Does the $20 Vegas bribe work?
 

[[Moderators - I thought long and hard about where to post this (well, about 30 seconds), and I chose here over the Vegas forum because this area gets more traffic. My bad if my judgement is about as good as Chretien's http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...rum/tongue.gif]]

I'm going to Mandalay Bay in the near future, and I've read in a few places that being discreet and slipping the check-in clerk a $20 often goes a long way into getting your requests met (high floor, strip view, room upgrade, etc). Has anyone had any luck with the "$20 bribe play"? Any comments about this working at the Mandalay Bay?

Thanks in advance.

O

My strategy is to mention to the reservation rep that my wife and I are celebrating an anniversary (perhaps the 3rd anniversary of our toaster oven purchase?) and mention the anniversary celebration at check-in as I kiss my wife, hold her hand, etc. I've always ended up with a big room with a killer view and I still have the $20 in my wallet.

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif

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I thought it is called TIPPING and not bribe. You only bribe in third world countries and tip in US

Tips come after service, money offered prior to service is a bribe http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...rum/tongue.gif

Well, the $20 "tip" has been discussed on numerous Vegas message boards for ages and the general consensus seems to be that it is more effective at the cheaper properties, i.e. downtown or the cheaper strip properties such as Tropicana, Flamingo..etc..

The room prices for suites/great view/..etc..can be quite substantial at the higher end properties such as MB. Therefore the hotel frowns upon guests with a special offer/discount reservation being moved to a 300/400/500$ a night room because they slipped the clerk a $20.

That said, it always depends on the actual clerk at check-in but your chances of this working are pretty slim...

The good news is that the MB is a great hotel and the normal rooms are perfectly adequate, i.e. very big, big bathrooms..etc. You will have a great time at this property, regardless of room. The beach/pool area is fantastic, spend your time there, not in the room http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif

Enjoy your trip !

And you didn't tip the concierge? Now the next time someone tells that same concierge info like that, he'll remember you and may not bend over backwards as much to give extra service. Stiffing someone who goes the extra mile hurts us all in the end.

You at least thanked the person right?

Interesting that you bring this up: I was just 5 minutes ago reading a thread on BetterBidding about the exact same thing.
Apparently it works, most of the time, look here (you'll have to scroll down a couple of posts)

I wouldn't call it a bribe, I would call it stealing.

The hotel is supposed to collect additional revenue from a nicer room. The clerk pocketing a fraction of that revenue and the hotel getting nothing sounds a lot like embezzlement to me.

One time when I was a cashier at a little store, this guy offered me a small price for some item, suggesting that I not ring it up "wink, wink". I told him I was not going to do that. Wouldn't that be embarrassing if your bribe was rejected by an ethical desk clerk?

a whole whopping 8 more posts about vegas in here than than in the vegas forum and you miss out on the hardcore vegas guys who know their stuff in the vegas forum. You'll fit right in in vegas http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 05-29-2003).]

I take offense at being called a thief. It is not "stealing" to offer a tip to the desk clerk, to wit:

(1) Everybody tips everyone in vegas, so a $20 tip is no big deal.
(2) You are not "stealing" the room because you paid for it.
(3) Vegas hotels frequently overbook the low-price rooms and someone will end up with a free upgrade - why not you?

Are you stealing a first class seat when a gate agent upgrades you? Or the FA gives you a free beer?

As for the original question, I found that a $20 tip at 4* casino/hotal got me a nicer room in the newer tower - and probably would have gotten a bigger suite if we had not wanted 2 beds. The key is to be subtle - and don't have high expectations. Your original room rate makes absolutely no difference (we were paying a casino rate) though it probably helps to have a casino card.

(1) Everybody tips everyone in vegas, so a $20 tip is no big deal.

Do you "tip" a dealer $20 to give you a better card? That's not tipping, it's cheating.


(2) You are not "stealing" the room because you paid for it.

You paid for a regular room, not a suite. You are stealing the upgrade from regular to suite.

(3) Vegas hotels frequently overbook the low-price rooms and someone will end up with a free upgrade - why not you?

Comps will take care of that.


Are you stealing a first class seat when a gate agent upgrades you?

If you slipped the gate agent a $20, it sure is.

Or the FA gives you a free beer?

A free beer is chump change compared to an upgrade. If you had offered the flight attendant a tip of a dollar in exchange for a "free" beer, then it would be stealing, albeit a very small amount (a $3 or $4 discount). If not, it's just a geniunely free beer.

[This message has been edited by JS (edited 05-29-2003).]

My daughter works as a room reservation agent at a major Strip Hotel. They pay the agents a commission for any upgrades that they sell. At some hotels they also pay the front desk personnel a commission for upgrades. So, by taking your tip, they are not only reducing their hotels revenue, they are also reducing their potential income, as there would be fewer rooms to upgrade to.

That's fair, but what if the agent's commission is less than $20?

g_leyser. You lurking out there and have an opinion? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif

By one way of looking at it, the agent who takes an under the table "tip" is stealing from his or her fellow agents who would otherwise have the room free to sell as an upgrade and get their commissions.

Personally, I wouldn't do it, but I'm not going to Vegas anyway. The hotel gives the agent some discretion, I imagine, and has ways to police this type of thing happening too much.

Agree.

Has anyone here marched up to an AIRLINE check-in clerk and offered him/her $20 for a better seat or an upgrade? Of course not. WHY .. what is the difference????????/

This is BRIBERY, pure and simple.

In darkest Africa it is part of the way things are done, but not the USA surely?



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~ Glen ~

Come visit HERE the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!

Yes, I do tip dealers $20, and cab drivers and waitresses. And I find that I get better service when I do so. Dealers can help you out in lots of ways.

You still have not provided a satisfactory answer to the overbooking issue. The hotels are always overbooked, so the upgrade might as well go to you, rather than joe-shmoe from idaho who just happens to show up at midnight after all the regular rooms are gone.

Do you think the hotel really gives a ****? Nobody who has booked a $200 room is going to pay $400 to upgrade to a suite on day of arrival, just as nobody is going to pay an airline $2000 to upgrade their $200 coach seat on a transcon. And there are no upgrade stickers at casinos. The hotel is happy to have you tip employees because they don't pay them jack in wages.

Hmmm, good thing you're not traveling in southeast Asia or much of the third world. You'd have a really hard time.

Then again, if Dubya had traveled much and knew about that, we'd probably have bin Laden in custody today. Instead, a few Pakistani conscripts on border duty got some pocket change.



[This message has been edited by RustyC (edited 05-29-2003).]

I try to resist the expansion of tipping into any new areas (e.g. sandwich makers at Subway) for just that kind of reason. Start doing it, and the employer will notice and cut wages, telling employees they have to make the difference in tips. And the employer will pocket the savings rather than pass them on.

Yes, I know that. I'm talking about Las Vegas, in the US of A.

There may not be upgrade stickers but the casino hotels,just like the airlines, certainly have a policy of looking after their frequent/high yield guest. There is a huge "rating" system and an army of hosts in every casino that are designed to look after the important guests. If suites are going to be given away for free, then it is certainly in the hotels interest to make sure these freebies go to a guest who is at least marginally important to the casino i.e. has at least stayed with the hotel before. "Important" does not necessarily mean only the ultra high rollers...

I am sure they prefer the suites to be given away like that as opposed to giving one to Joe Schmoe from Idaho who happened to dig a $20 bill out of his overalls and handed it to the clerk.



[This message has been edited by JohnG (edited 05-30-2003).]

Question for the resident ethicists:

If a hotel charges say $99 on a weekend and $299 during the business week, is the hotel stealing $200 5 days a week from business travelers or are leisure travelers stealing $200 2 days a week from the hotel?

Neither is stealing. You rent a hotel room for a specific date. The business hotel room and the leisure hotel room are the same plot of real estate but are rented on different dates, so different prices is perfectly fine. Just a simple supply/demand.

To
Insure
Prompt
Service

This is really a silly debate that always seem to come up. Care for another opinion? If you have the personality to make tips work in your favor, great. If not, don't bust on the people that can and do. I know some folks may feel awkward in certain situations when they are not sure about whether to tip or not. I go out of my sometimes looking for tipping opportunities. You can question the morality of tipping for the next year and not still not have a definitive answer. If some people can use it to their advantage, let them be. If you don't like it, don't do it. It does happen so let's learn to live with it.

I would have to agree with a previous poster; this should really be in Las Vegas forum. Of course, I'm slightly biased. I'm trying to get more coverage and particpation.

Michael
Moderator: Las Vegas and Travel Technology forums.

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Michael Steinberg
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Of course I tip and thank them profusely! I certainly don't tip them $20.



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Addicted to airline miles? Check out: Mileage Workshop --- "You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." - Frank Zappa (1940-93)

Vegas Watch

check out this Bulletin Board. This subject has been covered ad-nauseum by some Vegas pros

[This message has been edited by prncess674 (edited 05-30-2003).]

Having worked front desk at an international branded hotel before (not in Vegas) I know that often hotel staff are allowed a little leniency to giving away 'free' upgrades. though often can't be bothered without a little 'present'.
BTW, some people question the morality of half of these casinos' existence anyways, I think a clerk accepting a $20 isn't the real Vegas issue.

$100.00 went a very long way in the PAA Clipper Club. Sorry, Glen, to burst your bubble. BTW, I never considered it a "bribe" but a Xmas gift. There is a distinction, you know. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif