reservations more than six months in advance

That is not uncommon. It is a matter of convenience for the owners. As for the airbnb the money is held until you show. The is no advantage to early payment.

I am an earlybird like you. In my experience in past trips I have planned I have found some will take your reservations and others won't. I usually reserve what I can and make a note in my calendar to come back at their requested timeframe to make the reservation as soon as I can with the desired hotel. Hope that helps. Good luck!!

Gregory, so far in my travela and planning i havent had your issues, yet. but if i did, i would just abide by their request. Not much else you can do other than to look for someplace else. happy trails.

Many places don't set their rates ten months in advance, so they can't take your booking this early.

Also remember, if you can't book now then no one else can, so you're not going to lose your spot. Just come back when they open the bookings for your dates, as Charles says, and you'll be fine.

I booked most of our hotels for April this year back in June/July of 2012. I only had a couple hotel inquiries where they were not taking reservations yet and hadn't set their 2013 rates, and most of the hotels booked me at the 2012 rates. As we refined our itinerary I confirmed or d the final dates 3 months before our trip. I would recommend booking directly with the hotels, always ask what their cancellation policy is, and if a deposit is required, and when. Many will offer a discount for cash (always ask).
Why use a 3rd party site when you can book directly with the hotels, and pay upon checkout, not months in advance. I often have other questions I ask directly of the hotel that a third party site would not be able to answer. (walk or taxi from train station? arrange pickup from airport or train station? walking distance to restaurants?, etc. etc.)

Some small businesses may not have their 2014 prices ready to go yet. If you just have a small business, this takes time to set up and asking in Aug. about a reservation in June of the next year is simply too far away. Large hotels yes, but not small ones. As for the tours, it may be difficult for a small tour company to know who is going to be on vacation 10 months from now. Even if you have booked with a hotel consolidator like HRS or Booking.com that certainly does not prevent you from asking the front desk at the hotel for information about your stay there, or recommendations. A guest is a guest, is a guest, no matter where the reservation originated from. You might also be surprised that sometimes the rooms are cheaper than booking with the hotel itself. That is why is it best to check all sources first. There may also be some smaller hotels that don't even have their own website or reservation system. In todays world of international travel, reservation websites make it easier for them to keep their hotel full and not have to attempt to answer emails in 100 different languages. It is all about occupancy. A hotel that is half empty waiting on someone to find them online, can't survive.

If you use booking.com, for example, they will provide you with the hotel's phone number and email address, so you can ask any questions you wish.

We once booked B&B rooms in November and December for an early April trip. In three of the six cases, our reservations were "lost" when they changed their books over for the new year (Ireland).

...and some hotels have experienced a history of very early reservations cancelling when peoples schedules "firm up", plus some hold out until regulars typically make thier reservations, especially if you are looking at August or July.