Every time I stay at a hotel in Vegas, I hand over my ID and credit card, put $20 between them and ask if there are any upgrades. This works most of the time. But what about elsewhere? Has anyone tried this outside of Vegas?
Just out of curiosity, have you ever had a time when it didn't work? If not, do they give you your money back, or do you just accept it as a travel expense? i don't know if this type of thing is specific to cities as much as it is specific to business establishments. I've used the technique in Orlando a few times at restaurants. I think the more touristy the city, the higher the likelihood this will work.
It does work in Vegas but not Hawaii. If it is a busy weekend or theres a convention going on nearby forget it! I have tried it anywhere else. Usually if I shop rates I can get a pretty nice room cheap so theres no need to try and get an upgrade.
I spend little time in the hotel; especially in Vegas! So I would rather gamble that $20 or use it towards one of the many exquisite restaurants. Unless they give me a free upgrade, then I don't bother. Usually the next best room will run you $20 or less just to book it, so why waste your time? Go out and enjoy the city; as long I have a bed and a bathroom. The only time I got a suite was for our wedding, at the MGM Grand. It was amazing but it was more due to the fact that we were the main hub before going out so we needed to accommodate more people; otherwise a standard room would have been fine because I spent little time in the room.
I think in the case with the Vagas sandwich, the difference is that the person who gets the money is putting it in his/her pocket. The hotel is not getting the money. The Vagas sandwich is not paying the hotel for an upgrade, so there's no set limit on how far"up" your upgrade can get. I think the person who pockets the money is less likely to care about whether your "free" upgrade would normally cost $20 or $100, and the room is probably available anyway. By paying cash, you increase your chances of getting a much better upgrade - not necessarily the next level up.
I've had one clerk give it back telling me there were no upgrades available and I had one pocket it. I'd just see it as an additional travel expense.
Oh, okay. I was wondering about that. It's funny that the clerk put the cash in his/her pocket and gave you nothing in return. In my opinion, $20 isn't a huge sacrifice in the case of trying to get upgrades. I probably would be a little perturbed at first about somebody keeping cash and giving me nothing in return, but with a small amount I might actually find it funny. I guess if $20 is a huge sacrifice for some people, then the easy answer is to keep your money in your pocket.
