FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - tipping the front desk to get an upgrade at 4*/5* hotels?

Apr 23, 2010 | 1:18 pm

#1

Jasper2009

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Join Date: May 2009

Location: FRA / YEG

Programs: AC Super Elite, Radisson Platinum, Accor Platinum

Posts: 11,874

tipping the front desk to get an upgrade at 4*/5* hotels?

I hope nobody is offended by this question, but I was wondering:
Is it acceptable/common to offer a "tip" to the front desk at check-in for an upgrade at high-end hotels?
(let´s say 4* minimum, e.g. Fairmont, Four Seasons)
To keep it simple let´s focus on the US and maybe Canada/Europe where tipping is pretty common.

The reason I started thinking about this is:
1. I saw this happen a couple of times at 3* hotels and it seems to be pretty common in some cities as Las Vegas, New York, Miami etc. (there also is a thread on FT about the "$20/$50 trick", but I couldn´t find it right now)
2. All staff (bell staff, concierge, housekeeping, butlers) are used to receiving (large) tips except for the front desk. Maybe I´m wrong, but it´s my impression that the front desk staff make the least money, have to deal with complaints all day and generally have to put up with a lot of pressure both from the guests and management. Therefore wouldn´t somebody working at the front desk be more than happy to upgrade a guest for a $50/$100 tip? (of course the guest would have checked that there is availability before cecking in)

I´ve never tried this, but am very interested in any first/second-hand experience / thoughts on this topic. Maybe there´s a FTer here who happens to work at a hotel and would like to comment on this?

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