Never heard of this trick before opening this thread, but will definitely try it at the next opportunity. It may be awhile, since we don’t stay in hotels very often, but I’ll keep it in mind.
I expect that as long as the economy continues to stink, this will be an effective trick. Hotels will have a chronic surplus of better rooms that they can’t sell, so if you rent a cheap room but are willing to essentially bribe the desk clerk $20 for an upgrade, you can probably get some pretty good deals.
Is this strictly a hotel thing, or are there other situations where this trick (or something like it) can work?
One thing worth noting about it, too: if they say no, they usually give you your $20 back. If I’m feeling charitable, I usually give it back because they tried (like if I saw them spend a second pecking away at the computer for me).
I just recalled that when I worked at a decent hotel (in a smallish/medium city in E.WA) I had a guy slip me $10 (all about the Hamiltons, baby) w/ his credit card and asked for an upgrade. We weren’t very busy and I gave it to him. This would have been in 1998 or so, I think. I can say w/ certainty that if I hadn’t been able to help him out, I would have passed his sawbuck back to him.
You know, I think that I’d find the manager and tell him/her about this. It’s one thing to tip a server, but clerks should be making at least minimum wage…and they certainly shouldn’t be hinting about tips.
I really don’t like tip jars. If someone is doing me a personal service, and tips are part of the custom, yeah, I tip. I wish that the custom was otherwise. And I certainly don’t want tipping to creep into other areas.
So the answer isn’t to start bribing desk clerks but to make it illegal to bribe politicians.
And I have yet to put a penny into one. Your JOB is taking my order and my money; you didn’t do anything extra for me today, and you don’t get extra money from me for doing your job.
Actually, thinking about it, I do something similar with fairly good results with my CAA membership; I ask if there is any discount for CAA members, and there often is, or they’ll respond with a different discount. One time I asked about the discount, and the clerk’s response was something like, “You’re already getting a $200 a night room for $100; isn’t that enough?” and we responded, “Yes, yes it is. Thank you very much.”
I don’t care about hotel rooms, but does the $20 trick work for getting your seat upgraded on the airplane? Shucks I would pay $20 just for the promise that the seat next to me is the last one sold.
Some airlines are actually offering to sell the middle seat to couples for half price. I think you get the money back if the plane sells out.
Before I get to the check in counter, I take my ID and my credit card and slip a folded $20 between them. When I get to the counter, they usually ask if I’m checking in and then ask for my ID and CC. When they lay them out and see the $20, I sweetly say, “Oh, by the way, are there any upgrades available?”
Makes me curious why the hotels haven’t cracked down on it. Why would anybody spend on an expensive suite if it seemed half-certain they could leverage their cheap room, and a $20 bribe, to get the expensive room? Or is this just part of the gimmick that is Vegas?
I think a lot of the people who would pay $700 a night for a room would be embarrassed to pay $70, if you know what I mean. So anyone who wants a $700/night room can and will get them but if the room hasn’t sold and you can get a guest to pay $70/night for it and endear them to your hotel for life, it’s worth it.
AFAIK, half price of the full airline price is not *that *great of a deal. I seem to recall that you can even do better online than the bereavement price they give to passengers traveling to a funeral.
