CY SEA Airport. A teen with a big soda was checking us in and she was the only one there when we found out that we couldn't switch the noisy heat off.

I have also seen some "stand-in" check in people in various FFI/TPS/RI etc. at all ages who have very little knowledge about the brand and no authority.

Well there you go...a CY by SEA...I'd have pretty low expectations at that one, but then again I'd never stay there. Guessing it would be a different experience at the Westin in Bellevue. As 99% of Marriotts are franchises we all know it's a YMMV situation. That said, you shouldn't be ageist against teens, I know a lot of them that have more sense than many adults and they are probably there because the franchisee needs to keep costs down to offer the low rate that drove you to book there in the first place, so the whole thing is very circular.

I'm not being ageist against teens. If anything I'm more worry about her safety more than anything else as she was the only one there for that night (it's the US so she might be able to use a gun so maybe not that unsafe). I have 3 teens myself and there are plenty of teens who are working in supermarkets etc. here in Denmark because they get a lower paid for being under 18. Some of my kids' classmates are working in supermarkets etc., and they are there only for the $ and some of them are not certainly the employer of the week/month/year. It depends on the teen - the one at the front desk was the one who knows nothing - she didn't even have the authority to move us to another room and she was too afraid to call her manager.

We find the lower end Marriotts are adequate for our needs and we don't see the justification to pay 3x to stay in a Westin plus parking.

Most hotels are trying hard to keep their costs down - even the higher end hotels.

a lot of hotels have college students as night "auditors"

That's not how guns work.

I think I may have 30+ nights at the CY SeaTac and while the staff are usually pleasant to me... they aren't empowered to make any decisions nor are they able to think critically in order to resolve any issues that may arise during the stay unfortunately.

IME off hours check in always result in inferior elite benefit.
Only exception was when hotel preupgrade me prior check in date.

Another issue was Your24. If the check in was handled by those night shift staff then most likely they don't even recognise the benefit and either demand I book for extra night or refuse the check in altogether.
(This make me feel Your 24 feature is an useless benefit due to the immense degree of luck to make it happen smoothly)

About OLCI, never have issue asking for breakfast benefit instead of points. but that doesn't mean every hotel will do the same.
Need to be more careful and use OLCI for hotels that you know they provide great elite recognition.

Despite pre-approval? Or are you requesting it on the spot?

How does a guest know whether the front desk agent is a teen or not? Do you inspect their ID or ask them (and hope they tell the truth) how old they are? I wouldn't expect that doing so would result in better customer service or elite recognition. Whether the employee is young or old shouldn't matter, just how well they do the job.

When I stayed it wasn't a CY - it was in the process of conversion to a CY. It was December 2023.

I would guess from nacho description it was the 'large soda' that gave it away...lol...I agree with you, and if it's an issue of not being empowered by management it probably doesn't matter if they are 18 or 58.

No it's not. As I said I have teens myself and her voice and her voicce and behaviour seems like a teen (reminded us of our own teen girl). I have seen a 30+ FDC has a large soda too but they are usually a bit more discrete about that - not putting it in a place where it is clearly visible by guests (behind the counter or something).

I don't think there was any night auditor at the hotel that evening as she said she was the only one.

Our impression was that that girl was working as a stand-in for someone that she can't even move us to another room because we only stayed for one night. This was the first and only time we encountered this. We have had rooms with issues and were able to move room even for 1 night.

Folks, just a reminder the OP is asking "Do you get the same elite benefits recognition when checking in late?"

With pre approval. You can't request Your24 on the spot.

OP has also cross-posted this in multiple forums, also hasn�t come back to engage in either