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The Art of the Upgrade
Hotel Upgrades can be simple or exceptional. It depends on lots of variables from occupancy to staff to status. However, there are ways to influence upgrades in your favor. The best thing you can do is throw out your best effort. The worst that could happen is you get no extra perks. There is no downside, and the perks can be really fun.
The Letter
Here are two examples of letters I wrote to request upgrades:
Hi there,
I hope you are well.
We are so excited for our upcoming stay at your hotel October 14-16. I chose your hotel because I have read so many rave reviews about Andaz properties.
If there is any chance for an upgrade, I was hoping you might consider us and help me convince my husband to ditch his loyalty to Marriott and become a Hyatt loyalist instead?
This October trip will be our first time in New York City and our first time at an Andaz property, celebrating our 13th Wedding Anniversary.
Thank you for your time in reading this and upgrade or not, we cannot wait to be there soon!
Hi there,
I hope you are well.
After reading some stellar reviews about the location of your hotel and your views of Central Park, we decided to book a stay for our 13th wedding anniversary from October 16th-18th. We are very much looking forward to seeing Central Park up close and personal.
This will be our first “mom and dad” getaway in 6 years, and my first time to New York, and we would love to be considered for an upgrade to help us celebrate if you have the availability.
Upgrade or not, we are thrilled to be there celebrating with you all shortly.
Thank you,
Both of these examples were written for our 13th anniversary trip to New York recently. I obviously had a special occasion to celebrate. This isn’t always the case. Please, don’t lie and make one up. Be honest with your excitement about the stay, and let the hotel decide based on your honesty. Key things I tried to accomplish in these emails were:
- Excitement to Stay at the Property
- Mention of Special Occasion
- Desire for an upgrade
- Professionalism/Respectful attitude
- Down to Earth demeanor/ Sense of humor when possible
- Don’t act as though you deserve the upgrade – be gracious
These emails haven’t always resulted in an upgrade for us, but the times we have received upgrades, have been really nice. We have gotten upgraded to suites, and for our anniversary we received cake from both hotels, and a whole bottle of champagne from the Andaz.
Where to send the email?
This is the hardest part of the whole process. The finding of the correct person to email. For many hotel brands, you can find them on X and message them through that. For others, you can google search, or even call the hotel and ask for the appropriate email for the individual who handles reservations at their location.
For Hyatt: @hyattconcierge on twitter was exceedingly helpful.
For Marriott, their X concierge is @Mbonvoyassist and will often be able to give you an email address.
Conclusion
While getting an upgrade is never a guarantee, its always fun to throw it out there, and see what happens. It always delights us to find a hotel who takes customer service seriously and goes the extra mile. Have you requested an upgrade? How did it go for you??
GOOD LUCK and happy travels!
