# The Twenty Dollar Trick. Have you used it? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 23, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320 "2011-09-23T13:09:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/1 "2011-09-23T13:09:01Z")
[http://www.thetwentydollartrick.com/](http://www.thetwentydollartrick.com/) What have been your experiences using this kind of advice? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/2 "2011-09-23T14:03:06Z")
I did it in Vegas and did get a much nicer room than somebody else traveling with us who did not. It made the difference, evidently, between being right above the nightclub in the hotel and not. Generally speaking I wouldn’t do anything like that - I just did because I was told it’s the “done thing” in Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/3 "2011-09-23T14:06:24Z")
I know lots of people who’ve done it, with better than moderate success. I’ve never bothered because our rooms are comped anyway, and our host knows our preferences: “I want to spend my time at this hotel the same way I spent college.” ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/4 "2011-09-23T14:29:08Z")
I’ve only tried it once, but we got a room at the Palazzo on a high floor with a fantastic view of the Strip. The previous time we were in Vegas, we stayed at the Luxor and had a 2nd floor room with a view of a parking lot and nightclub noise coming through the A/C vent. While this is anecdotal evidence and I can’t be certain that it was the $20 and lack of $20, respectively, that got us these rooms, it’s enough that I’ll probably do it again next time I’m in Vegas. And maybe if we go to New York next year. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/5 "2011-09-23T14:36:00Z")
Totally not [the trick I thought you were talking about](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119256/combined). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/6 "2011-09-23T14:38:20Z")
Is this just a Vegas thing? I’m picturing trying this in the kinds of places I normally stay, and the very thought is absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/7 "2011-09-23T14:43:39Z")
I don’t understand the trick, or maybe I do. The $20 is meant as a bribe/tip to get the clerk to upgrade you. Yes? Then he pockets the $20 and then you get an upgrade for less than it would normally cost. Or is there more to it than that? Regards, Shodan ETA: never tried it, or heard of it ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/8 "2011-09-23T14:48:25Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I don’t understand the trick, or maybe I do. The $20 is meant as a bribe/tip to get the clerk to upgrade you. Yes? Then he pockets the $20 and then you get an upgrade for less than it would normally cost. Yeah, that’s pretty much it. Like the cliche of slipping the maitre’d a “tip” to get a better table at a fancy restaurant, though I’ve never done that one. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/9 "2011-09-23T14:52:10Z")
OK, thanks. Like I said, never tried it. Nor tipping the maitre de for a better table. I’ve only been to Vegas once, so I don’t know the ins and outs. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/10 "2011-09-23T14:56:36Z")
What’s the trick? Isn’t this just good old fashion palm-greasing? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/11 "2011-09-23T15:10:19Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > What’s the trick? Isn’t this just good old fashion palm-greasing? Well, ordinarily, you wouldn’t get your money back. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/12 "2011-09-23T16:02:26Z")
Maybe I’m coming out of left field here, but I don’t really want to see the country go this way. Once offering bribes becomes commonplace, soon you won’t be able to get _anything_ done without a bribe. It’s a pretty fast downhill slide from there, and before long the place starts to look like Kenya or something. I know I’m exaggerating somewhat, but I still worry. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/13 "2011-09-23T16:17:15Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Maybe I’m coming out of left field here, but I don’t really want to see the country go this way. Once offering bribes becomes commonplace, soon you won’t be able to get _anything_ done without a bribe. It’s a pretty fast downhill slide from there, and before long the place starts to look like Kenya or something. > > I know I’m exaggerating somewhat, but I still worry. You’re right. We’re not going to have trouble from the legal bribery of our politicians, but Las Vegas hotel clerks will definitely sink us. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/14 "2011-09-23T16:34:41Z")
\ Mom Gets Great Hotel Discounts Using One Weird Old Trick! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/15 "2011-09-23T16:43:51Z")
I ask for available upgrades almost every time I check into a hotel and sometimes get them. I have never tipped the desk clerk to get it, but then again I’ve never been to Vegas. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/16 "2011-09-23T16:53:51Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Maybe I’m coming out of left field here, but I don’t really want to see the country go this way. Once offering bribes becomes commonplace, soon you won’t be able to get _anything_ done without a bribe. It’s a pretty fast downhill slide from there, and before long the place starts to look like Kenya or something. > > I know I’m exaggerating somewhat, but I still worry. Odd that, coming from a guy named Sal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/17 "2011-09-23T17:09:38Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > Maybe I’m coming out of left field here, but I don’t really want to see the country go this way. Once offering bribes becomes commonplace, soon you won’t be able to get _anything_ done without a bribe. It’s a pretty fast downhill slide from there, and before long the place starts to look like Kenya or something. > > I know I’m exaggerating somewhat, but I still worry. I understand what you are saying. It’s part of the “tip jar” mentality. I went to get a copy of a key made in a hardware store. The clerk starts telling me how they “depend” on their tips and pushes the tip jar forward as he is handing me my change. Every damn place you go, there is a tip jar. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/18 "2011-09-23T17:09:40Z")
I do it all the time in Vegas. In fact, there’s another Vegas specific website dedicated to ranking which resorts are more receptive to it [here.](http://www.frontdesktip.com/) Some personal examples: At THEhotel (attached to the Mandalay), I got some insane deal where I paid $70 a night for Friday and Saturday for a basic room. With the $20 trick, they upgraded me to a $700 a night suite. At the Hardrock, I booked two basic rooms on a Fri and Sat night on some internet special . … $45 a night, per room. With the $20 trick, they upgraded us to their all suites tower and we got gorgeous, huge, one bedroom suites (usually a few hundred a night on the weekends). At the Aria, I had a standard room, booked at $80. With the $20 trick, they upgraded me to a suite with a wall of windows over-looking the Bellagio fountains. At the Cosmopolitan, I booked their basic room for $80. With the $20 trick, the guy upgraded me to a one bedroom suite with a balcony overlooking the Bellagio fountains. I had what may actually have been [the greatest view in the entirety of Las Vegas](https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/248271_527870387745_139400322_30654642_7823417_n.jpg). That room usually goes for much more a night than I paid. So yeah, it can work. Just depends on the place. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/19 "2011-09-23T17:29:50Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Some personal examples: That absolutely makes it sound worth a try. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320/20 "2011-09-23T17:32:36Z")
So if $20 gets these nice “complimentary upgrades”, what does $100 get you? A complimentary hooker? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-twenty-dollar-trick-have-you-used-it/597320.md?page=2)