Ask for the Upgrade

I have two quick examples of how asking for something special can get you something special.  First, I paid for a hotel room on New Year’s Eve.  It was a no frills room at a decent Red Roof Inn.  When I checked in I was sure to be extra friendly to the desk attendant.  I asked if there were any free upgrades available for the night and lucky for me she looked through her system and found a better room for me. 

Second, I bought the new G1 (Google’s delicious piece of cellular technology) two days ago.  I scoped out buying it online before I went in the store and noticed that they were currently waiving the $35 activation fee for “web orders only.”  I definitely didn’t want to wait a week for the phone to arrive and I didn’t really want to pay for shipping, so buying online wasn’t an option.  So, I called the store I was going to visit before I went in so that I could ask if they had the phone in stock.  Being that the person I was talking to was friendly and helpful already, I asked her if she could honor the activation fee waiver.  She double checked with her manager and sure enough I saved $35 when I bought my G1.

These aren’t  new tricks by any means, but a reminder that it never hurts to ask.

Maximize your movie theater popcorn eating experience

This is the perfect bag type to fully execute this loophole

Movie theater popcorn tastes even better when you’re eating the free refill!

If you’re too much of a proud person or an infrequent movie goer, this might not be for you.  To get the most out of this loophole, simply go to a movie as you normally would - but buy the largest, most delicious, most ridiculously priced bag of popcorn they have.  But only if the theater offers FREE REFILLS and uses PAPER BAGS like the one shown here.  After indulging in your delightful bag of fatty salty goodness, neatly fold the paper bag and place in your purse or pocket.  Next, take that sucker home and gently wipe it out with a paper napkin.  Store it in a place you’ll remember when it’s  time to go to another movie.  When we go to another show you can bring your used bag, buy your ticket, sit in the theater (at least through the previews and first few minutes of the movie) and then make a quick run to the snack bar.  Get your refill as if you had bought that bag today.  Remember, confidence is key here. That 15 year old pimply faced kid doesn’t really remember or care if you bought that bag that same day.

Tastes good, huh?

We Love Free Hotel Rooms

Whether for a party, an after-hour soiree, or some crazy shit I can’t even mention here…a free hotel room is an absolute must.

Do you ever find yourself in the precarious situation of needing a hotel room ASAP but not wanting to drop the necessary funds? Happens to me all the time. Sometimes a girl has got to play, after all. That is why this info on how to score a free hotel night just about changed my life.

Wyndham family hotels have a promotion (aka- LOOPHOLE) called the Best Rate Gaurantee.  This gaurantee says that if you can find a cheaper rate at a competing site for the same hotel (meaning – exact same hotel, same night, same room type, and same number of guests) then they will give you your first night free.  So, what do you do? Here goes:

1. Go to the Wyndham site and pull up listings for all of their hotels  for the night you want to party (it must be 48 hours from the time of booking to comply with the rules of the promotion – try for a week in advance just in case)
2. Go to competitors websites and do a search for the same night*
3. Search and search until you find a cheaper rate (again, it must be for the same hotel, same night, same room type, and same number of guests)
4. Once you have it, go ahead and make a booking with Wyndham family hotel.
5. Fill out the claim form on the Wyndhamn site, making sure you put in your correct email address (this is how they’ll inform you if you were approved)
6. Wait for your email response from a claim agent – this usually doesn’t take more than 24 hours
7. If you get it, sweet! If not, you can cancel your Wyndham family reservation up until the day of your booking (with no charge!)

You really can’t lose with this one.  You should also know that you can only submit one claim per person, per email address per month.  So, if you find yourself doing crazy things with the same friend, you can each make a claim once per month. That’s 24 potential free rooms in a year. At $60 a pop (or more) that’s a saving worth telling mom about. She’d be really proud.

Happy hoteling! And please, Let us know if it works for you.

(*You could go to them separately –  like www.expedia.com, www.orbitz.com, www.priceline.com,  and so on and so forth… OR you could go to www.kayak.com which lists multiple booking sites in one place.  You can even pull up only Wyndham family hotels, and it shows their competitors prices.  This makes it really easy to spot a cheaper rate.)