How to upgrade your hotel room w/o paying a ton extra?

My fiance and I are booked at the hotel monteleone easter weekend in a basic room for about $119/night. They%26#39;re having a special for that weekend. Absolutely fantastic price, but it left me wondering:

How do you go about upgrading your room w/o paying for it?

Is this even possible? I%26#39;m not asking for the tennesee williams suite, but should I just ask the front desk if they can upgrade us? How do you go about this without sounding like an idiot or cocky?

How to upgrade your hotel room w/o paying a ton extra?

Depending on what type of hotel I am staying at, I will ask upon check in if they have any free upgrades. Several times I have actually been upgraded to a much nicer room too. I figure it never hurts to ask.

How to upgrade your hotel room w/o paying a ton extra?

I would expect the Monteleone to be sold out so I don%26#39;t know how many upgraded rooms will be available. Often, hotels will upgrade the folks paying the most and then start going down. With a $119 rate, the best you%26#39;re probably going to get is a one-category upgrade. As others have said, though, it can%26#39;t hurt to ask. You never know!

I%26#39;m pretty excited about staying at the monteleone anyways, so I think I%26#39;ll just say, ';What are the fees to upgrade our room?'; and offer friendship/first child/fiance

I have kind of a %26#39;thing%26#39; that I%26#39;ve used to get upgrades and it seems to work pretty well....

When I walk into the hotel, I smile like an idiot, no matter how tired I am from the flight. Even if there is a line at the counter, I act like I couldn%26#39;t care less, that I am just happy to be there. When we walk up to the desk, there isn%26#39;t a nicer person on Earth than I am at that moment. I greet the clerk and ask, %26#39;How are you today?%26#39;. When they start to assign a room, I always ask, %26#39;Is that a nice room?%26#39; smile lovingly at my husband, and say %26#39;It%26#39;s kind of a special occasion%26#39; and try to blush....

OK, it%26#39;s goofy, but it works more often than not!

lol

cewayfarer, can%26#39;t wait to meet you so I can picture it in my mind. Good idea though! A girl can get away with a lot with just a smile.... :-)

You know, I have to say, I sound like kind of a weasel (weaselette?), but it works, even though I am 51 (OK, 52 in 2 1/2 weeks). A good smile is ageless!

I%26#39;ll send you a message via TA about getting together, since I might not make the M%26amp;G.

This won%26#39;t work for the Monteleone, but often just joining a hotel chain%26#39;s frequent-stay program is enough. I know Omni Hotels gives Select Guest members upgrades quite often. I stay at the Omni Parker House in Boston often and usually get at least a junior suite.

Thanks for that great idea, cewayfarer. I%26#39;ll be giving that a try when my husband and I celebrate our 20th anniversary in New Orleans this year!

cewayfarer--- What a great suggestion!

Hey Tanya, what else do you guys have planned while you are there? Any favorite things you like to do?

acne