For Jan trip HRH took a one night's deposit within days of my res - so did PBH for upcoming trip (one for each room) - last Dec RPR never did take a deposit, even though I booked many months in advance and changed to APH rate when it went down. I made all the reservations over the phone either with BEASTAR and LOEWS - don't remember which for which ressie.
HRH and PBH both e-mailed confirmations within a week of making the ressie - RPR e-mailed me a confirmation a week or two before my arrival date.