Reading the Fine Print on Hotel Cancellations:

Item: A few months ago, I booked a reservation at the ritzy Palmilla Hotel in Los Cabos, Baja California--then prayed for good health. Under that hotel’s booking policy, they immediately charged the full cost of my reservation against my credit card. And they told me I would owe a $25 fee even if I canceled more than 30 days ahead of my arrival date. For a cancellation less than 30 days but more than 72 hours before my arrival date, the fee would jump to $40 per lodging day. And if I canceled less than 72 hours before my scheduled arrival, I’d be on the hook for the full tab of my entire reservation--two nights at $200 per night.

Item: One Sunday afternoon in late April, Geoffrey Ball of West Hills pulled up to the Circus-Circus Hotel in Las Vegas with family and friends. The group had reservations for two rooms at about $30 a night each, starting that night. But what they saw on arrival had them rethinking their plans. The hotel’s parking garage and halls were so dirty and littered, says Ball, that he picked up a lobby phone, called the reservations department and canceled. But when he did so, Ball says, the Circus-Circus representative was “abusive, obnoxious and horrible,” and insisted that he had to pay for the night’s lodging because it was fewer than 48 hours before his anticipated arrival, even though he was canceling because of hotel conditions.

Both of these cases point to questions that wary travelers need to ask. First, will there be a deposit charged against my credit card when I make the reservation? Second, if I make this reservation, how late can I cancel or reschedule without paying a penalty? Third, if I arrive and don’t like what I see, can I cancel without penalty?

Fortunately for me, my schedule held and the Palmilla worked out fine. And fortunately for Ball, his group was able to abandon Circus-Circus, check into Treasure Island, have a fine time at $60 a night, and eventually extract a full refund from Circus-Circus through a letter of complaint to management.

Of Ball’s complaint, Circus-Circus marketing director Tom Bruny says the hotel does waive its 48-hour cancellation deadline in some extenuating circumstances; he apologizes if any guest was offended by an operator’s behavior and insists that the hotel maintains a 24-hour crew for cleaning public areas, “and we think they do that quite well.” Bruny also notes that about 3,000 of the hotel’s 3,744 rooms are new or were remodeled within the last year.

In any event, it’s better not to be surprised by your hotel’s cancellation policy. Here are a few guidelines:

* In years past, travelers in the U.S. had a fairly uniform deadline to make: Cancel before 6 p.m. on your anticipated day of arrival and no harm, no foul. But over the last three years, many hotels have taken advantage of heightened demand and tightened up those practices, including setting earlier deadlines for no-cost cancellations. The Park Hyatt in San Francisco, for instance, has gone to a 4 p.m. deadline. Some other hotels set deadlines 24 hours in advance of arrival, some (such as the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas) 48 hours, some 72 hours. Call a Hawaiian resort hotel or a Colorado ski lodge for December reservations, or a New Orleans lodging about Mardi Gras rooms, or any Super Bowl city, and the deadline’s likely to be days or weeks ahead of arrival.

* Major hotel chains are uniform in many of their business practices, but when it comes to cancellation policies, general managers often make their own decisions. At the Boston Ritz-Carlton, the standard deadline for cancellation is noon on the day of arrival. But at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, the deadline is seven days before arrival, and those who don’t cancel in time are hit with a bill for two nights’ lodging.

* Just because you’ve shown up doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. A few years ago, many major hotels added charges of $25 to $75 for guests who booked multiple nights but checked out early. Some business travelers complained loudly, but the charge seems to have stuck. At the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina, for instance, guests who cut their stays short are required to give 24 hours’ notice or pay a $75 fee. But at most hotels, if you’re a regular customer you may be able to get the fee waived.

The hidden trend here is that major hotel chains “are getting better at yield management,” says Laurie Berger, editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, referring to the airlines’ sophisticated strategies for maximizing revenue. Berger says she does believe a hotel is entitled to “keep something back” when a guest cancels on short notice, but she thinks 24 hours’ notice should be plenty for most city and airport hotels.

It is reasonable for a destination resort that cannot count on walk-up customers to require earlier notice on cancellations, Berger adds, but consumers need to decide what they’re willing to accept. If a hotel has an unfair policy, Berger says, the best chance of getting it changed is through consumer complaints.

Reynolds travels anonymously at the newspaper’s expense, accepting no special discounts or subsidized trips. He welcomes comments and suggestions, but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053 or e-mail chris.reynolds@latimes.com.