Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Readers: What's the best tip you've ever given a hotel staffer and why? And did it get you any special recogntion - maybe a free upgrade or free sweets - as a result?
I thought a tip was supposed to be a reward for good service, not a ploy to gain something for yourself.
You'd be surprised to see what ppl will do to get what they want. I have been offered a tip as means to get a free upgrade countless times. Each time I say "no, sorry". I have received gift cards as tips in reward for good service, and it is true, I remember them because I usually hold onto gift cards for a while.
For me, the best way to get a free upgrade is to have a good story and really connect with the worker. If I hear someone has just overcome cancer or has saved up their entire life savings for a special trip, I might be compelled to upgrade. If I hear you just got married, I don't really care- everyone just got married! If the person is really, really nice or a repeat visitor that I know, I will offer an upgrade. If the person demands something, I definitely say no. Sometimes if I have a guest who witnesses a rude guest and provides sympathy, I will give an upgrade. But I will never, ever, ever give an upgrade to someone who tries to tip me.
I thought a tip was supposed to be a reward for good service, not a ploy to gain something for yourself.
Hotel employees can spot a customer who is appreciative of their service versus one who is gaming for a favor. It is usually very obvious.
I used to have a corporate chef stay at the hotel I worked at. He would get in at 2-3 am each morning and have a stack of faxes for me to fax to his home office. At the end of his stay, he handed me a letter. It was a letter for my wife and I to enjoy dinner at the restaurant he was opening. For a starving grad student working three jobs, and his wife two, that was really appreciated.
On the other hand, I had a couple people who were offering me money to give them discounts they were not entitled to and the like. I was NOT going to break the rules and risk the job to save them a couple of bucks.
Even if you slipped me $20, I had no authorization to upgrade you to a suite. The managers actually reviewed the rates that each customer was paying and would question us if someone was somewhere they did not blong at the rate.
The only time I ask for a free upgrade is when my "status" with that chain should have automatically given me one, and it hasn't happened.
I often ask if what a one level up upgrade (from street to courtyard view for example) will cost if I'm at a resort or a chain where I don't have a frequent guest status, and I'd say about half the time I'm rewarded with a free upgrade. If not then sometimes I pay for it and sometimes I don't, it just depends.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
