Free room upgrades are always exciting but there are ways to get them.
However beautiful a room is, a free upgrade to a better looking room never hurts! But the point is, why and how would a hotel give you a free upgrade especially when others are being charged for that extra facility or that bigger room?
The tips mentioned here could help you go a long way in getting a room upgrade for free:
- Book a cheap but not the cheapest room – You are more likely to get a free upgrade if you book a good room right at the beginning. Booking the cheapest possible room is a sure shot indication that an upgrade for “free” is simply what you are looking for!
- Request an upgrade only during check-in, not when booking – If you ask the hotel to assign you a particular room right at the time of booking, you can expect to get a room which belongs to the relatively cheap category. Like it happens in a sale, higher price with a discount tag! So wait and watch what room do you get and then make requests.
- Keep your stay short – If you plan to stay a more than a couple of days, you are unlikely to get an upgrade. A hotel will agree for an upgrade only if it is for a night or maximum 2. More than this means loss to the hotel.
- Timing is important – A commonly known fact is that you can get a better deal if you are travelling during off-peak season. And a less commonly known fact is that you can get a better room if you go after 6 pm, when the hotel knows exactly which rooms are empty and available!
- Practise your friendliness skills – As a matter of fact, an affable and pleasing person definitely has more chances to get what he asks for, compared to the not-so-social one. So be good to everyone and smile at them!
- If you want, ask – Hotel staff won’t understand your emotions! So ask for what you are looking for. Try and be specific, like say if you want a bigger room or maybe a room with a sea view. Just make sure you do it politely.
- Birthday or Anniversary – You can get an upgrade with a bit more ease if there’s a special occasion associated with you. Birthdays, honeymoons, etc. are often rewarded with a freebie. Even a special person (celebrity, doctor, etc.) is more likely to get an upgrade.
- Stick to this hotel more often – Again, this is quite a known fact that if you are a frequent user of their service and they are familiar with you by now, you will be pampered more as compared to the newer guests at the hotel. And if you are one of the new ones, then try mentioning that this place is going to be your travel destination very often from now on!
- Give and take – So what do you plan to do for the hotel when they offer you an upgrade? Well, try praising the staff or that pleasing receptionist (without flirting around!), tip the staff, refer them to friends, etc.
- Do complain about the genuine reasons too – Apart from the “free” offers, you should also bring to the hotel’s notice any complaints that you genuinely might have with your room or the service. Chances are that you will end up getting something for free!
