>I agree. Actually, when I saw the charge on my credit card, the first thing that I did was call the credit card company and dispute it. Then, another developer that I know, told me that she called La Quinta directly when the charge showed up and they credited her account while allowing her to keep the reservation. So I called La Qunita and explained that I still wanted the reservation, but didn't want to pay a deposit 10 months in advance. They agreed, and I'll be d*mned if the deposit didn't show up on my credit card again the next month! I called the credit card company to dispute it again. This time, they got La Quinta involved in a conference call. La Qunita apologized profusely, agreed to credit my account, and told me that I could indeed keep the reservation. I should have charged them for all the time and aggravation they cost me.

This hotel's practice does not seems to be correctly "legal", at least, not to charge a year ahead but a few days before and to also advise the customer about that which is something that does not seem to have happened. The reason I'm saying that is because they reverse the charge when the credit card company is involved. So, it seems that everyone could dispute the charge and they'll reverse the charge. Now, when a thousand people would have done that in a month, they'll probably rethink the entire concept of charging so far ahead.