The Twenty Dollar Trick Saves Money on Hotels
Twenty Dollar Trick
Have you heard of the Twenty Dollar Trick? It’s a great way to get a free (ok, almost free) upgrade to your hotel in cities like Las Vegas, New York and Boston. My fiance and I used it in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past weekend at Harrah’s and it worked wonderfully! Basically, this is how it works. When you check in, you slip a $20 bill between your credit card and ID, hand them to the receptionist and immediately ask, “Are there any free upgrades available?” If there are, chances are they’ll give you one. And if not, they give the $20 back. We tried this over Memorial Day weekend, and it worked like a charm! We had booked a standard room, and we were immediately upgraded to a Junior Suite that came with a King Bed, a large couch, a printer (really!) and a view of the pool. The room was in the newer tower, so it was nice and large.
I’ve heard that this tactic works in bigger cities like New York as well, so give it a try the next time you check in to a hotel and see what happens! Let good old Jackson do a little work for you. I wonder what would have happened if we had slipped the guy $40…
Harrah's Las Vegas
Photo Credits: StopnLook, ILoveButter
- If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
- Share
- Prev/Next
15 Responses
wow that sounds amazing! I’ll have to try it when I arrive in Seattle next week!
If you had slipped him a $40 bill he would call the Cops and you’d look dumb for counterfeiting a note that clearly doesn’t exist!!
Maybe I will get brave enough to try that in Tunica next weekend.
Very smart, will try it somedays!
gratiss last blog post..Tijdelijk 2 euro referralbonus bij Goudmails.nl
not that smart, as Bg pointed out 40 dollar bills don’t exist, but 20s aren’t hamiltons they’re jacksons.
Try it without the $20. It works for me about 80% of the time.
This is terrible. You’re advocating bribery.
And in point of fact, I think you mean let “Jackson” do the work for you. Alexander Hamilton is on the $50 bill. Probably about the same price as paying for the upgrade legitimately.
I have an idea: Why don’t you get a better-paying job and do the honorable thing, instead of being a classless scumbag?
How does giving someone 20 dollars to upgrade your room equate to a “free upgrade”. That free upgrade just cost you 20 bucks, genius.
Oh, and by the way, any hotel worth its salt will offer you the upgrade if it’s available and you ask nicely. They have nothing to lose by giving you the best they have to offer if they are not booked. Sometimes they even do it as a matter of courtesy, no asking or bribing involved. Ass.
I know people who work the front desk at big hotels. They don’t make much money, so slipping them a $20 to do something they might do for free is just being nice. I bet the people calling this “scummy” don’t tip the porter, either. Hotel workers work long hours under constant scrutiny from their employers and guests who treat them like serfs. If you’ve got the cash to stay at a nice hotel, the least you can do is be nice to the “little people” who do their best to make your stay pleasant.
Besides, this tip could backfire on you — some hotels explicitly forbid their front desk clerks from giving upgrades, free or not.
> I know people who work the front desk at big hotels. They don’t make much money, so slipping them a $20 to do something they might do for free is just being nice.
Interesting. I do believe the title of this article is “Twenty Dollar Trick Saves Money”, which is later described as an “(almost) free upgrade.” It then describes a way to leverage what WOULD otherwise be considered a rather hefty tip for personal gain. Nice? I don’t think so. How can you call a bribe attempt an act of altruism? Expecting something in return is selfish, and yes, scummy too.
> I bet the people calling this “scummy” don’t tip the porter, either.
This statement is simply baseless. The etiquette for distributing gratuities in hotels is quite well defined, through perhaps not understood by all. The valet, doorman, concierge, bellman, room service, maid service, and others, but the front desk staff is not on that list (unless they help you with early check in or check out). Also, I don’t recall referring to any of these people as the “little people,” but it is also understood that they are in a service industry, specifically the service of the guest. And guess what else? ANY properly run business SHOULD have their management staff scrutinize their employees constantly to keep the service level high.
Front desk staff, like several other positions in the hotel, are entry-level positions on a management track. As such, they are not well-paid, and not typically tipped, and yes, they are under scrutiny from supervisors. That is what entry-level positions entail in several professions, not just hotel management.
hey more on (or moron), Grant is on the $50 not hamilton.
Wow. Bribery? Really? I believe I can tip anyone I darn well please and there is nothing unethical or illegal about it. The front desk clerks have descretion to give complementary upgrades. So, giving them a twenty and nicely asking if they can give you an upgrade is no crime. And $20 does save money. It will cost you more than $20 over the entire stay. You know, there are real people posting on this site. You would never stoop to name calling if you were talking to them in person, so why here?
Hamilton is on the ten dollar bill.
Other variant is possible also