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HOW TO ENJOY SUITE DREAMS FOR SWEET PRICES
It’s every traveler’s secret
wish. You walk up to the check-in desk
at the airport and are told by
the smiling assistant that you’ve been
given a free upgrade to the first
class cabin. Instead of sitting with
your knees beneath your chin for
twelve hours, you’ll be snoozing
happily on a flat bed and eating
fine meals off real plates.
Flight upgrades do happen of
course, but they’re not as common as
>hotel upgrades. And swapping a
single room or a regular double for
a suite with twice the space and
all the trimmings often requires
much less persuasion and gives
you the sort of reward that lasts for
days -- and nights.
The easiest way to land a free
suite is simply to ask. If the room is
empty, it makes little difference
to the hotel if there’s a guest in the
single by the stairs or the suite
at the end of the hall.
The end of the day usually gives
the best results. There’s no chance
then that the hotel is going to
get a walk-in who wants a suite and if
you’ve just come off a long-haul
flight looking tired and frazzled,
the duty manager will understand
that he’s going to get much
greater appreciation for his
gesture.
Being a loyal customer though
will always move you to the front of
the line. Make sure you belong to
any reward program that the hotel
might have and make it clear that
this isn’t the first time that you’ve
visited this hotel. Not all
hotels keep track of their customers though
so putting down your bag and
saying “It’s good to be back” lets the
desk clerk know that you’re an
old hand and part of their club.
When you’re giving the hotel your
custom on a regular basis, it will
be much more likely to give you
the benefits.
The decision to hand out a suite
is likely to be made by the duty
manager so it’s worth knowing who
he or she is -- and keeping in
touch. If the room you’ve
received is anything but perfect sure to let
the duty manager know -- if the
only way to give you what you’ve
paid for is to give you more than
you paid for, the manager should
do it -- but tell them too what
pleased you. Staff prefer to receive
praise than complaints and if
they’re always pleased to see you,
they’ll also be pleased to help you.
That contact can be kept when you’re away too. After you leave the
hotel, write a letter (and hand-written always looks better on the
office wall than a printed email) thanking the hotel for its care. And
write too before your next visit, making sure to note any special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries that you might be
celebrating during the stay.
And finally, while it’s not impossible to go from the worst room in
the hotel to the best, you’re much more likely to go up just one
level. So while you can ask if there are any suites available when
you’re staying in the worst room, you have a better chance when
you’re staying in the class below the suite.
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