Chicago Tribune -- "Hotel cancellation policies have been getting more strict than they used to be," says Bjorn Hanson, a professor of hospitality and tourism management at New York University. The changes vary by market and hotel. At some properties, you can still cancel your room by 6 p.m. on the date of your arrival without getting charged, but in some parts of the country, the cancellation window is being pushed back to within 48 or 72 hours of your arrival. Taking a page from the airline industry's post-9/11 "no waivers, no favors" playbook, some refuse to bend a rule even when a guest can't make it for reasons beyond his/her control. You don't have to be a lodging industry insider to know why cancellation policies exist: a hotel room, like an airline seat, is considered a "perishable" commodity, which means that if you don't check in when you're supposed to, the hotel doesn't make money. 

Guests do have some options, ranging from the obvious to the ethically questionable. Elite-level membership in a hotel's loyalty program can get the policy waived. A reliable travel insurance policy (we recommend Travelex) may protect you, too. You can dispute the charge on your credit card, as long as you present adequate evidence that the policy wasn't properly disclosed. Or you can by sneaky and try to reschedule your visit, moving it forward in time by a few days until you're outside the cancellation window, and later call to cancel. However, there's only one certain way to prevent losing your money: read the fine print.

Hotels are betting that today's travelers love putting their personal stamp on their guest room, just like deciding how you take your coffee. Today, hotels are allowing travelers to determine everything from the daisies in their room to the shampoo brand in their shower. It's a way to appeal to increasingly important Gen Y and Millennial travelers, who tend to shy away from cookie-cutter experiences.

Hyatt has rolled out a service that lets people borrow items that they have forgotten at home, such as device chargers, disposable razors, makeup remover wipes and yoga mats. The chain-wide program came after Hyatt spent 18 months studying the needs and expectations of female travelers.

At the four New York boutique hotels that belong to the Library Hotel Collection, customers can order, for free, a number of items to customize their room when booking on the website including coffee makers, lighted makeup mirrors, a mini-refrigerator, down pillows, and hypoallergenic bedding. The two most popular requests? Memory foam mattress topper and a device designed to block city sounds and to encourage sleep.

Last fall, Hilton Worldwide's luxury Conrad chain rolled out three different brands of toiletries so that guests can pick their own. Several Omni hotels are rolling out an online service that lets customers personalize their room and entire stay by placing orders before they arrive. For instance, a guest can order their favorite alcohol and mixers or special snacks such as "whiskey and wings" for a bachelor party or a "build your own sundae" for a child's birthday party.  

The US Travel Association released a new survey by Harris Interactive which found that adults say their most vivid childhood recollections are of family vacations. Children surveyed also say they enjoy vacation time with parents and grandparents. The survey seems to reinforce the rise in family and multi-generational travel, particularly after 9/11.

"We assumed there would be a connection between memories and vacations, but it was surprising to learn that some of people's most vivid childhood memories are of family vacations that happened when they were as young as five," said Regina Corso of Harris Interactive, who conducted the poll. Key findings of the survey include: Most adults surveyed (62%) said their earliest memories were of family vacations taken when they were between ages five and 10, and they remember childhood trips more clearly than school events or birthday celebrations. Most children (64%) surveyed said they get to see and do things on vacation that they will remember for a long time and that vacations bring their family closer together (53%.) Contrary to conventional wisdom, children are enthusiastic about traveling with their grandparents. More than half the children questioned reported feeling closer to their grandparents after a family vacation together. For children, a meaningful vacation is one where they get to do interesting things--and this is more important than where they stay or where they go.