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View Full Version : Upgrading rooms won through priceline



GoingSoon
07-19-2004, 10:39 AM
I have reserved hyatt (near disneyland) through priceline and am curious if anyone has ever upgraded a room that was wone through priceline. I am interested in upgrading to the 1 or 2 bedroom family suite. I called and reservation person told me that she is unable to make changes to priceline reservations. She said I could ask at check in and see if there is anything the check in people can do for us. Just wondering if anyone has had success in upgrading. Thanks.

Rachel

Forbin
07-19-2004, 10:41 AM
Good luck, never had any luck upgrading Pricelines rooms.

Sheila
07-19-2004, 10:51 AM
I've only heard that rooms *might* be upgraded if you are a member of that hotel chain's preferred member club. I've seen it suggested that if you do belong to such a club for Hyatt (is there one?), you call the hotel ahead of time and ask nicely that they note this fact on your reservation. Present your card at check-in and smile very sweetly. However, the hotel is under absolutely no obligation to upgrade a priceline reservation.

Despite a hotel membership, I've seen reports that a majority of folks are not upgraded. I have seen some scattered reports that the hotels will accommodate you. With priceline, you're getting such a good deal already, it's hard for the hotel to justify giving you a more expensive room.

Good luck!
Sheila

GoingSoon
07-19-2004, 11:11 AM
Thanks for the responses. Just to clarify, I let the reservationist know that I would pay for the upgrade, not looking for a free one. You know how sometimes when you check in and you have a regular room, the person at the counter will say something like, 'for xx, you can upgrade to a bigger room'. That's what I was hoping for. Anyway, thanks for the info!

Rachel

spectromen
07-19-2004, 02:30 PM
I have read on another travel board that that Hyatt does offer a paid upgrade to the kids suites. I believe it was something like $25 extra. Good luck!

Sheila
07-19-2004, 02:33 PM
That's a great rate, spectromen!

GoingSoon, please let us know how it all turns out. I would be very interested in finding out.

Have a great trip! :)

Sheila

mg194
07-19-2004, 07:01 PM
We went two years ago and they charged $25 per night for the kids suite and $35 per night for the one bedroom suite. I have heard that it is now $40 per night for the kids suite.

Mark

GoingSoon
07-19-2004, 07:13 PM
Thanks, everyone. I will let you all know how it turns out.

Mark, did you call ahead and request it or just wait until checking in? When I called the first time to reqeust 2 beds/nonsmoking/n.tower they allowed it but wheN i called to inquire about upgrading, they said no changes are allowed to priceline reservations. I figured I'd wait until checking in and check again.

Thanks again,
Rachel

mg194
07-19-2004, 07:20 PM
I called ahead and they would not let me request an upgrade in advance. They said it was based on availability when I arrived. They did tell me what the price would be and that there would most likely be no problem with an upgrade on the days we were staying.

Mark

mg194
07-20-2004, 07:34 AM
One other thing that I have done successfully in the past is to bid on two rooms and ask them to combine them into a suite. It is usually cheaper than the upgrade. Of course, there is no guarantee that they will do it and they might not even be able to provide adjoining rooms.

Mark

cryan71
07-20-2004, 04:00 PM
Slip the person checking you in a twenty.

Sheila
07-20-2004, 04:26 PM
Okay, but isn't the point of priceline to save you money? If you're asking to be upgraded, aren't you being bumped up from your great priceline deal to a rack rate?

(Plus, slipping Mr. Check-In a twenty ain't exactly saving money, either. LOL)

Sheila

Opus1guy
07-20-2004, 05:56 PM
Okay, but isn't the point of priceline to save you money? If you're asking to be upgraded, aren't you being bumped up from your great priceline deal to a rack rate?

I got a room at a Hyatt for $40 on Priceline and the lowest I could find on any other site (including Hyatt's) was $149. Then I got a Suite upgrade offered at check-in (Hyatt Gold Passport member) for an additional $25 per night. Lowest price I could have bought that Suite for was $279!

Needless to say...I grabbed it. :)

So...I paid $65 a night for a Suite. Still way below the $149 it would have cost for just a regular room. And way, way below what it would have cost for a Suite.

So yeah...I think that's still saving money. Actually it's saving much more money when compared (as a percentage off) to the lowest normal cost of the Suite! ;)

Sheila
07-20-2004, 06:07 PM
I got a room at a Hyatt for $40 on Priceline and the lowest I could find on any other site (including Hyatt's) was $149. Then I got a Suite upgrade offered at check-in (Hyatt Gold Passport member) for an additional $25 per night. Lowest price I could have bought that Suite for was $279!

Wow!!! :eek: That is incredible. I had no idea that this was possible. The things you learn every day. :cool:

Yeppers, opus1guy, you were totally correct in grabbing that deal.

::furiously scribbles info in deal notebook::

Sheila

Hamradio
07-21-2004, 04:21 PM
Call the hotel direct. If the doofus answering the phone can't (or won't) help try the shift manager and explain you'd like to pay for an upgrade. If the hotel can use the low end room to resell to another guest at a higher profit, and can move a large room sitting vacant, they'll go for it. Market conditions will usually prevail. Can't hurt to ask. Good Luck!