Unfortunately hotels are succumbing to the same sorts of fees and restrictions that much of the rest of the travel industry has. As you say, the premium for cancellable rooms usually isn't that much. (Where I work we're supposed to book cancellable as standard practice.) But whereas cancellable used to mean by 6pm the evening of your arrival. Now it often means a day or two in advance. Which is usually fine for changes of plans but doesn't necessarily help when travel goes sideways.