GrayAnderson

Is there any way to get a note on my profile saying I don't want a king bed? I've got "Double" checked off vs "King/Queen" but I can't find any way to actually indicate that I actively dislike the larger beds.

This is a very real issue for me...my home bed is a double bed and I'm actually quite used to sleeping in a berth. I have serious trouble comfortably sleeping in a king bed (I can make a queen work). It's something about the way the sheets behave combined with getting "lost" in the bed; in general I probably drop about half an hour of sleep as a result. The result is that I'm constantly getting "upgraded" into a situation that I don't want and sometimes all but have to fight the front desk staff on this.

Edit: For an analogy, to me this is a hotel version of the old "upgraded to a middle seat" problem.

Mr. Vker

When you reserve, you can go to room preferences and make sure an alternate to King is selected. Then, its guaranteed.

Dr. HFH

Most hotel suites in the upgrade pool are smaller suites, and have king beds. You could ask to have the king replaced by a smaller bed on checkin; and they might be able to accommodate you depending on how the room is set up. I would definitely contact the hotel directly when booking to express your preference.

MSPeconomist

I suspect part of the problem is that in some properties 1king and 1queen are the same room category. Bedding categories outside of the USA can also differ and smaller beds are seen more frequently in some foreign countries.

OP could write that a king sized bed is not wanted in the remarks block on all reservations and hope that someone at the hotel looks at this before preassigning rooms, but it might be best to contact the hotel somewhat in advance to emphasize this.

writerguyfl

This is probably the only way to handle this issue. I always add a "No Connecting Door, Please" comment on every reservation. If I'm arriving during daylight hours, I just hope for the best. But if I'm arriving in the evening, I'll call to give the Front Desk a heads-up about the request, since theoretically there will be fewer rooms if they assign them at check-in.

daniellam

At some hotels, the majority of their suites have connecting doors (so they can sell it either as one or two bedroom suite). By doing this, you may be indirectly saying no to a potential suite upgrade.

GrayAnderson

Which is something that I think we're both inclined to accept as a risk. If there's a "feature" in a suite that is seen a significant drawback (be it connecting doors, bed type, or even sheer sprawl) then I can see preferring a "normal" room to the fancy one.

flyme2

If you go the two bed route, you'll surely forgo almost any suite upgrade. If UG's are less important than your dislike of a King bed, that's what I would do.

Dr. HFH

At SGS, Room 1012 is a suite with two beds; but I think that it's the only one in the hotel.

flyme2

Switching brands, there are two queen beds in some suites at the Cairo Conrad. I've also had rollaway beds brought into suites with just a king bed, so that may also be an option, although rather cumbersome. I'd like to see housekeeping's reaction to seeing the king bed go unused in lieu of the rollaway.

GrayAnderson

Probably quite the mix of amusement and bemusement.

writerguyfl

That is a good point. I'm glad you mentioned it, because it's something that other people may want to not use the comments approach for that reason.

For me personally, I'm a solo traveler 95% of the time. I literally don't care about getting a suite. In fact, I've turned them down several times over the years. I agree with GrayAnderson. The extra room (aka "sheer sprawl") is wasted on me. If it doesn't come with extra perks like executive lounge access, I don't need a suite.

Back when I worked in hotels, we definitely had guests that were fastidious about being tidy. Although not normal, it wasn't unusual for some guests to make their own bed up every day. I would guess that Housekeeping probably would think that happened in this scenario. Or, they would have laughed like Gray indicated.

I remember once when I was working at a hotel Front Desk, we were desperate for rooms due to an unusually high number of early arrivals. Just after check-out time, my Manager sent me up to the rooms to check on our "due outs" list. That's the term we used for guests due to depart who hadn't checked out. Usually, it was people that just left without informing anyone they were leaving.

Anyway, I went into one vacant room and saw something strange. The bedding was stripped but folded on the bed. The towels were folded but on the floor. And, the trash from the three waste baskets were tied up and sitting neatly next to the door.

As I left the room, I saw one of the Housekeeping Supervisors. I asked her if they were trying some new procedure to clean the rooms. She looked at me oddly, so I showed her the room. She laughed and said something like, "That's Mr. So-and-So. He does that for us. He's super neat. He probably cleaned the bathroom before he left, too. He travels with his own cleaning supplies."

So, there's a random anecdote related to an oddball guest. But, a good oddball because he made life easier for Housekeeping. Housekeeper and Banquet Set-up (who set up chair, tables, stages, etc.) are the hardest-working staff in any hotel.