What's the best upgrade, paid or free, you've gotten at check in?

I'm curious to know what the best upgrade you've received at check-in has been, whether paid or free? I'd love to know if anyone has check-in upgrade strategy that works for them (or at least they think works for them), or if they've had better luck at a particular property? Did status make a difference?

I'm happy to share my "strategy". The benefit is probably all in my head. I typically target properties by the room I think I can upgrade to at check-in. I then book the most expensive comp room I can - the thought being that I want to minimize the price gap between my booked comp and my desired room. Based on my past experience, I then try to arrive at check-in around 11am (we drive). Why? Because that seems to be around the time that marketing/hosts are booking suites for their arriving VIPs, and I want to grab an open suite before they do. I've had many instances where the check-in agent has to actively search for suites as marketing is reserving them. They were like, "shoot, they just grabbed that one". I've read many times that people have luck checking in late because there are rooms still available and check-in is more willing to give them up. I'm more concerned that my suites will be taken, hence the early target. I'm also not worried about early check-in because with my mlife Platinum status, it's not an issue.

I used to tip in advance (yes, the $20/50 tip trick) thinking that the check-in agent would work a little harder to search for rooms and that they would go to bat for me with their managers to make the request. I've seen that work in my favor in some cases, but lately I've moved away from that and have started to tip after based on the room they get me. I do wonder however, that if you tip $100, does the agent split the tip with the manager and thus have a bit more leverage? Not sure...

Usually, I have to pay for the suite upgrade, but the per night price I pay is far less than what I would have to pay had I booked it in advance. For example, I've gotten Sky Suite One Bedroom Suites at Aria and Grand King One Bedroom Suites at The Venetian for between $100 and up to $250 (busy times) more per night. I was also able to grab a Penthouse Fountain View Suite at Vdara for $100/nt more. Love that view... All of those suites go for far more than that, so I feel like I'm getting a great deal. Sometimes I can even negotiate with the check-in agent for a lower price. I think they get a commission for the upgrades they sell, but they have some wiggle room, and better to get a smaller commission than no commission because one of their peers sell the upgrade before them.

I've also had some luck with lower-end upgrades. Like we love the Deluxe rooms on the sky suite floors at Aria. They're basically king rooms, but you get all the benefits of sky suites. I've gotten them by just asking once at vip check-in, and I've paid a $50 tip for them.

As for properties, I have better luck at Aria, Bellagio and The Venetian. I have not had luck at Caesars in the Diamond check-in area. They are waaaaay tighter with their suite upgrades. Generally, I have much better luck at vip/invited check-in areas. I hate that the Aria vip check-in area is closed for covid.

Anyway, I know that most of you could care less about this and just want to gamble, but if anyone has any insights, or evidence that I'm imagining things, I'd love to hear from you...

Vdara view...

 

Nice! I got something similar one time. I had a regular room comped, and my sister-in-law had a room booked also. They combined the two reservations into a single marquis two bedroom suite for like $250/nt. And yes, the kids loved all the space. It was kind of strange to have two living room areas, each with their own televisions, in the same big room, only separated by a big table.

 

I just got back from a 4-day comp at Park MGM in a Nightingale Suite. 700 square feet. The layout was a little odd, but we actually liked it. Everything was super convenient. I mostly gambled at Aria, which was just a short walk away.

I did ask to upgrade at Nomad, but mlife wouldn't cover the price difference for a Salon Double on the front end. So they wanted $100/nt more. I passed. It was 10 sqft smaller. Had it not been so busy (Labor Day weekend), I would have hoped they would have covered it. Prices were just crazy high for that weekend.

I did learn one thing though, which I found a bit odd. This is now the second time (last was in July at Delano), where they comped me a suite, but they put me on a low floor facing the freeway, which I hate. I went to the VIP check-in desk and asked for a higher floor, and they refused - said they were sold out. My question is, why don't Platinum members get some consideration? They keep giving me the crap floor/view. When I asked, the advice of the VIP agent was to NOT use the mobile check in, and instead to call the hotel at around 6 or 7a the day of my arrival, and request a higher floor. Really?

 

A related question along the lines of this thread... Has anyone had luck upgrading at check-in at Resorts World in Vegas? They matched my mlife offer, so I thought I'd give them a try. They basically matched my Bellagio/Aria offer of 4nt comp, not fees/taxes, $200 freeplay, $100 resort credit with a premium strip view room at Conrads. I'm wondering if they might upgrade at check-in for a discount to Crockfords, or maybe a one bedroom Conrad suite. Or are those upgrades even worth it? This will be our first trip to RW.

 

So funny... As I mentioned in my posts above, we usually upgrade to a larger suite. However, our last trip this last weekend, we were only able to get a Nightingale suite at Park MGM and no upgrades were (supposedly) available. My 7 year old daughter walked the room and immediately asked, "daddy, why do we only have one bathroom?" My wife and I were cracking up. Little brat...

 

I hear ya, but I think that's poor management on their part. In theory, other than Noir, their Platinum members are their best customers. They'll net way more off of a Platinum member over time than they'll get from the one-trip tourist willing to pay for a room. They should treat them better. Taking it to the extreme, do you think that Noir members get low-floor freeway views? They could sell those suites to paying customers.

In my mind, I paid for my room too - just in a different way. They aren't doing me any favors. I don't feel lucky to get comps. I think I earn them, and loyal customers should get treated better. All I can say is that if it continues, I'll move on to another program. The Venetian doesn't give me crappy views on my comp stays.

To answer your question, I booked our last trip by calling the VIP desk at Park MGM. I don't see many suites available in the mlife app, but when I call, they are available. I wish they'd fix that actually. Seems like a bug. Like I only see studio rooms at Vdara, but I can get a Panoramic Suite pretty much any time when I call. So why not just make it available and save me the hassle? On the previous trip in July to Delano, we had a two bedroom suite comp booked by a marketing host. I didn't book it in the app either. They still gave me the low-floor freeway view.

Issues like this is why I even bothered to start playing at Venetian this year. A friend told me their rooms were much nicer, and I have to agree. They have other issues, but that's a different story. Now my play is split, and so I'll have to choose one. We also just got a match at Resort World. We'll see how that goes. I've heard good things about the Wynn too. Lots of options (except for Cosmo, which wouldn't match). ...and that's why providing good customer service matters.

UPDATE (9/12): I just called VIP services to book a night around Thanksgiving, and the agent was super sweet and helpful. Once again, I didn't see anything but basic comp rooms available at Nomad in the app, but she was able to book me a Salon Double.

I mentioned that in my last two trips I had gotten low-floor freeway views, and I asked if they tended to book the better views for paying customers. She said something to the effect of "Oh, no no, you're a platinum member. You should always get preference for better views.", which was exactly what I wanted to hear. She did confirm though that you can't ask for that better view at check-in. You need to add a note at reservation. I thought I had, but I'll take the blame for that one.

I did also ask her why the better suite comps don't show up as available in the apps for me, but they are available when I call. Apparently this is by design. I guess they don't yet have the ability in the reservation system to know that you're platinum vs pearl. They only use your dollar eligibility. So they tend to specifically not show the better rooms so that they can be reserved for higher-tier guests. Seems like a relatively easy software fix, but I guess they prefer to handle with a manual, personal touch.