I tried to book a room for Dec 30, 2011 exactly 550 days in advance (starwood does not allow booking more than that) to the exact minute. I was on the phone with the representative at 12:01am. I'm told that the hotel is "sold out." A few hrs before I was told that I could not book the room because it was more than 550 days in advance.

3 different representatives were unable to explain to me why this was the case.

Even though it's a popular night, I find it impossible to believe that the entire hotel went from full availability to 0 availability in 2 minutes, 1 1/2 years in advance.

Are popular nights presold to wholesale retailers (aka expedia, etc)? Is that the explanation? Or is there another reason that I'm not seeing?

Thanks