Sounds like you have stayed there a number of times in the last ten years. And you like the place. And, if it is, the situation, that he did not get your CC # because you were a returning customer, and trusted you.
I would humbly apologize for not calling, and offer to pay the fee. Because it would be a relationship I would want to preserve. And the right thing to do.
It is not a question of what is legally correct, but a question of what is morally correct. Just as a business has a moral obligation to treat the customer fairly. The customer has a moral obligation to treat the business fairly. A fact that seems to be lost on many people
