Hi All,

I am staying in various hotels over LA, San Fran and Vegas in July. I am taking my Mum over for her 50th birthday from Australia as she has never been before. I am considering emailing the hotel's and asking for an upgrade as a surprise for her. I am currently in the travel industry myself but I just wanted to get your thoughts on this idea.

Cheers!

There is certainly no harm in asking for upgrades! I typically do when we check in. We just stayed in San Diego for 2 days after a cruise and when I made the reservation over the phone I asked if it would be possible to do an upgrade. I told her that I was a member of the Choice Rewards Program for their hotel and she said she would make note of that. I booked the least expensive room and was told that it would be overlooking the courtyard. When we checked in we did receive an upgrade and the room was located in a better location so I was happy. The most they will say is no!

If you are booking chain hotels, then I would suggest that you sign up for the rewards programs (usually can do online), then when you book give your membership number. We like Holiday Inn Expresses so usually book w/ them and give our Choice Rewards card #.

Good luck. Hope it works for you. Happy Bday to your Mum, hope she enjoys her visit.

Holiday Inn Express is Priority Club Rewards...

I don't know that you will get much response in advance. You are most likely to get something if the hotel isn't very full - and they won;t know that until day of.

You can certainly ask in advance - but I bet all you get are offers of a paid upgrade.

I would ask when you check in if there are any upgrades available - and what the price is. I'm been upgraded - sometime significantly (large suite from regular room) at no cost - but usually the offer is only if you want to pay.

Well, maybe I am very cheesy, but when we are traveling for a special occasion, I usually call ahead to confirm the reservation, ostensibly, but really to "make sure everything will be perfect for my SO's big birthday", or whatever it is. More than once this has resulted in the clerk's greeting us when we arrive with happy news of an upgrade for the special event.

When checking in, if nothing has been offered, I ask if the room is nice, is it on a high floor, I smile a lot, and sometimes that results in a free upgrade. More often, though, the upgrade os offered at additional cost.

I certainly see no harm in asking nicely, especially for a special trip.

Thank you so much for the replies. I emailed the hotel directly and informed them of my situation and all have replied that the information has been placed in my profile booking and if their is available rooms on the day then they will see what they can do. No harm in asking I guess. Now I shall just wait and see! Thank you again!

No harm in asking while mentioning her birthday, but determine if you want to pay for it, and if yes, how much.

My very first experience with upgrade: the lady at the front desk was very enthusiastic in showing me photos, and at the end she said, this suite will be this much, this will be this much... so I said, no thanks, I'll get what I reserved.

So this was my last upgrade attempt

I've had good luck with upgrades - I usually just ask when I am checking in.

The best upgrade I am aware of is when my daughter and son-in-law got married. They chose to have their honeymoon in San Francisco. The honeymoon was part of my wedding present to them. I called the Grand Hyatt at Union Square and reserved a room. I asked for the room to have a view if possible since they would be on their honeymoon. They arrived quite late at the hotel after their wedding and reception and they were given a good room with a lovely view.

However, after they returned from breakfast and a walk the next day they discovered that the Grand Hyatt had moved them into the Honeymoon Suite! They were overjoyed needles to say. The charge for the suite was the same as for the original room. Obviously the suite hadn't been reserved by other guests of course. Talk about being at the right place at the right time!

Wishing you and your mother a beautiful trip, Little_Miss, your mother will certainly have a special birthday and best wishes regarding the room upgrades.