OK, the $20 trick is an incentive for the front desk people to help you upgrade to a better room, either at a higher floor with a view or to a suite. They have a lot of discretion on the kind of room to assign to the customer. I have been using this technique for the last 4-5 years with a high success rate on weekdays and a 50-50 chance on crowded weekends. It really depends on availability so your chances of it working is much higher when vegas is slow. What I always do is tell the front desk that I'm there for a special occasion and would like to upgrade to a suite if there is availability. Then I ask if they are allowed to receive tips and pull out a $20 bill and make sure they see it (They are definitely allowed to receive tips but ask anyways to let them know they will get something out of helping you). I usually fold the $20 bill and place it under my drivers license and leave it right in front of them. From past experience, if they can help you, they will take the tip, if they can't help, they wont take the $20. For example, last weekend was extremely crowded at Venetian but I decided to try the $20 trick. I asked the front desk guy if an upgrade was possible . He said they were sold out for the night and it would be unlikely that anything is available. I then asked if they are allowed to receive tips as I pulled out a $20. He checked vigorously for any upgrade availability but could not find a room. Then he went to ask a supervisor but came back after 5 minutes and said we are just too crowded today, any other day I would have no problem getting an upgrade suite but it's memorial day weekend. I thanked him for trying and told him i would have really liked to tip him. He then paused and told me to wait as he is going to try something else. He went to the back room area and came back ten minutes later and gave me a big suite. I must say that he really pulled some strings because I was at the front desk for 30 minutes before getting a room. Some people believe that the $20 is not necessary as one can ask for an upgrade and if they have availability, they will usually upgrade you for free anyways, you just have to ask. However, I believe it's a great way to give the employees incentive to find you a suite. How many people tip the front desk when checking in? I don't think a lot of us do. They get paid by the hour and if they can upgrade you for $20, it benefits both parties. As I said before, your chances rise as availability is high and diminishes when availability is low such as this past weekend. Sometimes, things just work out with a little bit of luck :) Now for the list of hotels that I have tried this trick Worked: Venetian, Mandalay Bay, MGM, treasure island, Not Work: Bellagio, Luxor Hope this post helps and I'll check back if there are questions I can answer. :)
