So my situation is that I saw a room available for one of the Best Westerns on the solar eclipse path. I've kept checking more or less daily for open rooms after it was always booked out, hoping to catch one.

But when I looked, it was only available for booking August 19-21, NOT August 20-21. Weird, I know. Compound it, I only have enough points available for one night, not two. So out of fear the room would become unavailable I booked it with a flexible booking for two nights. Now, my options in terms of priority are as follows:

1. Convert the two-night cash stay into a one-night points stay (only 20-21)
2. After I collect more points to cover two nights, convert the two-night cash stay into a 2-night points stay.

Would those things be possible without cancelling, e.g. by simply phoning in? The alternative would be to cancel and then hope the room re-appears and I'm around to snag it again as a points rate.

Now the real question is, why was the room only bookable as a 2-night stay and not as a 1-night? The hotel definitely allows 1-night stays on other dates. Should I have just dialed in and said that I can see the room available for a 2-night stay but I'd only like to book it for one night?

Paying cash isn't part of the equation because unsurprisingly, eclipse nights are crazy expensive.