Room Upgrades

[surve]

Not sure if this has been mentioned here but I would just like to share my experience. I have booked a room on Hotwire, for instance, the Hilton. I may have paid $60 for it including tax and fees. During check in I ask could I upgrade my room. the staff makes me aware that an upgrade is available, and I will have to pay the difference between the room types. So many times I have stayed at hotels like this, where the room type was say $179 for the night and the concierge level was $200 on the same night. I pay the $20 difference and end up on the concierge level for $80 total. I am sure someone has mentioned this, but I think it is a cool tip. I also use my HHonors number, Hyatt Gold #, etc whenever booking for more points on stays.

[thereuare]

To avoid the inevitable question later... PRICELINE and HOTWIRE stays do not qualify for points.

[123slb]

All your incidental expenses at the hotel do qualify for points, though. And Marriott does count each night of your Priceline stay as a credit toward status level.

[noppy]

Thanks for the tip surve. I was wondering how that worked. :)

[IsleOfMan]

I've done similar when I've stayed at chains I also have status with. Last summer I bid $45 for a 4* in Downtown Atlanta on the night of the 4th of July... I received the Hyatt Regency Atlanta and I happen to have Hyatt Diamond status. Since I had several weeks, I wrote a letter to the GM with my confirmation number and status info (not mentioning Priceline) and a request for an upgrade since my wife and I were not only celebrating the 4th of July, but also our 2nd wedding anniversary. I did not receive any response so I assumed they noticed I was on an opaque rate and disregarded my request. Upon check-in I received all of the normal Hyatt Diamond amenities (lounge access, drink/snack delivered to room) as well as a 3-category room upgrade to a corner suite with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries waiting in the room.

I know this is not the norm, but if you happen to win a stay at a property you also have status at, contacting the GM ahead of time via mail might just help you arrange an extra special stay.

[crito]

I'd really like to hear about other people's experiences with this sort of thing.

I have a Hotwire booking at the Palmer House. Now, the room quality there is in a very wide range -- much wider than a typical Hilton, for instance, so although there really aren't any awful rooms, it would be a big plus if I could get myself upgraded from one of the small ones with a view of a brick wall to one of the better ones. I'd be willing to pay for an upgrade, but I'd like to see if I could get a free one, naturally!

I've stayed at the Palmer quite a few times, and I have a pretty good pile of HH points (they changed the requirements for Gold recently so I think I don't qualify for that).

Does it make more sense for me to phone in advance and ask about upgrades, or would it be smarter to ask when I check in? Or is writing a letter the best approach? It's not a special occasion -- I know that's the best bet for getting a free upgrade, but I'm not going to lie about it!

This info might be relevant: the hotel is listed on Hotwire @ $89 for my dates, which is about 50% below 'retail'. But on the Hilton site, the "Executive Level" rooms are going for $65 to $75 more than the ordinary rooms. This could mean that they are selling the Exec rooms so an upgrade would be tough. Or, it might not mean that at all...

Could we have a regular board category on people's experiences with upgrades using Hotwire or Priceline? I will definitely report back on my experience after my stay.

[dahammer]

I have found that the success or failure of getting an upgrade is a function of your attitude upon check in and that of the desk clerk who has a low level position but can exert some power over the guests through room assignment. If your clerk is a "by the book" type who feels that his low pay is a result of too many HOTWIRE/PRICELINE guests, then you will get a small room facing a brick wall. If you get a clerk that wants to exceed guest's expectations, you might get an upgrade depending on availability. PRICELINE and HOTWIRE rooms are "run of the house" which means they are not typically pre-assigned before check in.

I believe a smile and sincere greeting still go a long way towards getting what you want.

[AaronJB]

Call the Palmer and politely (as, as mentioned above, who you talk to may depend on your success) ask regarding if there are any rooms with a view available. See what they say, then if need be, try to work in that you would be interested in paying a bit more for an upgrade. There's absolutely no guarantee of success, but Chicago hotels have seemed slow lately, and maybe you'll get someone interested in trying to "upsell" you to a higher level room.

I'd call, and if that doesn't work, try again at check-in.

The Palmer does have a wide array of rooms, although that's not uncommon in historic properties. Some rooms at the Palmer have two beds in the room and two bathrooms.

[crito]

Following up with my experience...

When I phoned in advance, the person I spoke with was pretty "official", telling me that she would list my preferences (king bed, high floor, away from elevators, no smoking) but repeatedly told me that they were not guaranteed.

When I checked in, I handed my (silver) HH card with my id, and the clerk happily typed in my number but pointed out that I wouldn't get points for the cost of the stay itself. There would be no problem with my preferences, he said, but he asked if I wanted to *purchase* an upgrade, at $35/night. I went for it. I think it was worth it (the Exec level has better rooms, free breakfast and cocktail hour snacks, separate elevators which really were an advantage for this stay since there were three groups meeting on the lower levels and heavy elevator use).

I should note, though, that a friend who has HH gold status and booked through the hotel web site got a free upgrade.

Anyway, thanks for the tips. I think my Hotwire price plus the upgrade fee got me an amazing deal. Pretaxes it came to $124/night, compared to $213 for the Exec rooms or $144 for the regular ones, and I got exactly the hotel I wanted.

One other thing: the Congress Plaza is being struck by Local 1. Can Aaron or Thereuare or someone help me find the right part of this bb to post that fact? It might help other Chicago travelers...

[crito]

Oh, and I did get two bathrooms!

Completely useless since I was traveling alone, but still kind of cool :)

[kimberlyav]

I booked a 4* hotel in the Minneapolis area through Hotwire earlier this year. I paid $60/night, and when I checked in I asked if I could upgrade my room. They offered me an upgraded room for an additional $20/night and I took it. Of course, it was the middle of January in Minnesota, and the hotel didn't have many guests, so that could have had something to do with it.