Originally Posted by The Road Goes On Forever

The DND process is actually very, very simple. Let's say checkout is 11am and room 101 does not have a confirmed late checkout with hotel X. At 11am, DND on the door or not, 101's door is getting knocked on by the housekeeping manager/supervisor. If there is no answer, they'll call the desk to ask if 101 added on a late checkout or something that they're unaware of. Usually but not always, they'll ask the desk to give the room a call. If no one answers the phone, they're knocking again/going to open the door, period. Also fwiw, the desk is not authorizing anyone to do anything. It's actually quite the opposite. Housekeeping will tell the desk that they are not going to start cleaning any more rooms past, fill in the blank with a time, and that if 101 is still occupied or if they can't gain access until past that time, you're charging them for another night. Now with that said, there are a million tiny variations based on hotel size, size of the staff/how present management is but overall, that's how it is. There's no mystical process nor are there lots of precautions. It's very cut and dry.