why do hotels never seem to communicate late checkout?
 

You get a call (in some hotels) about the checkout time approaching, even though you had already asked for late checkout the day prior.
Or when you stop by the front desk to ask for new cardkeys the person has no idea you have late checkout.

Why do hotels never seem to be able to get late checkout right? Is there no way to record it on the computer, so that it pops up? Or is it hard to find in a reservation somehow?

I've never had this problem. (I've also never had a call about checkout time approaching - normal or late).

I don't recall ever being called about check out time approaching.

We typically stay at properties where we have some status so never have a problem getting late checkout either.

Never had an issue with late checkout but did have an issue where I extended a stay and they never told housekeeping so they were about to throw my stuff out. Another time where I didn't leave anything in the room except for a soda in the fridge and they just checked me out even though i was coming back late. Reserved it for 2 nights.

+1 re housekeeping never hearing from front desk when staying as elite wirh late check-out. Happens all the time

This happens to me a lot in Asia. Frustrating.

Why do people ask questions in their thread title which take just a single counter-example to prove wrong?

Well, obviously, the OP was exaggerating by using the word "never."

But indeed, I have encountered this problem numerous times as well. And, to Jeannietx, it's not necessarily "a problem getting late checkout." It seems to be, most often, a failure to communicate the late checkout to the relevant personnel, such as housekeeping. I have status with various hotel chains and most of them have messed this up at one time or another.

It isn't getting late checkout. It is having talked to some person day of, or night prior, getting an ok, and having the next person have on idea that you have late checkout.

Asian properties sometimes call, never had it happen in America.

I'd never say 'never', but...

-I have had many incidents of the front desk calls my room, close to standard checkout time, if I have not arranged for a late checkout. I assume this is a standard call.
-I have learned over the years, even being an 'elite' member of a couple of chains, that with an approved late checkout, that I need to re-verify the morning of. Notes do not seem to get passed along (or paid attention to), and more often than not, my key card needs to be reprogrammed to accommodate the late checkout.

I haven't yet had any issue with an approved late check-out not being properly communicated, at least none that I can recall. But I don't doubt that it happens sometimes - miscommunication does occur and I've experienced other minor issues at a hotel where something wasn't passed on to another person, wasn't noted in the system, or what have you. Usually it ends up resolved in the end, though it can be annoying.

I've never had a checkout call.
I've had one checkout "visit", a member of hotel staff came knocking to my door as I was packing... turned out I missed the check out time by almost two hours, as I was used to a later deadline and it didn't occur to me to confirm.

As with regards to late checkout, I've barely had issues, but usually I confirm at the desk the day before. Once, I did so, but the keycard stopped working anyway, luckily a staffmember was just passing by and let me in.
I always put on DND tags on the door when I don't want the housekeeping in, you never know when they will stop by, even if just to check the minibar.

I've had housekeeping accidentally leave a rooms instructions paper in my room at an IHG property and the computer system they use seems well set up to display late checkout request on the papers housekeepers get at the start of their shift. There are probably more problems if you ask for late check-out after housekeeping has already been given their instruction sheets for the day.

Some properties do not want to give you late checkout beforehand though, you have to ask day of. I wonder why.
But front desk and housekeeping do not communicate?

I'm a Marriott Platinum and probably have housekeeping come in 50% of the time when I have a scheduled late check out... I've experienced OP's problem, for sure.