Do you actively ask for an upgrade at the desk?
 

Does asking for an upgrade at the desk as an HHonors Gold/Diamond up your chances for an upgrade at all? Or does it not matter?

Also -- does digitally checking in reduce the chances of getting an upgrade? I feel like you get locked in to your pre-checkin as some places print a welcome letter in your name for you in advance for the room you pre-checked.

There are tons of threads on both these topics if you search through the forum. Here's one on your second question whose most recent post is yesterday: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...ghlight=online.

Here's pretty much the definitive thread on online checkin: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...sk+for+upgrade

Neil

Always ask ... seldom get...

Two good questions.

As to the first - it nevers hurts to ask. The worst that can happen is they say "Sorry". It's worked for me a couple times, but that's been the exception.

OLCI has complicated that a little. I fiind more often than not that when I do the OLCI (which is almost always), upon requesting the possibility of an upgrade when I show up usually compels the reply, "Since you checked in online, you got the room you requested and thus extinguished consideration for an upgrade." As you say, your pre-checkin locks you into that room.

That doesn't always happen, though. I was upgraded at the DIA HI after having OLCI'd. The FDA told me that she knew I had checked in on line. Regardless, they took action to upgrade me by virtue of my Diamond status.

Our HH reps Erin and Tony have been quite emphatic that OLCI-ing has no relation to upgrade consideration. My experience has been otherwise. I wrote customer care and let them know about it, and in reply got a vanilla response ("Thank you for your interest in the hotel upgrade process - have a nice day.") :\

Hopefully this will get ironed out someday, but I'm not holding my breath.

Depends how long I'm staying. A day or two, I don't bother. If I'm going to be there a week, I'll ask. Rather stay in a nicer room if I'm going to be there a while. Although I do feel like when I'm staying for a day or two is when I'm more likely to get upgraded. It makes sense since it's easier to upgrade a room for a couple nights than a week.

I only ask when its a special occasion, and then i put the request in the booking. Did this for my honeymoon at the HHV and got a nice upgrade to a 1 br suite in the rainbow tower.

I put the request in the booking and ask at the front desk pretty much 100% unless I'm at an all-suite property by myself. For a special occasion, I'll usually find an email address for the GM and email directly explaining the occasion and asking for any special treatment they can muster. I have a pretty good upgrade percentage, both as Diamond and previously as Gold, and have scored some MAJOR upgrades along the lines of Presidential Suites when contacting the GM (only once has this method been ignored entirely).

I used to put my request in the comments section but nothing ever happened.
Now, I only ask if my wife is with me or if I know that I will be spending a lot of time in the room with a project etc.

I pretty much always ask in a nice, second-thought kind of way. But, I usually at a HGI or a Hyatt Place. My upgrade tonight is a "suite" at a HGI but it's more like a sorta separate living room. There's no door closing off the sleeping area.

If for pleasure, yes. If business related then I don't bother. I do ask for high floor and away from elevator as I keep getting bad rooms as a diamond (corp rate is pretty cheap so they give me some real choice rooms).

When I was traveling with my wife, I'd ask on a special occassion. Now, I ask not to be upgraded (to a suite, anyway).

I usually wait for them to tell me if I've been upgraded at check-in. This happens about 80-90% of the time (I stay mostly international). If it doesn't, I ask.

I'm in the same boat as many others, I never ask unless on vacation with Mrs. Sleasure. Unfortunately, I have never been upgraded on a points stay. :(

If offered an upgrade on a routine work trip (rare but it does happen), I will decline if I'm only staying for a short time and ask the FD to assign it to someone who looks like they need a pick-me-up instead.

I'm usually pretty relaxed about it, and enjoy it when it happens.

The exception would be when the hotel's 'upgraded' rooms are actually refreshed ones.

I usually asked for an ES type room when our kids were with us; now my wife and I only ask when on vacation. A bigger deal for us is a view room in larger cities.