Travel Deal of the Day (January 9, 2008)

You arrive at your hotel room and you realize you have been given one of the worst rooms in the hotel – either because it is next to the elevator, looks out on a dumpster, smells of smoke or some other odor, etc…Often, when you book through certain websites that offer highly discounted rooms (such as Priceline or Hotwire), the hotels are notorious for giving the less desireable rooms to customers. Whatever the reason for your displeasure for the room, there are ways to increase your chances of being assigned a better room or getting your room changed once you arrive:

Step 1: Contact the hotel before you arrive. The best game plan is to send a fax to the front desk manager before you arrive notifying him/her about any special occasion you are celebrating while at the hotel or about any frequent guest club membership you have that would be relevant to that hotel chain. Include in the letter any special requests (such as non smoking, king bed, high floor). Also, let them know you are a return guest (if applicable). This kind of contact lets the hotel know that a better room assignment would be appreciated. Always be polite – the front desk and the reservations department have tremendous discretion in room assignments.

Step 2: Call the hotel on the morning of arrival to remind the hotel of your room preferences.

Step 3: When you arrive, as mentioned earlier, reiterate you requests and be polite. A little kindness goes a long way, especially to people with a tremendous amount of room for discretion for room assignments.

Step 4: If you are unhappy with your room assignment, politely go back down to the front desk and state briefly why you are dissatisfied with your room assignment. Regardless of the rate you paid, most hotels want you to be satisfied and will work with you to find a room that is acceptable to you (assuming availability exists). The reason to do steps 1 -2 is that sometimes hotels are sold out and you cannot be moved to another room (especially if you arrive at a hotel late in the evening) – this is why you want to get pre-blocked into a desirable room as a result of steps 1 – 2. Also, even if the hotel is not willing to move you to a better room at the rate you paid, you may find that you can pay as little at $10 or $20 per night or stay and get a much better room with much better amenities (such as free breakfast, free access to workout facilities, free access to business center facilities) that may pay for themselves. Again, politeness and “kind persistence” goes a long way.

Step 5: Send a thank you note to the hotel employee that helps you obtain a great room and to that person's boss. Why? First, because being nice is a great thing and will let that person (and her/his supervisor) know that you appreciated the help. Also, if you return to the hotel, you will be remembered - and you will likely get a better room the next time as well.