The Free Upgrade
There is a secondary perk in waiting until around 5 or 6 to check into a hotel. At this time, it is easier to land a room upgrade upon request without paying anything extra. Now, this only works if a hotel room is already paid for, but it provides the opportunity of landing a better room for the same price. Should a traveler attempt to check in early, the chance of landing a room upgrade is slim. The hotel needs to hold onto these superior rooms in case someone pays for the room during a booking. However, after 5pm, the rooms are likely going to go empty. Plus, premium rooms are the last rooms to rent out in the evening times as travelers who check in late are looking for the best deals typically, when means they want the least expensive option. Due to this, the hotel is more likely to free up the lesser expensive rooms by bumping up guests who request an upgrade. By 5pm, hotels know what sort of rooms they will have available for the night and if there are premium rooms still available, they often are more accommodating to free upgrades upon request.
The Free Upgrad
Membership Programs Offer Discount Hotel Rooms
Chances are, a traveler has a membership card that can secure a discounted booking whether they know it or not. This doesn’t mean they need to be part of a Hilton rewards program or something with the Marriott. Instead, membership groups like AARP or AAA all typically provide some sort of a discount, yet these are almost never advertised. It is possible to use the membership program to receive a 10 to 15 percent discount on any hotel rate. Now, there are a few different ways to go about using this sort of a discount. When checking for the hotel rate online, there might be a membership option to select when booking the hotel and this automatically takes the price down. The better way to use it though is when discussing the price of a hotel in person. These membership programs offer a percentage off and not just a rate. So, it is better to negotiate a price down that is already lower than what the advertised price is. Once the price is agreed upon, the customer should bring up the fact they are a AAA or AARP member. This way, the price is dropped even further. Should the individual bring up the membership program first, they will be told the discounted rate and not be given the chance to take the price down any further. It is like holding a card up the sleeves. The card should never be played until there are no other moves left.
Membership Programs Offer Discount Hotel Rooms