Originally Posted by notquiteaff

Maybe it's a cultural thing, but I cannot imagine ever checking into a hotel and "mentioning" that it's my birthday, with the hope of scoring something special. That's essentially begging for something, which I don't do.

If I want to eat chocolate for my birthday (I generally don't), I can buy it or hope my wife gives it to me as a surprise. If I wanted a special room as a surprise for my wife's birthday, I'd book that instead of angling (begging) for it.

Now, if the agent at check-in happened to notice it's my birthday when they look at my ID (or maybe Hyatt has it in their computer system) and wants to do something nice out of their own volition -- sure, that's nice and appreciated. But I don't go through life hoping that strangers and businesses do something nice for me because of my birthday.

Like I said, maybe a cultural thing... I don't care/mind if others feel differently.