The way this typically works, when you arrive at a hotel in the early hours of the morning after an overnight flight, is you pitch up at the hotel, wait in line at reception to check in, only to be told "I'm sorry but check in time is 3pm and your room isn't available yet". You are then faced withe choice of either finding a comfortable chair or settee in the hotel lobby to crash on for a few hours, or go off exploring to pass the time and hope that tiredness doesn't overwhelm you. This was not however our experience (on this occasion I may add, we have previously lived out that scenario I've just painted above).