Great thread!

Another question on tipping. Often when I arrive at a hotel, I am "assisted" with my bags by a number of different individuals. First the guy out front who wears the military/formal looking uniform will rush to help me take my bags from the cab and place them on the curb. A bellhop will then take my bags from the curb to the registration desk (or, often store them somewhere and give me a ticket for later delivery), and then sometimes a different person will make the acutal delivery of my bags.

Who should I tip? I believe in tipping someone who is providing a service and assistance. But when three different people have "assisted" me with my bags, often for just a few moments, it seems ridiculous to tip them all. I usually just tip the person who delivers the bags to my room, but you get the feeling that everyone in the baggage food chain is looking for a tip.

Hi!
thanks for responding. Yes, it was a mess. They wouldn't let me park in their lot that night either, nor would they pay parking charges at the Holiday. So I got nailed for that as well. The room was prepaid via the conference so they are the ones handling the $$. Do you think the hotel would bill the conference even though I didn't stay there and make a tidy profit as you illustrated? (FYI, I looked over the counter at the Holiday and saw 85.00 for the rate! (obvious negotiated rate between hotels) as I figured the conference rate was 165.00. So another question remains, when I show up and walked, am I charged? or is the night at the alternate hotel on the sold out one. In this case , if they were obligated to provide me a room at their cost, they made out huge. They sold my room to someone else(maybe for 200) and charged the conference and only paid 85.00 to get rid of me. I was only walked one night(thursday) of a 3 night stay. The Hyatt is always busy S-Th nights as it is located very close to the Capital, US Courthouse, etc.
The nightmare of course is to get into the Holiday Inn at 130-2a, conference at 9am, somehow check out, then check in at 4-5p after the conference . I asked to speak to a manager re this but of course it was a friday after 5pm and the accountant was not there until monday. If the conference wasnt charged , then I dont care as it will makes its way to charity (unless the conference organizers get to keep it!, but I dont need to go there.)
I just have a sneaky feeling that the Hyatt did better than anyone else.
Mike

Great Thread!!

Are there really "Priceline" rooms... those that are reserved specifically for the customer staying on a Priceline (or other deeply discounted) rate?

I'm also keeping a database of Priceline and Hotwire hotels that have been "won", for those that are interested:

www.BetterBidding.com


Also, near the beginning of this thread i saw a discussion about "Superior vs. Deluxe" rooms. When we were in London a few years ago we had to change rooms after the first nite as the room was the size of a closet (the bathroom was big... but about the same size as the "living" area); and i am NOT the type to complain about a hotel room.

The next nite we came back from a day of exploring and a woman was at the front desk complaining about her room, "this is a single, i'm supposed to have a double, blah, blah, blah". The front desk person asked the woman her room number and replies, "Oh, that room is classified as a double deluxe superior grande whatever (blah, blah, blah)"

I turned to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and say, "You can call it Buckingham Palace if you want, it doesn't change the fact that the room is the size of a shoebox!"

I don't care what they call it, there are definately some rooms at a property that are better than others!

[This message has been edited by thereuare (edited 02-17-2003).]

I would think that a hotel would "save" its least desireable rooms for Priceline/Hotwire guests who are also not elite members of the hotel's frequest guest program. If the hotel was unexpectedly filling up, Priceline/Hotwire guests would be placed into these less desireable rooms. If the hotel had lots of rooms available, then the Priceline/Hotwire guest would get a regular room.

My reasoning is that why would a hotel put a regular rate paying customer who specifically booked a room in that hotel in a "less desireable" room and risk pissing them off, whereas a Priceline/Hotwire customer might grumble and moan and groan, but they would write off having received a less desireable room to getting what they paid for?

The Priceline/Hotwire customer knows that they are partially playing a game of Hotel Room Russian Roulette in exchange for the cheaper price. Also, by the fact that they are using Priceline/Hotwire, they are not showing any type of brand/property loyalty in the first place.

Of course, if the Priceline/Hotwire customer is a Plutonium member, then all bets are off.

Indeed. I have gotten Diamond elite benefits (lounge access: free breakfast/free evening drinks & snacks) on Priceline stays at Hilton and Doubletree. Also got stay/nights credit, but no points.

And from my experience, it would appear that even basic members of a hotel chain's loyalty program may get better treatment than non-members.

I have NEVER received an inferior room. I am a member of all the major hotel loyalty programs, and with these stays, I always make sure the hotel has my membership number (usually beforehand).


Kathy

OneDog, i guess that is my point, as Kathy states she has never received an inferior room while using Priceline or Hotwire (although she is also member of each hotel's clubs). I have also heard of hotels not assigning rooms until people check-in, so it could have everything to do with how "nice" you are the the check-in person OR "luck of the draw."

I have also heard reports about Priceline customers getting inferior rooms during non-peak periods, and other reports of Priceline customers getting GREAT rooms at the same hotel while the hotel was at full capacity. Sometimes it seems like the ultra-low rate customer gets inferior rooms, other times it seems that there is no difference. But i've also heard of "traditional" customers getting bad rooms... so i was hoping to gain some insight as to whether it was simply random OR if there was actually some thought that went into giving the ultra-discount customer the worst rooms in the house.

On a last note, i have been told by people that use both Priceline and Hotwire, that they typically receive better treatment when staying on their Hotwire reservations than they do on their Priceline reservations.

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www.BetterBidding.com

[This message has been edited by thereuare (edited 02-17-2003).]

In regards to the Priceline/Hotwire issue:

First of all, just about EVERY hotel has rooms that are better than others in the same "class". (i.e. deluxe, superior, etc.)

Whether or not they save the worse rooms for Priceline customers I honestly don't know. You are assuming that the front desk agent even knows which rooms are better than others, which is often not the case.

I think the most important thing to note here is that if a hotel is selling rooms on Priceline, then it is very unlikely that the hotel will be full anyways, so chances are this is a moot point.

If the hotel is full, then I would say that preference would go by status first, then by room rate (just like the airlines), as others have said.

The best way to avoid ending up with the crappy room is to DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
Find out from FT or other sites, which rooms are big, small, have nice views, are noisy, etc, etc. Then, call ahead and request that type of room, or even request a specific room number. There is no guarantee that your request will be honored, but you are greatly improving your odds.

Priceline or no Priceline, you are still a paying guest of the hotel and should be treated as well as anyone else staying there.

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"I just wanna wish you good luck, we're all counting on you"
-Dr. Rumack

Bingo! (Do the front desk clerks in big hotels ever even see the inside of a room?)

I've never been stuck with a bad room on a Priceline stay. In fact, it's common for the desk clerk to ask me what sort of room I'd like. I've never been on the back end, but from the outside looking in, it seems to me most Priceline rooms are on a "run of the house" basis - you get whatever happens to be available when you show up.

FlyerGold-
I think ALL of these questions are reasonable to ask if they are important to you. Sometimes you can find this info. on the hotel's website, but any reservation agent at the hotel (not necessarily the 800 number agents) should be able to answer all of those questions.



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"I just wanna wish you good luck, we're all counting on you"
-Dr. Rumack

I can understand this to be confusing, but you seem to have it right. The most important person to tip is the bellhop who delivers the bags to your room. You can most certainly tip the other two that helped you on the street level of course they would never refuse a tip, but more than $1 or $2 is really not expected.
Sometimes the bellhops pool their tips anyways, so the money gets split up at the end of the shift. The doormen expect to make their money from guests LEAVING the hotel, so its OK if you don't give them anything when you check in.
Hope that helps http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif


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"I just wanna wish you good luck, we're all counting on you"
-Dr. Rumack

I was wondering about the line of tipping on Bell men as well. Upon checking out of the Grand Hyatt NY, we called and asked for the Bellman to help with the bags. (6+ bags and boxes of books) He came with the cart and took us down to the mezzanine and handed us off to the Doorman who flagged a cab. The doorman then handed us off to another Bellman who helped us load the cab. The only person still around was the last Bellman (The others left as soon as we were handed off!) So I am assuming that the last guy shares tips with the others.


BTW are you working again. Having read this thread from the beginning over the last week, I understand you were laid off last year. I hope that the economic gods have been kind.

Thank you for your responses g_leyser. I have learned a lot.

Now a question... I'm going to Europe for my honeymoon in late april/early may and want to make my hotel stays special for me and my bride. I have mentioned this fact to every hotel I have already booked, but am wondering what else I can do ahead of time or when I arrive?

for example, how do I get a luxury hotel to throw in airport transfers which it does for stays longer than ours? or upgrades etc..?

If I have a reservation and checked in @ an absurbly early hour, such as 2am, can hotels charge me for an extra night or half day?

Is our reservation good for a 24 hour day or the standard 3pm (check-in) through noon (check out)?

Just found this thread.....I'm relatively new to FT...and spent the last hour and a half reading every post. As has been stated numerous times, SUPERB job!! Can't believe this thread is still open.
I have a personal question. Unless I missed a post somewhere, have you landed another job yet?? Certainly hope so...
The main thing I've learned from all the posts is that I'd better start greasing a few more palms and asking the right questions at the front desk!

I had the same doorman dilemna recently; a very formally dressed guy at the Westin Sydney did all the work in loading my bags, etc, and I was going to tip him, but he walked away as soon as he was done and instead I tipped the guy who opened and shut the door for my wife and I. I just hoped they pooled the tips. I also tipped a very helpful porter once $10 for taking my luggage up and talking up a storm about the room and the Sydney; he was my best friend the rest of the stay. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...orum/smile.gif