So, I've landed in a sort-of sideways version of this position this year: I did some points reservations for friends (I was quite explicit with the CSR on the phone that I wasn't going to be staying...one was a "patch" of a week while a friend had their furniture moved between apartments and their SO was stuck in limbo as a result). The nights still posted (it was less trouble for the CSR to put me first on the reservation and them second). Mind you, this was a points reservation, not a paid reservation, so the dynamics are undoubtedly a little different.

While there's undoubtedly some cracking-down by properties looking not to have to pay for the points for your reservation, I feel like there are a lot of other properties that are still going to "phone it in" (especially given thin staffing).