I haven't questioned this a whole lot before, but I guess I never tried to book at a property that had such a different policy. 99.9% of the time that I travel the hotel's cancellation policy is 6 pm local time, day of arrival. I just "moved" a reservation in Houston from the West Loop to the JW. I booked the JW first to make sure it still had a room, then cancelled the West Loop.

Didn't even notice until a co-worker was on the phone that the West Loop has a cancellation policy that says "1 day before your arrival (11/25)". I now see that the JW is the same. Have many Marriott properties changed their policies from 6 pm to up to 48 hours???

I called the West Loop to make sure I wasn't charged a one night stay, and the woman explained they had a full day policy because of the amount of business travelers. I don't have stats to back this up, but I'm betting that most people who cancel their reservations day of are business travelers...