Cheap MGM Room upgrade?
 

Hubby & I plan to stay at the MGM from Sun. Dec. 17th to Fri. Dec. 22nd. We're getting a Grand Tower room, but have heard of getting an upgrade if a $20 or $40 is slid to the front desk person. Has anyone heard of this? How possible could we get such an upgrade during this particular week (I still don't know how busy Las Vegas usually is at this time of the year)? Thank you in advance!

I don't think the tip ploy works, and I wouldn't try in a casino which has cameras pointed on every transaction.

A better approach is to have a bellboy take you to your room and to have him get it changed for you if it displeases you in any way.

It's kind of tacky to do this. The week of Dec. 17 to Dec. 22 is one of the very least expensive weeks in Vegas (but it will be crowded just the same). Room rates are actually "deals" that week (I know, that is one of the weeks we always go up there & I have the Mirage for $79 that week). Chances are you will be upgraded anyway, just be polite, smile and don't act like a jerk at checkin :-) (People do, we've seen them).

We've never had to slip the res. clerk money to get higher floors, views, etc. and we go several times a year.

I just looked, the MGM rooms start at $79 that week - for that price I'd stay at the Mirage (just my thoughts). If you have not been to Vegas before be aware that some hotels shut pools down for maintenance that week (the Mirage did last year) and there also may be some routine maintenance work going on in the hotels. Some shows are "dark" but several of the current "biggies" will be performing, i.e. "Love", "Phantom".

NO! You think a desk clerk is going to risk their job for $20?

If you want an upgrade ask about getting one - if available they will tell you how much it will be.

If the hotel is empty it may be nothing. If full - a lot. If it really matters to you just pay for it.

YES this works and I have used it before. Clerks will NOT get fired for this, las vegas is a town that lives on tips.

The last time I went to vegas was a last minute trip and there were several large conventions in town, everything was pricey and booked. The company would only pay $100 a night. I booked the sahara for $79 (a good deal for that week).

When I checked in I slid the clerk my license with a $20 under it and asked if there were any suites available. He saw the $20, said hold on, about 5 minutes later I was upgraded from a 12th floor standard room to a top floor suite. I checked sahara's website that night, the room I was in was going for $349 and sold out.

Now the hotel was older, but the suite was two rooms, had a full bar, floor to ceiling windows and a strip view. I've used this at the mirage, bellagio, and mgm before. It works 80% of the time. Tip: if possible look for the younger guy clerks, avoid the older women (and men). mainly, be nice, and if they take your money and give you a crappy room, look at it as your first lost bet :)

I think stinkypants might have just found a clerk with no scruples, and fortunately for hotel operators is the exception rather than the rule.

It is an employee's duty to maximize revenue for his employer, not line his pockets with money rightfully due the boss; even in LV Anyone with any doubts should ask ALOUD to the clerk with supervisors nearby if duking the clerk for an upgrade is permissable.

I am a p/t clerk (who at one time worked in management before changing fields) and I can tell you that for most of us, the $20 would be an affront to us. Be assured, we always appreciate some token of appreciation for something we did afterwards, but a #20 ahead of time is a bribe, no matter how you dressup the wording.

Does your employer (or you, if you are management) take kindly to employees "giving away the store"? If so, post here as you might have some goods I'd like to buy!

It dosen't seem like something a "lady" should do.

Thank you for taking the time to respond, especially those who focused on answering the questions ONLY instead of making stupid, judgmental comments.

Here's a tip; call the hotel and ask for the upgrade and what it will cost you.

That way you won't be guilty "of making stupid, judgmental" actions.

Lady Phoenix,

Your question suggests somebody told that you that desk clerks at MGM are unethical and would risk their jobs by giving you something that belongs to those who employ them. I believe you were giving incorrect information.

I further believe others are trying to explain to you how the world REALLY works. Why not thank them rather than berate them?

HTTY

Well, I hate to add to this, but I grew up surrounded by gamblers and spent a good bit of time in LV. That was a long time ago, but one thing gamblers all believed in was tipping for better service ahead of time.

I watched folks get rooms in sold out hotels, tables in restaurants that were fully booked, etc. This was a way of life for these people. Tipping was just what they did.

So... I never really had the nerve to try it, and not because I think it is all that morally wrong. Someone is going to get that room; why not you? Anyway, I tried it just this summer. Put a twenty folded under my CC at check in. Asked for "a lovely king room" and don't you know we got one.

I am not sure if I would do it again. But LV is the land of tacky. Why not be tacky in the very heart of Tacky Land? Why not tip? If the clerk doesnt want it, he/she only has to say "No thank you."

You can bet that the gamblers tip the desk clerks at check in. I would put hard money on it.

HTTY, apparently you did not read my post. I thanked everyone for their responses. The "judgmental" comment was toward posters like "MorganRey" who didn't bother to address the question. My questions were very specific, yet 1 or 2 responses were unrelated. Why bother to be a smart azz? And you are correct: on a Vegas website (reviewjournal.com), posters stated that they have rec'd room upgrades in this manner. I decided to see what the Fodor posters had to say.

Thank you GoTravel for your tip.

LadyPeoenix - please don't let any comments keep you from trying anything you can do to get that free upgrade. Some clerks will be glad to "help" you (and themselves) .. and some might be just as likely to take the $20 and give you a standard room. Will you have any receipt in order to get a refund should you not like the room?

As always, it's best to just ask. If you get it, great;, if not, then as long as you got what you paid for then you're doing ok.

While it doesn't work in LV (few chain hotels) it's always good to be a member of a hotel chain's "loyalty club" in order to get free upgrades in other cities.

Best of luck, and should you lose your wallet, I hope an honest employee finds it, not one of the crooks. yes, I believe in karma.

Thank you rb for a straight-forward response. I appreciate that, and wish others would take a lesson from your example!

Lighten up. MorganRey was obviously aiming for humor, interpreting "lady" in the sense of "A woman regarded as proper and virtuous."

Kind of low class....why not just pay for a better room? Why go thru life trying to get something for nothing.

I agree with others. Just ask about room upgrades and they will tell you how much.

Iambooth,

Touche!

I, a true lady, would never stoop to bribery.

I get room up-grades by being kind and appreciative of room clerks' efforts.

L.M. Sunshine