Hey I had a quick question, has anyone, or does anyone have an recommendations on tipping the front deak in order to hopefully get a better room or suite at check in. I have heard rumors that this works. I am going during the slow season of december and was hoping to get a nicer room. Any help would be great. Thanks
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PLEASE refrain from cluttering up this thread by asking: Will the $20 tip work here? What if I booked my room via abc travel? The chances of you having the exact same set of circumstances as another person at the same property are pretty slim, so asking "will this work here or there" is kind of fruitless.
This thread is just a place for people to post their experiences specific to tips given in hopes of an upgrade...no one can predict what your $20 tip will yield you from the clerk behind the desk on such and such day at your hotel for your undertermined length of stay. See the statistics just below if you think they are relevant -or- use the "search this topic" function at the top of this page to find your hotel.
Try the tip if you like and contribute to this thread by posting your results.
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As of 04/03/07 9:30pm EST
Success Rates - 74.55% (791/1061)
Bally's 78.57% (33/42)
Bellagio 88.89% (56.63)
Caesars Palace 88.41% (61/69)
Circus Circus 80.00% (4/5)
Excalibur 70.37% (19/27)
Fitzgeralds 0.00% (0/1)
Flamingo 66.67% (34/51)
Four Queens 60.00% (3/5)
Gold Coast 60.00% (3/5)
Golden Nugget 56.25% (9/16)
Hard Rock Hotel 100.00% (5/5)
Harrah's 63.64% (7/11)
Hilton Grand Vacations Club at the Las Vegas Hilton 100.00% (1/1)
Hooters 66.67% (2/3)
Hooters Las Vegas 0.00% (0/2)
Imperial Palace 84.62% (22/26)
Las Vegas Hilton 84.62% (33/39)
Luxor Las Vegas 62.90% (39/62)
Mandalay Bay 85.71% (36/42)
Mandalay Bay (TheHotel) 100.00% (2/2)
MGM Grand 54.97% (83/151)
MGM Grand (The Signature) 57.14% (4/7)
Mirage 80.00% (28/35)
Monte Carlo 27.27% (6/22)
New Frontier 100.00% (1/1)
New York New York 75.00% (6/8)
Orleans 33.33% (2/6)
Palace Station 50.00% (1/2)
Palazzo 100.00% (2/2)
Palms Resort Casino 92.86% (13/14)
Paris 73.33% (22/30)
Planet Hollywood 85.71% (96/112)
Red Rock 100.00% (3/3)
Renaissance Las Vegas 100.00% (1/1)
Rio Suite 33.33% (3/9)
Riviera 100.00% (4/4)
Sahara 78.57% (11/14)
Stratosphere 70.59% (12/17)
Terrible's 100.00% (2/2)
TheHotel at Mandalay Bay 88.89% (8/9)
Treasure Island 83.33% (25/30)
Tropicana 69.23% (9/13)
Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas [Non posted] (0/0)
Tuscany Suites 0.00% (0/1)
Venetian 85.19% (46/54)
Westin Causerina 100.00% (2/2)
Wynn 93.33% (28/30)
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FWIW.... just a small hint for searching this thread...
if you click the [ Text Only ] at the top of the page... it will bring up a window with the whole thread in it.. that you can then search for a key word using your browsers Find function CTRL-F in IE..
makes finding comments about Wynn or Bellagio much easier than speed reading through the entire thread.
When posting your story, please use the following format to keep things organized and neat:
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Hotel:
Date:
Time:
Airport or Hotel Check-in:
Clerk Gender:
Clerk Age Aprox.:
Tip Amount:
Success?:
Reserved Room:
Upgraded To:
How It Happened:
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Edit by Moderator: Edit for spam.
update on MGM (Mar 2007):
Notice how the MGM rates fairly low on this success list?
A very close friend of mine actually works at the front desk at MGM. If you are doing the tipping thing, please be very, very discreet, and definitely sandwich it between card/license. It's grounds for dismissal at MGM if front desk reps accept tips in exchange for upgrading.
MGM has instituted a program where reps will earn extra commission by SELLING customers upgrades. So... in short, $20 isn't really worth it to them if they risk getting fired. So definitely be discreet, and don't get angry if you find that they'll simply return your offer.
Only time will tell whether corporate policy will work its way through its other properties (Bellagio, Mirage...)
calguy77 said:Any help would be great.
Shoot us a double saw and we'll talk. 
sometimes just asking gets you an upgrade. ive been upgraded from garden view to ocean front in hawaii simply by asking nicely when nobody else was around.
it helps if youre friendly, of course.
molecule said:sometimes just asking gets you an upgrade. ive been upgraded from garden view to ocean front in hawaii simply by asking nicely when nobody else was around.
it helps if youre friendly, of course.
Hawaii != Vegas .
While you may not get an upgraded room, you will certainly get a funny look.
Lets put it this way: those friends who tipped and got the upgraded room probably wouldve gotten that same room if they just asked nicely. Not only that, but some front desk agents may get offended if you try to bribe them like that.
calguy77 said:Hey I had a quick question, has anyone, or does anyone have an recommendations on tipping the front deak in order to hopefully get a better room or suite at check in. I have heard rumors that this works. I am going during the slow season of december and was hoping to get a nicer room. Any help would be great. Thanks
I would like to humbly disagree with the other posters in this thread- tipping the check in clerk can definitely work. This is called the "$20 trick" (google it if you so desire). I was just in Las Vegas on Aug 14, staying at the Treasure Island. Upon check in, I simply had a folded $20 under my credit card and handed it to the clerk when he asked for my credit card. We were upgraded to a suite room and he sent up a bottle of champagne on the house as well. It was fantastic, and the wife was very impressed!
Of course, YMMV, but I'm heading back to Vegas on Sunday and I'm going to try the trick again. I'll post to this thread with the results next week upon my return.
Superkman said:Upon check in, I simply had a folded $20 under my credit card and handed it to the clerk when he asked for my credit card.
What would you have done if the clerk kept the 20 and didn't upgrade you?
SonOfZeus said:What would you have done if the clerk kept the 20 and didn't upgrade you?
The times that they haven't been able to help me with an "upgrade", they've always given the tip back to me. Some of them even mention that they "didn't take" the tip since they couldn't help. I think the $20 trick does work, it just depends on who checks you in, where you're staying, etc.
The $20 tip works, have used it a couple of times so far with great success!
SonOfZeus said:Superkman said:Upon check in, I simply had a folded $20 under my credit card and handed it to the clerk when he asked for my credit card.
What would you have done if the clerk kept the 20 and didn't upgrade you?
Com'on folks, imagine yourself slaving away for 5 bucks an hour. A discrete $20 tax-free tip will get results. After all, those desk jockeys are there to make money, not volunteering. Next time you're sitting around for an hour at a restaurant, realize that a 10-spot will get you a table right away.
It helps if you have played in their casino before and have a player's card there, they can look up your action and base their decision on that. I got a free upgrade this way before. I didn't even play there that much (time and money-wise) my last time there. Didn't have to tip the clerk either although I probably should have. 
Whatever room you get, try to get one close to an elevator as some of those walks can take forever in some of the larger Vegas hotels.
I tried it and it worked in LV hilton. Last time when I went to Sahara (I know its super ghetto but it was a last min trip...) my clerk rejected my offer, while my friend got upgraded to the top floor suite by another clerk.
I think it may work better in cheaper hotels since I guess their employees get paid less. I didnt bother when I was at Venetian since all of their rooms are nice. good luck and tell us your story!
Why do people hate their own money in Vegas?
I am a former Front Desk Agent. I worked at the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek, Co. I encountered the "$20 Trick" a couple times, and basically I upgraded people depending on availability and current room status.... I once had someone tip me $20 who already had a Suite, so I gave him the room he was already assigned to, he was still very satisified...
Couple Tips
1. Know the availablity of the hotel during your stay... Call Ahead
2. Know what you want... do you want a Suite? Do you want a better view?
3. Know how much the upgrade would be... tip more for a suite, than a view...
4. Be very nice!!!! Very Important!
calguy77 said:Hey I had a quick question, has anyone, or does anyone have an recommendations on tipping the front deak...?
I think Home Depot or Lowes have deak tippers and sliders in stock.
get on the e-mail list for the hotel(s) your are interested in ... sometimes they send offers that include free upgrades
JustLJ said:calguy77 said:Hey I had a quick question, has anyone, or does anyone have an recommendations on tipping the front deak...?
I think Home Depot or Lowes have deak tippers and sliders in stock.
excellent point, i think we were all off topic except for you.
Most hotels clerks accept it and do their best in my experience, but recently, at The Hotel at mandalay, they simply said, "sure, we can upgrade you, that will be an extra $75 a night."
some hotels are charging more for upgrades...
Neel
I've heard that you can get a comped room simply by asking the front desk to hold a $10,000 cashier's check in their safe for you. You don't even have to cash the check. Get the comped room and return the check to your bank after the trip.
I haven't tried this yet. But a friend of mine has a couple of times and it's worked for him. Anyone else do this?
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