Often I want to secure an acceptable hotel reservation within the 24 hour cancel period for (most) plane tickets. I always book refundable rates, so ti can be fine tuned later, when I have time. I typically then check prices at irregular intervals depending on the circumstances.

However, I would generally consider it an unethical practice to make Virtuoso etc. reservations and cancel them later, rebooking the same or another Virtuoso property on your own or through another channel. OTOH, if I notice a significant price drop, I would expect a Virtuoso agent to have no problem rebooking the reservation at the lower rate or with additional benefits.