How to Get a Hotel Promotion
I will ask anyone for an upgrade, be it a better restaurant table or a first class seat on a flight. However, there are a number of difficulties in improving the hotel. You cannot accurately estimate what is available or which rooms will open during your stay.
NBC News recently asked Michael Fazio, a concierge expert and author of Concierge Confidential , how guests can improve service in hotels where amenities such as extra terry robes and room upgrades are available. Fazios, who stood behind the concierge desk at New York’s Intercontinental Hotel for seven years, explained why time and courtesy matters when communicating with hotel staff.
Stay on the right days
If you’re desperate for an upgrade, you might be in better luck over the weekend; Weekdays are usually the busiest times for hotels due to business travelers (so asking for an upgrade on Friday might work for you), Fazio said.
Early check-in is also better than late check-in. When guests check in, there are probably more options for upgrades early in the day than toward the end, when any possible upgrade is more likely to be made. According to Travelzoo , cleaning in hotels is usually carried out from 7 to 15 hours. If you check in at 3:00 pm, it might be a good idea to arrive here or just earlier when your chances of getting a better room are better.
Join loyalty programs
If you travel often, it helps to stay in the same hotel chain and join its loyalty program; you can end up with multiple room upgrades. Make sure your account is linked to your booking, and don’t be afraid to include your status at check-in, as TravelZoo recommends.
On the other hand, booking a new hotel can also give you an upgrade as they try to drive future business and get positive reviews. I recently stayed at a brand new boutique hotel in Honolulu and got an upgrade without even asking.
Book directly with the hotel
If possible, you should book directly with the hotel, Fazio said. Here is his reasoning, according to NBC News :
Hotels tend to look down on guests booking tickets on discount travel sites. Inexpensive travel sites and aggregators like Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz have low prices, but hotels sometimes don’t like to see you booked through the aggregators. It’s as if you came with a scarlet letter “cheap rate” attached to you.
So the next time you are thinking of a hotel, call them directly and ask them to book a room. (Often they will be willing to compare the price on any third-party booking site.) And after check-in, see if they are willing to honor the upgrade request.
Mention that you are writing reviews
As restaurant waiters or hotel waiters tell you, reviewers are a pain in the ass. But, as Fazio said, discreetly informing staff that you are a reviewer can be a boon in your quest to get an update. Do not threaten them with poor visibility. Instead, politely ask the hotel how to write a review upon check-in, which is a fairly obvious indication.
And, as we wrote earlier, if you really want an upgrade, just ask for it! “It sounds simple, but just making sure they know you want to rate it (and know it’s common practice) will increase your chances,” Dave of SantoriniDave .com , a hotel and travel review website, said in an email.
If your room isn’t what you’d expect – or just plain bad – that’s another reason to ask. “If you feel you deserve an upgrade, feel free to ask to speak to a manager,” he added.
And always be polite and courteous. Good manners can be the most effective training tool.