Change in Deposit/Cancellation policy well after reservation made?
Is it standard practice for a property to require and charge a deposit on a refundable/non-prepaid rate months after the reservation was made and weeks prior to the stay?
To give some background, I made a reservation over two months ago for a stay at the end of October. When I did so, the cancellation policy was, and still is in my reservation details on hyatt.com:
Cancellation Policy: Cancel 3pm Cst 72 Hours Prior To Arrival
Guarantee Policy: Credit Card Guarantee Required
The same is shown if I click on "More Rate Information." There is no mention of a deposit.
Which is why I was quite surprised to see in a routine check of credit card activity that I'd been charged (not just a hold, but a charge) earlier this week the amount of a one night stay, inclusive of taxes. I thought for a moment I'd reserved the wrong dates and had been charged as a no-show, but in fact the dates of my reservation are correct and my check in date is not for another two weeks or so.
This would make sense if the rate details included these terms I've seen on other rates:
Cancellation Policy: One Night Deposit Req at Booking/Non-Refundable
Deposit Policy: Deposit Required By <date>. Deposit By Credit Card Required. 1 Night(S) Deposit Will Be Charged To Credit Card.
It seems the charge should've been made at the time of reservation if the rate had required it, or else at the time the reservation could no longer be cancelled without penalty, 72hrs for this reservation. Neither of which is the ~14 days at which the charge has been made in this case. Has anyone else encountered this?