Yes, those types, Jinjiang Inns, etc. as well as independent non-chains. Sorry, but my experience is even in cities such as Nanjing, Xi'an, Chengdu, etc. there is rarely ever a (broken) English speaker around. And particularly not on early morning or late night duty, or on weekends. I've even encountered this in more upscale Chinese hotels (those 4* types)--though I deal in Mandarin so English speaking presence or absence is not a consideration for me. But this is a sidebar conversation to what the OP was asking about, which is what are norms for dealing with deposits.