Yeppers. The credit card "guarantee" is a guarantee from the guest to the hotel that the guest will pay even if he/she fails to check in. Some hotels take a chance by reselling the room when someone with a reservation has not arrived by a certain time. Worst case is that somebody gets walked. Best case is that the hotel gets paid twice for the same room.

Heck, I've even been walked by a Hampton at an I-95 interchange, to a Choice property next door owned by the same franchisee corporation. I was late arriving, and they had re-sold my room.

Hmm, I wonder if this discussion would point to a benefit to the guest from Hilton's on-line check in?