I booked three nights near Disneyland at the advanced purchase rate about two weeks ago for a stay in October. Never been charged. Called and they confirmed the reservation. Seems to me last time I did this, they charged me the next day.

Does it sometimes take longer to see the charge? Just don't want to lose the rate. was told my Cust service, " accounting handles that. There is nothing we can do>" seems strange, not that I mind if they don't raise the price later

Some properties do charge at time of booking, some shortly before arrival date, some anytime in between. They may choose to batch up all the advance purchase transactions. As long as the reservation continues to show up online, you are in good shape. Do check it on a regular basis. Keep a copy of your confirmation so you have all the rate data just in case it should go away.

I have tried that the hotel charged my card for an advance purchase reservation at check-out. I have also tried that the hotel charged my card right after the reservation got through. It really depends on the hotel. Make sure your credit card is valid - otherwise they might cancel your reservation.

Depending on the if the property is running the older system (FOSSE/FSPMS) or the newer system, (Opera). Your deposit may be in different hands.

At properties with the older systems, the deposit is a manual process, where the Front Office staff manually goes into a reservation, one-by-one, and takes the deposit. Depending on the size of the property, and how fast bookings come in, the queue may be hundreds or thousands of reservations. (My property rarely sees it ever go under 700 on a given day, and that's with three people working eight hour shifts daily to do it.). At smaller properties, they may on,y run the list once a week.
Sometimes it just takes a little bit for your reservation to make it to "next."

At the properties that have converted already, it's a once a day button click for ALL reservations that came in that require a deposit. Over the next few years, as each property converts, the deposit may become more consistent and timely.

Yes, it's all over the map... even at the same hotel.

I think it's a bit of a problem because I lose track of what's been paid and what hasn't.

I am seeing "Advance Purchase" non-refundable rates that are about $30-40 per night cheaper than "Rack Rate".

Does choosing this rate lessen your chance of a preferred room type?

Any stories or anecdotes about purchasing a pre-paid rate?