Asking for an upgrade... rude?

Hi
DH and I were upgraded for free to a preferred room at CSR. I didn't ask. They just assigned it to us. Also, at Pop, we weren't happy with the beds, too hard and had backaches, so I asked to see if they had any rooms available at POR and how much would it be. The CM made a phone call, and asked if we've ever stayed at AKL. He told us to go back to the room, pack our stuff and he would give us a voucher for a free taxi ride to stay at AKL for no upcharge. We couldn't believe it. We ended up with a Savannah room. We couldn't thank him enough!!!
 
Bob NC said:
No matter what anyone says, asking for an upgrade is not rude. It happens every day at hundreds of hotels/motels everywhere.

Some people here inject waaaaay too much into this simple little request.

Rest assured that if you inquire about an upgrade, the activity in the lobby will not come to a screeching halt, background noises suddenly mute, and everyone start staring at you.

If you go into a store and ask if something is on sale, is that rude?

If you make an offer for a car under the dealerships asking price, is that rude?

People that think it's tacky are coming up with far out potential dialogues of what might happen. The resort CM's have experienced this and really, it's not a big deal. Their jaws will not drop and they will not fumble for words while praying they do not offend you.

Very well said! I'd also add that the CM won't immediately get icy and purposely search for a room as close to the dumpster as possible because you had the nerve to ask. It has been hinted at in the past that if you do have an upgrade assigned to you, and you ask, before it is bestowed, you'll be zapped back to your original room...out of spite of course. (cue eye roll)

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I don't think there is anything wrong with asking if there is an upgrade. I wouldn't do it myself, but I don't necessarily think it is bad to do.

Disney throws pixie dust on people all the time for many reasons, though it isn't necessarily a room upgrade, it can still make your trip feel extra special. I would personally let the CM know at check in that it is your mother's birthday, you and your brother are treating her to the trip and she's had a very rough year. If they have extra pixie dust, they might send it her way.
 
Another thought about "free" upgrades - Disney never does anything by accident. Ever since we received our free upgrade to CL, we are hooked on that level of service and will pay extra for that when we book our next WDW vacation, and the next one, and the next one, etc. See how that works?



:beach:
 


This is the way I see at Disney, if you ask be prepared to pay the difference.

If you don't ask you might get lucky and get a free upgrade.
 
Personally, I wouldn't ask for a true upgrade unless I was willing to pay for it... that being said, I would mention to the CM checking me in that it's mom's birthday and she's just recovering for cancer, my brother and I are treating her to this trip. If there's anything they can do get us to a room closer to the main building, that would be really be appreciated.

That way the CM can look for something closer and if it happens to be an upgraded room, all the better. If not, they can still check for a standard room that's closer and be able to fulfill your request.


This gives the CM the chance to spread pixie dust with out you asking for it. My feeling is that after hearing your situation, they would try really hard to do something special for you.
 
There is nothin wrong with asking or tacky about it. As other pp have stated if you don't ask, you won't get. I was lucky in August when I stayed at CSR. My BFF and I were upgraded to a preferred room for free and it was absolutely beautiful.
 


i work at the front desk of a hotel in upstate NY and we get asked about upgrades all the time, its the norm in the industry and everyone in the industry understands this. it is no way putting us in an uncomfortable position. it actually works out better for the guest. our lowest priced suite goes for $225 so say someone comes to the desk and asks for an upgrade, and they are at a standard room rate of $139, we would then go and sell the $225 suite for $169 and the guest is happy and we make more money on a room we probably wouldnt have sold that night anyway.

so really there is no harm in asking, and if you don't ask then you will definitely will not get it.
 
i work at the front desk of a hotel in upstate NY and we get asked about upgrades all the time, its the norm in the industry and everyone in the industry understands this. it is no way putting us in an uncomfortable position. it actually works out better for the guest. our lowest priced suite goes for $225 so say someone comes to the desk and asks for an upgrade, and they are at a standard room rate of $139, we would then go and sell the $225 suite for $169 and the guest is happy and we make more money on a room we probably wouldnt have sold that night anyway.

so really there is no harm in asking, and if you don't ask then you will definitely will not get it.

could you possibly get a front desk job at the BW?
 
Our first stay at WDW was at POR...not a lot of room for an upgrade. I had mentioned that it was our first visit to WDW, my dd's 6th birthday and that my mom had just had gotten the okay to travel after breast cancer surgery. I mentioned this when they asked if we were celebrating anything special.
Now, one would think those things were singly worth celebrating but together?? Guess not. We ended up in a very distant room..way in the back of the resort. It took about 7 mins to get to the main pool area, and about 10 mins to get to the food court!!! Sure, we had a quiet pool right outside our room, but my mother wasn't allowed to swim, so we wanted to use the main pool for dd, with the slide.
No biggie I guess. We had a wonderful time. In all my years going to WDW, since '99, with over 35 stays, I have had only two upgrades in our family. One was at the CR (old North Wing), we had booked a standard view room for just two nights before moving to BWV. We ended up getting a garden/lake view. But I think our DU agent had something to do with that one. Then, during the YoMD promotion, my dh was checking into YC (as part of a work convention thing) and he found he had been upgraded to concierge. And our course my dd and I were at BWV across the lake.
but those were the only two times we've had it happen. I would suggest mentioning all the reasons you're celebrating and ask if there is a room close to the main bldg so your mom doesn't have as far to go, and then let the CM do what can be done. So much better than coming out and asking. People like to be able to 'surprise' guests.
 
Another thought about "free" upgrades - Disney never does anything by accident. Ever since we received our free upgrade to CL, we are hooked on that level of service and will pay extra for that when we book our next WDW vacation, and the next one, and the next one, etc. See how that works?



:beach:

This happens often on cruise lines as well. I did the Disney land/sea package the first three years I went down. The third year I took my mom and it was the week after Thanksgiving and the cruise ship was virtually half empty. They moved all of us up two levels or so, to make it easier on the staff to get to us.

We were upgraded from an interior cabin on deck 5 to an oceanview cabin on deck 7. Since then, my mom have cruised 5 more times and always oceanview nothing less. Until, this year, we got upgraded at time of booking for about $15.00 a day to balcony. Drats, now it is balcony or nothing. They got me hooked!
 
We got upgraded at GF 11 years ago for our honeymoon. When we checked in we politely asked if there were any upgraded rooms available and if so, how much extra would it be a night. The girl checked for us and came back with a yes and told us it would be an extra $75 a night. Now, at the time, we were able to pay for the upgrade so we told her we would take it. She made another phone call and when she hung up she told us the upgrade would actually be complimentary. Did they do it for us because we weren't asking for a freebie? Maybe. My suggestion is to always ask in the manner we did, though. "Are there any upgrades available and if so, how much?" This way you have the option to say "no thank you, that's actually more than we wanted to spend" and the CM has the option to give it to you anyway. No one is pressured and no one should feel bad for asking. Good luck!!!!
 
When I worked at a Disney Front Desk, I would never upgrade a Guest who would flat out ask for a free upgrade unless it was for something truly special (and it would have to be really special). If you ask what it would cost to upgrade to whatever room is, then I'm more inclined to do it comp if I had the availibility for it if I could.

Flat out asking for a free upgrade IS rude... Magic happens, I like to decide when Magic happens or if it can happen at all (sometimes it can't) not because you ask for it. It's more special that way and I'd rather upgrade Guests who didn't ask for it and they were celebrating something special (and please don't lie, it's not worth being "that guy" by lying to get free stuff).

Bottom line, if you want a particular room or such, I would pay for it so there's no disappointments when you check in.
 
Burnt Toast said:
When I worked at a Disney Front Desk, I would never upgrade a Guest who would flat out ask for an upgrade. If you ask what it would cost to upgrade to whatever room is, then I'm more inclined to do it comp if I had the availibility for it if I could.

Flat out asking for a free upgrade IS rude... Magic happens, I like to decide when Magic happens or if it can happen at all (sometimes it can't) not because you ask for it. It's more special that way and I'd rather upgrade Guests who didn't ask for it and they were celebrating something special.

Bottom line, if you want a particular room or such, I would pay for it so there's no disappointments when you check in.

Thanks that is what I wrote, as I have been told the same by other cm's also. I never ask for a free upgrade but if I want an upgrade I ask the cm how much it is. Pay for what you want.
 
nikki7680 said:
We got upgraded at GF 11 years ago for our honeymoon. When we checked in we politely asked if there were any upgraded rooms available and if so, how much extra would it be a night. The girl checked for us and came back with a yes and told us it would be an extra $75 a night. Now, at the time, we were able to pay for the upgrade so we told her we would take it. She made another phone call and when she hung up she told us the upgrade would actually be complimentary. Did they do it for us because we weren't asking for a freebie? Maybe. My suggestion is to always ask in the manner we did, though. "Are there any upgrades available and if so, how much?" This way you have the option to say "no thank you, that's actually more than we wanted to spend" and the CM has the option to give it to you anyway. No one is pressured and no one should feel bad for asking. Good luck!!!!

Yup I do it that way Nikki. Much better
 
Thanks that is what I wrote, as I have been told the same by other cm's also. I never ask for a free upgrade but if I want an upgrade I ask the cm how much it is. Pay for what you want.

Heck, I wouldn't know if you aren't serious about paying for an upgrade... but at least put in the effort to not look completely rude and tacky and just ask what the upgrade price would be and if there is any avaialbility... trust me everyone, you'll have better results that way then just asking for a comp. upgrade.

We aren't Vegas (which their Front Desks run under a whole different set of rules).
 
Burnt Toast said:
Heck, I wouldn't know if you aren't serious about paying for an upgrade... but at least put in the effort to not look completely rude and tacky and just ask what the upgrade price would be and if there is any avaialbility... trust me everyone, you'll have better results that way then just asking for a comp. upgrade.

We aren't Vegas (which their Front Desks run under a whole different set of rules).

I never expect free and only ask if i really want it and willing to pay. I book what I want when I make my reservation. I only ask when the room I want was not available at the time of booking and I hope one opened up.
 
Count me in as one of those who thinks it is kind of tacky. It just rubs me the wrong way. My mom is notorious for asking for free upgrades. We went on a family vacation to Mexico last spring and she actually got mad because the resort didn't give her a free upgrade from a standard garden view room to an ocean view family suite. She was especially annoyed because they said they had a family suite available but she would have to pay extra. On the other hand, my mothers antics may be making me biased on this issue. She is a travel agent and always travels for a fraction of the price most people pay. She snagged a 10 day Disney cruise to Mexico December 2011 for 10% of the rack rate and stayed at a resort in Mexico for four nights this past fall for free (she had to pay for airfare in both cases but still). I think it's tacky to ask for something for free anyway but I find it extra tacky when you are paying 10% of what everyone else is paying. Maybe if I didn't have to watch my mom do it every time we go some place I would have a different opinion on the matter.
 
I wonder how many times a day someone asks for an upgrade for an ocassion when checking in - it's my birthday, anniversary, first time in Disney, graduation, child lost his first tooth. My feeling is it's great if it happens to you randomly, but I don't understand why I would deserve an free upgrade any more than anyone else checking in behind me just because I asked.
 
When I worked at a Disney Front Desk, I would never upgrade a Guest who would flat out ask for a free upgrade unless it was for something truly special (and it would have to be really special). If you ask what it would cost to upgrade to whatever room is, then I'm more inclined to do it comp if I had the availibility for it if I could.

Flat out asking for a free upgrade IS rude... Magic happens, I like to decide when Magic happens or if it can happen at all (sometimes it can't) not because you ask for it. It's more special that way and I'd rather upgrade Guests who didn't ask for it and they were celebrating something special (and please don't lie, it's not worth being "that guy" by lying to get free stuff).

Bottom line, if you want a particular room or such, I would pay for it so there's no disappointments when you check in.

special is in the eye of the beholder? lol most of our friends who visit less often than we do take turns designating one of their kids as having a milestone birthday, etc. even if it is actually months away. I'm not judging just know that there are a lot of people who spin a good tale.;)

when booking via CRO my DH and I have often wondered if the standard $20 bill trick upon checkin used in Vegas for room upgrades is ever is employed in WDW.
 

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