And then, as I looked at the confirmation page, with the bright yellow letters stating that I’d booked an unrefundable fare, I realized I’d booked us into the Homewood Suites in the same town.  So – at about 6:50 our time, 12:50 a.m. on the East Coast – I called hotels.com.  On my first try, I didn’t get the automated stuff (it called the confirmation number “itinerary number”), so I tried again and pushed the number for changing my reservation.  I waited out the automated lady until I was told I’d have to expect a wait of 2 minutes.

2 minutes, for once, were a gross overestimation.  I’d say 15 seconds, and Joy was on the line.  I explained the situation.  She put me on hold, called the Homewood night manager, who waived the penalty, and rebooked us for the Hampton Inn.  16 minutes after my original ill-advised booking, we were set for the hotel we wanted.

Needless to say, I’m impressed and grateful that Joy and the night manager chose to make me happy.  Thumbs up to both Homewood Suites and Hotels.com for their flexibility!  I’m already well ahead of Janet in the “oopsie” budget category…