Five Tips to Getting a Better Hotel Room When you Check In

Let’s face it: these days, hotel rooms can cost an arm and a leg – even the most standard and basic one. Chances are, you probably have heard friends and others bragging how they “magically” got upgraded to a suite or at the very least a nicer hotel room than the one they initially paid for. We’ll let you in on a little secret: getting a better hotel room is actually not as hard as you might think!

Here are five tips to getting a better hotel room at check in:

– Ask. Never let anyone choose the room for you. When you check in, ask politely for something specific, like a view or a room furthest or nearest to the elevator.

– If there’s something wrong with the room when you get there, speak up. When my sister and I went to Las Vegas, we were placed in a  standard room on the first floor that was easily accessible to anyone passing by outside. In fact, right next to the bed, the sliding door leading outside was broken and anyone could get in! We were very uncomfortable with the location and broken door so we called and ended up going back to the front desk. We asked nicely to be moved to a higher floor and they ended up placing us in a nicer, sizable suite – two times bigger than our first floor one!

– If you’re planning to stay for more than the average two days in the hotel – especially if it’s an extended period of time, like say a week – contact the hotel manager and let them know you are staying for an extended period and would like a price break or if available, an upgrade. When checking in, be sure to greet the hotel manager – it definitely pays to be extra nice to staff.

– As a frequent guest at a particular hotel, you might just be eligible for some sort of upgrade. Let the staff checking you know that.

– Last but not least, pay up. Most of the time, if it’s available, you can upgrade your room for a slightly additional cost. It could definitely be worth it!

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