul my luggage around at the final day of my business trips. On top of that, I usually phone ahead and ask if it’s possible to check in early if I arrive relatively early in the day. Otherwise I’ll just take my luggage with me to work and check in later.
This depends on whether they have available rooms. If they’re fully booked, there won’t be any rooms ready until housekeeping has done their thing. In the same way, late checkout can mean that the room won’t be cleaned until next day, unless housekeeping can schedule it for last on their round, so they would need an extra room for that.
It basically boils down to the fact that if they have the capacity, then asking nicely will usually get you a long way.
As many mentioned in the thread, early check-in is an alternative, when not possible, most hotels I’ve visited offer the service to store the luggage for free. I leave the luggage at the hotel and go for a walk, or stay at the lobby.
This frequently happens to me when going to Europe from the US. And that’s an overnight flight with a 5+ hour time change to boot,so I am very jetlagged upon arrival. Very often, if there is a room available that was unsold the night before they can accommodate you. But if not, the hotel can hold your bags while you go somewhere to kill a few hours.
If you travel enough to get loyalty program status with one hotel chain, that can help too. Sometimes those higher tiers come with “guaranteed” early checkin. I’m sure that if they are totally sold out you won’t get the early room, but it’s possible someone else had to leave for an early flight and if you have the status they will take care of that room quickly for you.