The easy way to get yourself a hotel room upgrade – or at least a few extra freebies
A TRAVEL expert has revealed the easy way you can get a hotel room upgrade – or a few extra freebies at least.
Judson Corrie, the assistant director of guest experience and concierge service at the Waldorf Astoria Chicago says you can sweet talk your way into getting a room upgrade.
Although getting that upgrade can be as complicated as securing an airline one.
Corrie. Who has worked at the luxury hotel for 15 years, told the Washington Post: ““We’ve got a lot of parameters to honour upgrades.”
While hotels, particularly big name brands, will consider loyalty programme memberships, such has Hilton Honours and Marriott Bonvoy, or whether you booked with a corporate partner like American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts, that’s not everything when angling for an upgrade.
Corrie said: “At the end of the day, we also are very human in the fact that we pay attention to the honeymoons and the anniversaries.”
Even if you do get an upgrade, it’s worth remembering that if you have booked a basic room, it’s unlikely you’ll be put in the presidential suite.
If you don’t get that upgrade you might very well be able to get yourself some nice perks, such as a bottle of wine in your room, as long as you ask nicely.
Remember though that being rude or trying to name drop just won’t work.
Other well-worn travel experts have also dispelled or confirmed other supposed hotel and travel myths.
Mohini Merchant, vice president of brand and creative at Ace Hotels, who has worked in the industry since 2005, says it is not always cheaper to book through a third-party site.
The experts say hotel rates may be much more flexible than you realise.
Hotels pay a commission when you book through a third party so they’d rather have you book with them direct.
It can be cheaper to cut out the middleman and negotiate directly.
Merchant said: “When you call us directly, we can try to make something work.”
Ben Pundole, the executive vice president of brand culture and experience for Public Hotels and founder of A Hotel Life, agrees.
He said: “Unless it’s a huge blackout moment, like Fashion Week in September in New York or what have you – there’s often a better deal you can get.”
At the very least, the hotel should match whatever price you spotted on another website, or maybe throw in a perk, such as a room upgrade or complimentary cocktail.
Another current myth currently doing the rounds the experts were keen to dispel was that bedbugs love hotels.
Michelle Zwirek, director of sales and marketing at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California, says a common myth is that hotels are the most susceptible place for bedbugs.
The experts say that while bedbugs do love to travel, they are not particularly fond of hotels over other destinations.
They are prevalent though in any densely populated area where there is a quick turnover, such as apartment buildings, hospitals, libraries, prisons and offices, as well as hotels and hostels.
Giancarlo Goeta, the commercial director at two Hilton properties in Tulum, Mexico, who has worked in hotels for nearly 40 years, was also keen to dispel the myth that housekeepers skip cleaning daily as it reduces the workload.
Many housekeepers, Goeta, said, have quotas for how many rooms they clean in a day.
So skipping your room doesn’t mean they get a longer lunch break.
As well, by skipping a daily cleaning, this means the work can pile up, sometimes doubling or tripling the workload as rooms get grubbier over time – as bins overflow, towels pile up – meaning more work to get things tidy.
Curtis Crimmins, a former concierge at five-star hotels and now the founder of the hotel start-up Roomza added that it’s also in a hotel’s best interest to keep your room in shape with regular care.
He said: “From the hotel’s perspective, we don’t look at it as cleaning your room, we see it as protecting our asset.”
The extent of just how clean your room is though can vary widely and often depends on the brand.
Pundole said: “It depends on the hotel brand.
“I know for a fact that some hotels are more thorough than others.”
“Always avoid the fluffy bed throw or cushions. You never know — that’s all I’m saying.”
Though, according to Goeta, the trend nowadays is to have fewer items in the first place.
He said there was a time when hotel rooms had “a whole bunch of magazines, acrylic cards… all kinds of stuff
“That’s not the case anymore, particularly when you’re talking about a luxury property like Conrad.”
So, ultimately, there are fewer items to be worried about.
Goeta added that his properties have strict cleaning procedures to follow, and supervisors conduct spot checks in rooms.
Crimmins said a rule of thumb is the more you pay, the cleaner the room should be.
If you believed social media, you’d think lots of travellers were using their hotel rooms to cook food.
One particular trend appears to cook chicken using the coffee-maker.
But this just isn’t the case, according to the experts.
While the experts say they have seen the viral videos, no one said they’d had issues with such behaviour at any of their venues.
“Thankfully,” Pundole added.