Yes, I would say that is the normal situation, but just be aware that some hotels have much longer cancellation periods, such as 3 days or even one week before the arrival date. You need to check the cancellation conditions and periods. However, I think I saw a thread on Flyertalk not so long ago where the Award booking was non cancellable and points non refundable but can't find it at present.

Edit: Managed to find the thread which discusses non refundable Award bookings:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...ow-common.html