The $20/$50/$100 gesture at check in?
 

In your experience, has "greasing" the person at check in gotten you a better room?

I haven't done it before at a "luxury" hotel, amd was curious about your successes/failures.

I have to imagine a $100 would go much further than a $20 at a 5 star properties.

I did it at the Bellagio back in 2008. A $50 sandwiched between my credit card and my passport. We had booked the lead-in category of room and got a suite with a view of the fountains. I couldn't tell whether this was because of the tip or that we were on honeymoon.

I classify this under tacky, and don't do it. Maybe people do it in vegas, but b vegas is tacky and everyone does it so I'm not sure how big of an advantage it is there

I'm at a Four Seasons at the moment and imagain I had given them 100 $ at check in. Without being rude this would be the bedt way to blame myself or get a moron-tag on my file. Absolutely inappropriate.

Yeah, I think outside of Vegas, this isn't how it works.

In some countries this would be seen as attempting to bribe someone (as you are clearly attempting to commit a bribe). This might not end well for you or the employee. It would almost certainly be a disciplinary issue for a hotel employee and could be a legal one for both of you.

In countries, where a tipping culture does not exhist, it will probably be met with complete confusion.

Try it in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or China and see what happens.....

Be polite, smile and ask for an upgrade. Or send an email in advance doing the same. The only correct way.

I would never try to "bribe" someone for an upgrade.

I do believe in tipping the right way. If a concierge or other hotel employee does something I really appreciate, I may discreetly give that person a huge tip, expecting nothing in return. It often does happen that those people remember me and make sure I am always extremely well taken care of, and given the best room allocations and possibly upgrades.

I also never count on upgrades unless they are confirmed in advance. I book at least the minimum category I am happy with, and then any upgrade I may receive is a pleasant surprise.

Interesting watching this thread develop. I think there seems to be some consensus that in a hotel outside of Vegas this just wouldn't be appropriate. As a Brit, even one who spends a lot of time in the US, I do struggle with the tipping culture.

It seems like everything requires a tip in the US these days; valet parking (even if you've paid for it), housekeeping, bell service, servers, concierge - all on top of a ridiculous resort fee and service charge. I've never heard a convincing argument for resort fees. They're a complete rip-off and shouldn't exist. Why not just build it into the price of the room and pay everyone properly? It makes it so much more pleasant for the guest.

The argument that good service is encouraged by tipping is a misnomer. If staff are paid well, feel valued and enjoy their work then they will give good service.

It's tacky even in Vegas. Outside Vegas it crosses the line to complete crass vulgarity

Not specific to luxury hotels, so I am moving to Travel Buzz

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels

It seems that 'greasing the wheels' goes on everywhere though. Before our stay at Chateau Saint-Martin last summer I asked whether sun loungers at the pool needed to be reserved each day. I was told that it was not possible and on a first come, first served basis. Sounded good to me.

A few days we went down in the afternoon and saw sun loungers without anything on them (no towels, books, personal items) but there was a small 'reserved' sign on the table in between them. We just sat down and claimed them. Once a member of the pool staff came over and told me the loungers were reserved. I told him that the concierge team had told me that wasn't possible. He apologised profusely and walked away. We were never challenged when we did it again. I can only surmise that people were tipping to reserve sun loungers - I didn't. And I didn't let myself be disadvantaged by it either.

The service in America is far from extraordinary - and bad service certainly exists there. Being dealt with promptly, knowing what is on the menu, bringing drinks and food in the right order isn't good service, it is just the job. Best service I've experienced anywhere is probably in Hong Kong.

Resort Fees work totally to the benefit of the operator, all the things you seem to pay for are things that used to be free or used to be things you would never have bothered about. I remember reading somewhere the Resort Fees brought tax benefits for hotel operators. Other benefits (in the days of internet price comparisons) are that it allows a hotel to demonstrate a lower headline rate. Something that causes problems in the UK as you can't advertise prices with compulsory hidden extras.

That's excactly what I do except it's guaranteed like some Virtuoso-properties or hotel-programs.

There's a similarly-stupid idea for gate agents:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...gift-card.html