Upgrading isn't confined to airline desks. Gerry Mullins advises on how to bag the best room in the hotel
The universal star system for rating hotels means very little. Take, for example, the Grand Hotel Vesuvio, a classic five-star property in Naples. Its finest suite offers stunning views of the Bay of Naples, is adorned by antique furniture and chandeliers, and has a marble bathroom with a Jacuzzi, all for around €1,800 per night. On a lower floor on the other side of the hotel there is the "superior" room with no sea view, although it boasts a safe, a plug for a computer, and a 20 per cent discount at the hotel gift shop, all for a modest €207 per night. In this hotel there are two very different five-star experiences. Which is the real one?
What matters isn't so much the grade of the hotel, but the grade of the room in the hotel. For most of us, what matters is an upgrade.The good news is that hotels understand the power of the upgrade. They realise that offering a customer a better room than the one they are entitled to costs the hotel very little extra, but is likely to win that customer's loyalty. It is an opportunity for the hotel to showcase their property.
Simply asking for an upgrade sometimes works, but your chance of success is enhanced if you know what you're asking for. Hotels are happy to give upgrades if they feel the recipient can bring repeat business. They will be interested to know if you're a regular visitor to their area, if you're the person who books your sales team's travel itineraries, or if you organise conferences for a living and are scouting out a new location. They might also like to know if you are celebrating your wedding anniversary or birthday during your stay. They want to believe that if they make a suitable fuss on your big day, you are likely to tell your well-heeled, well-travelled friends, who will in turn visit the hotel.
Hotels, like airlines, like to reward loyalty, so let them know if you've stayed there before. If the hotel is a chain, let them know you've stayed in their sister hotel before. Remember, they really want to please you, so give them every opportunity.
Another clever approach is to get to know your hotel before making a booking. That way you will know what special treatment to ask for. You might not even need an upgrade. For example, rooms on one side of the Radisson SAS in Galway offer views of Lough Atalia and Galway Bay, while rooms on the other side, well . . . don't. You mightn't want a bigger room, just a nice view.
Look at a hotel's website before booking, to see what floors have the balconies, which rooms are not on the side of the night club, and which wing has been modernised. Instead of simply asking for an upgrade, try a more informed request such as: "The last time I was here you were modernising your executive suites. Do you think we could stay in one tonight?"
Research will also reveal which nights the hotel is least busy, and most likely to sell you a suite for the price of a regular room. Generally, business hotels will struggle to fill rooms at weekends, while country retreats will struggle mid-week. They all struggle on Sunday nights.
Booking over the internet makes it difficult for you to convey to the hotel how worthy of an upgrade you are, but if the site is well-maintained this may not matter. In their efforts to increase online business, many hotels will by-pass their own reservations department and post their best deals on their website. If you check prices online, and then call the reservations department, you get the dual-benefit of a price for comparison purposes, and the opportunity to explain how worthy of an upgrade you are.
Many people confuse the reservations department with the reception desk. Certainly, the people on the front desk are able to take bookings, but they are usually too busy with check-outs, check-ins and other inquiries to concentrate on giving you anything other than the listed price. In contrast, staff in the reservations department are focused on making sales. They have both the power and the motivation to give you an upgrade if they believe you will bring future business.
There's a saying in the hotel industry that a room is more perishable than a steak. An unsold steak can be returned to the refrigerator and sold the next day, but an empty room is a sale lost forever. From 6pm, hotels are willing to drop their prices to fill remaining rooms. At that time, it becomes a buyer's market and it is possible to walk in and negotiate a suite at a knock-down price. The hotel still has to maintain its brand image, so a drunken stag party might not be so lucky. But if you dress well, charm the receptionist, and have the air of someone who might like to come back and stay again and again, you should have no difficulty.