I can't see this being a problem in most places. Most places will be a small deposit plus a month up front in places in Asia, Central America etc, however more

I can't see this being a problem in most places. Most places will be a small deposit plus a month up front in places in Asia, Central America etc, however more developed places such as London, Syndey etc will be less tolerant / desperate for bookings. The two most useful tools I've found when doing this is Tripadvisor and Airbnb, you can usually haggle a room from either of these longer term.