I've been able to work it out several times but w Hyatt. I asked them to provide a pre authorization form and I paid in middle of stay. One hotel just typed in credit card info from a photo...another had me fill out an online link and it worked.

But sometimes I have to go to hotel manager and push back against front desk staff who don't know how to do this or are not empowered to

Many might have a pre authorization paper that you can fill out and "fax" to them. A good hotel can figure this out for you