17. The Truth About How to Get Hotel Room Upgrades and Other FAQs

A recent article on a popular Disney blog site claims to share tips about how to get hotel room upgrades. While they got a couple of things right, some of them are just flat-out wrong! I'm busting some myths today and sharing the TRUTH about how to best position yourself for an upgrade. I also share some juicy celebrity stories from my time as a check-in desk cast member at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort - you don't want to miss them!

Samantha Brown Travels (Video)
Samantha Brown Travels (Article)

Previous Episodes mentioned:
Episode 7: RunDisney is a Thing (with Kevin)
Episode 13:  Inside Club 33: An Exclusive Look at Disney's Private AF Membership
Episode 14: Live From Park City, UT

Download my free guide: 10 Tips for A Luxe Disney Vacation or connect with me on Instagram @michelevisitsmickey.

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This episode was produced by The Podcast Teacher.

Transcript

Hello, friends, and welcome to another episode of Let Me Adjust My Ears. Can you believe it is already halfway through August? It is almost college football season, and I leave tomorrow on a European crew river cruise, the Jewish heritage river cruise, with a group of 13 travelers that I have been planning for over a year now. So, color me excited about that. I do not return to Disney until the temperature drops, meaning the beginning of fall, it's practically the end of the Halloween season. I am going for my milestone birthday. I'm spending my birthday party at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party. But in the meantime, I will be heading off to Europe so stay tuned to hear all about that. I am crossing off of my bucket list, the sound of music, tour. Yes. The hills are alive, and I cannot wait. I am so excited that I am actually using a private personal guide for that tour. So, again, stay tuned. 

In the meantime, I have some frequently asked questions that all of you have sent me since the last time I did this. So I thought today would be a great opportunity to answer them. So first off, the first question came in shortly after my club 33 episode aired. So if you haven't heard that episode, we will be sure to link to it in the show notes.

It was a super fun episode where Katelyn Fox took us behind the scenes of her very special visit to Club 33, and she posted all kinds of beautiful pictures. to her Instagram. It was a really fun episode. And I talked about a celebrity story that I had with Michael Jackson because she referenced Michael Jackson in Club 33. So I referenced my Michael Jackson story from when I worked at Disney's Grand Floridian Beach Resort. That was before the and Spa name was added. So it was in fact Disney's Grand Floridian Beach Resort, and I worked at the front desk. So my Michael Jackson story is actually not a very happy one.

He came in with a UM, thatl stands for an unaccompanied minor. the mother of the child was not there. And for some reason, I'm remembering the child was quite young, like 5. But in reality, I think he was, like, 12. And he stayed in the the nicest suite. I don't think it's actually called the presidential suite. It has some well, now it has some Mary Poppins returns or Cinderella theme name to it. But at the time, I think it was, the Flagler suite or something, but it was the presidential suite. It was two bedrooms, and it it is two bedrooms with a big living area. Beautiful, beautiful room in the main building of Disney's Grand Florida. And so it looks right over, the map a kingdom and you can see the fireworks from it. You also get a lovely view of Bay Lake. Just a dream come true. 

And sadly, after Michael Jackson checked out, there was a lot of gossip. the mouse keepers were very shocked, and they made, you know, the rumor mill started that only the master bedroom suite with king bed had been used. So that's my Michael Jackson story. Of course, this was before any controversy about Michael Jackson happened. And I do have to say that there's actually a really great podcast about why some of us still really like Michael Jackson despite all of the things negative about him that came out, both why he was living, but especially now that he has passed, And I just have to chime in and say, I still love his music. I mean, I grew up listening to it. I'm an eighties kid. And, yeah, So that's my Michael Jackson story. So that is a shout out to, Lauren’s husband who heard, Katelyn talking about Michael Jackson was like, I wanna hear the Michael Jackson story now. So that is it for you. 

My next episode was an episode that I did in Park City, and people definitely wanted to know after all of that, if I would return to Park City. And my answer is no. I would not return to Park City, but I definitely didn't want to leave it. I did not wanna return to a 100 and degree temperatures in Austin, which is it was a 106 when we landed. And that was, like, at 5 o'clock in the evening. Well, it was 4, but still. So wouldn't go back to Park City. I'd rather go to somewhere like, Denver, or outside of Denver, ski resort for the summer, there just wasn't enough to do in the summer. I'm sorry, Park City. You were really nice and I didn't wanna leave, but I also wouldn't go back. 

Okay. Also, next question, I did receive more questions about if you saw Michael Jackson, then what other celebrities did you see? So the famous picture of princess Stye going down splash mountain with both boys, I was there when princess Di brought William and Harry to Walt Disney World, they did stay at the Grand Floridian Beach Resort. Excuse me. Disney's Grand Floridian Beach Resort. They also stayed in the main building.

And my fun story, my fun fact about princess Di, she was very tall, very statuesque, things that it definitely doesn't capture in any of the beautiful photos of her. and as we all know, she was very thin. So very she looked like a model. The fun fact about that was because she was gonna be brought into a limo in the backstage areas. They painted. They painted the, what I would call the garage, but because you could pull a car into it, but it was it didn't have a door like, a garage door on it. and it was, like, used for storage and cast members could enter into the back of the house that way. Like, that where we would enter to go up to wardrobe to change into our costume.

Again, this was before people could -- take their costumes home and had to do their own laundry. We used to have wardrobe. It had locker rooms. We would get our costume every day. We would turn it at night and wardrobe would wash and clean it for us. It was wonderful. And we got paid 20 minutes extra time that we didn't have to work to account for, that wardrobe change time. So it was a park, and I am not in agreement that cast members can now wear their costume to. Sorry, current members. I know you think it's a convenience, but it just totally breaks up the magic to pull into a gas station and see, you know, someone from it's a small world with their costume on. Totally not cool. 

Anyway, they painted this garage because this is where Princess Di was gonna enter. So I always thought that was really funny and a huge expense to go to for what she would literally be in for, like, -- 5 minutes when the car pulled in, and then she got whisked up to the suite that she was staying in. Full House had an episode that was filmed, to the Disney's Grand Florida And Beach Resort, and actually my trainee was in the show. Her name was Dani.

We are still friends on Facebook, I think. We used to be. Hi, Dani. and Dani was the cast member that they chose to be in the show checking in some of the cast of Full House for the episode. Like, she was actually in the episode. She was shown in that episode. Also, John Stamous, Uncle Jesse, came and used our backstage restroom behind the front desk. So we all got to, see him and, you know, he was quite close to us using the restroom.

George Lucas had has stayed at the Disney's Grand Flirting Beach Resort and the time that he stayed there when I worked there. He and his kids. He was there for one of his children's birthday. Got a private visit in his suite from Mickey and Minnie. I remember being very upset about this at the time because when they don't come to the front desk to check-in, And they get whisked right up to the suite. They also, like, don't have to put a credit card down. And at the time, I didn't understand that they just get billed for it later. But I was like, he's spending $5000 for this private visit in his suite from Mickey and Minnie, and we don't have a credit card on file. I was, you know, I was in my early twenties, and I thought I knew everything at the time. 

So those are some of my fun stories from Disney's Grand Flarity And Beach Resort. Along those lines, you have heard my Run Disney, episode, and how Kevin and I did not believe that Run Disney would ever be thing. And so someone asked, what else did cast members, at least when I worked there? think would never be a thing. And that one's easy. It is the value resorts. We were totally disgusted when the value resorts came online. We thought they were too over the top, kitschy. We didn't like how small the rooms were. 

I can say this because I did what's known as test and adjust for the value resort. Meaning, I and several friends actually went and stayed at the value resort for 2 nights to test and adjust the features of the room, make sure things were in working order, give our constructive criticism, AKA feedback, and let them know what we thought. And I remember saying right then and there, the pool was way too crowded, and that has not changed. So didn't think the value resorts would be nearly as popular as they are. They're almost always sold out at all times because of that price point. And I also have vowed Never to stay there again. I have stayed there actually recently to take pictures of it as a travel advisor, but I will not ever stay there again. And, also, I hate to book us in those unless They're just adamant. I just think you get more bang for your buck staying at a moderate and even now at a deluxe property where you can have some extra magic after hours. But That's my thing about the value resorts. 

So those are some questions I had about that. I also had a question about my take on the airport seating rules and my courtesy about that the window seat gets to control the shade, the aisle seat. If you're going to pee frequently, you should sit there so you don't disrupt everyone by getting up and down out of the seat frequently and that the middle seat doesn't get much. But they do get both armrests. So if you want to know where I got that and who absolutely agrees with me and teaches that is Samantha Brown of Samantha Brown travels. She has a show on PBS. She has been a travel journalist, travel TV host for over 20 years. And I will link to both her video and her article about even more courtesy rules than I didn't think of. Like, -- not popping your gum on a plane, in the show notes. 

Okay. Moving on. So previously you heard me sort of refute a Disney food blog article and some things I agreed with She was naming her one and only restaurants. That was actually in my very last FAQ episode. So today, I'm taking on yet another of her articles, and this one is called 11 tricks to get a hotel room upgrade. So that kind of shit drives me that shit crazy because it conditions you to think that every time you check-in at a hotel and you ask nicely and you're super polite and you tell them it's your birthday, even when it may not be, or it's your babymoon or your honeymoon, or anything like that that you're going to get an upgrade. 

So here is the truth about upgrades. First of all, loyalty programs and levels. That is true. If you have a Marriott credit card and you are Marriott Gold You are entitled to an upgrade if it is available. And front desk people will do their best to do that. At Disney, obviously, you could have a Disney credit card. That doesn't always show up in your record. Just FYI. DVC points may get you an upgrade if it shows up or if you're booking it of booking a hotel stay with your DVC points, perhaps. But here is the real reason people get upgrades. The hotel is actually oversold, and they need to move people around into different room categories. In which case, we will go through every reservation and see who has something in their record that states that we can then take advantage of that to upgrade. 

So one of my most favorite stories when I was working at the contemporary resort And we were oversold, not just the hotel was oversold, but our very basic room category was oversold. And we knew we were gonna have to upgrade people into our concierge and suite level. And I happened to take a phone call from a gentleman. He was calling in. He was gonna be checking in that night. He wanted us to know that he was going to be proposing to his girlfriend. they had booked a basic room, but if there was anything that we could do to enhance the evening, maybe if he could just even come up to the concierge level to watch fireworks so he could propose. As I said, we knew we were gonna upgrade people. And I told our room assignment about that. And he and his girlfriend did get upgraded. to a concierge level room overlooking the Magic Kingdom and the concierge lounge, and the contemporary does pipe in the music for the fireworks. So it was all very, very romantic. 

But the kicker to the story is that the next day He came down to take the ring out of the safety deposit box or to put the ring in, because it would make sense that he had the ring when he proposed. But anyway, I got to meet him because I had talked to him on the phone the day before, and I got to meet him, and ask him how he liked his room grade. And it was really special. It is one of my most favorite memories as a cast member. because I can actually point to getting to pixie dust someone else.

Okay. It was great. -- back to upgrades. So there is a position behind every front desk. Sometimes if it's a very small front desk, gonna be just the person who's working at the front desk. Sometimes it's gonna be a rooms division manager, but at Disney, it's actually a position called room assignment. And right now, all the room assignments for all the hotels actually all work off-site altogether, And they can assign rooms at any of the resorts. So back when I did it, it was room assignment specifically for the resorts that I worked at. Now they kinda all work together.

The first thing they're gonna do is they're gonna go in and they're gonna block rooms for people who have requested connecting rooms because if you ever look at a floor plan on a cruise ship, you know that only certain cabins connect. Well, that's the same for any hotel. Only certain rooms connect. So if two rooms have the same last name, Or if they're marked with, if you're booking with a travel agent, you always wanna make sure your travel advisor knows so that we can put in the record what's called a traveling with. so that all of those traveling with people with the same name, people who need connecting because they have young kids, We block them for connects first and then adjoining, which is two rooms next to each other, but there's not a door in the room that connects it. That is the very first request that we're gonna do. So if you're looking to upgrade and the only room types we have available are in a connecting or in a joining type room, you're not gonna get upgraded because those rooms are being saved for people who have that very special need.

Obviously, we also block those that are looking for accessible rooms. because those are limited, we book those first. Then we look at requests that say close to the elevator. Not a lot of walking, please. A Disney close to the main building, if you didn't book a preferred room, all of those things. We're gonna book Then we're gonna do what's called plugging the 1 night holes. 1 night holes are What are called 1 night reservations, and those are a nightmare in hotels because they create what's called holes h o l e s. So let's say I am checking in.

I have a 5 night reservation, and then I check out. And the day after tomorrow, That same room type is already blocked for someone else for some reason. It had a special request or whatever, and it's already blocked. There is this 1 night hole in the middle of it. And it's very, very rare that people go to Disney for 1 night. So we have to find a 1 night reservation and plug that hole. And that is really where you get the upgrades. So if you're staying 1 night, You should definitely ask when you get to the front desk if there is an upgrade or, yeah, if you don't care what room type, but you wanna be close to the main building and you don't care about your view, things like that, plugging 1 night holes is really hard work. And so that is very helpful, and people love to upgrade those 1 night people. 

In the Disney Food blog article, the author mentions that if you make your reservation at time where you can go online or make it directly with the resort or go online. And, check the availability, then you'll see if there's rooms available for an upgrade. Like, no, false, For the most part, it doesn't matter when you make your reservation. It's also actually very helpful to use a travel advisor for that because we can make note of all the things that are really important to you. Sometimes we know the resort's well enough that we can request a specific room for you. And so Always use a travel advisor. Don't go online and book online, especially using a site like Expedia or hotelrooms.comhotelbookingbooking.com, you're never gonna get an upgrade if you book through, wholesaler because you're not even paying the rack rate. 

So, if you check-in to the resort, like, say, 1 o'clock and check-in isn't until 2 or 3. And they tell you that your room is not ready. Always ask if it's because you're blocked for a specific room, a, like, you made a special request that you don't you wanna be close to the elevator. or you wanna be on a high floor, or you wanna be on the first floor because you don't wanna have to wait for the elevator. Anything like that You can always ask the front desk if you are already blocked for a specific room because of a special request, or if it's just because There aren't enough clean rooms yet. I will tell you that when I went to Puerto Rico for the American Society of Travel Advisor Conference, I was staying in an A loft, which is a Marriott property. We are Marriott Vacation Club owners as well as gold level Marriott guests. And so I said, is it because I'm blocked for a specific room? And they were like, yes. And I was like, I don't care. I just want a room now because I have to be somewhere at 5, and I really wanna unpack and take a shower and, you know, get something to eat before I have to go to the conference. And they absolutely chucked me in. 

Now I will say The room I got checked into was a hot mess, and it, like, overlooked the rooftop. with generators. It was a horrible, and the housekeeping on that floor was just despicable. Like, I'm not sure she ever cleaned my bathroom once I checked in. And so I did call and talk to the front office manager, and I said, look. I know I said I didn't care about the view or anything, and I had been blocked for a different room on the concierge level. But I just wanted to get into my room, but This, housekeeping and this view are just not up to standards, and this room should have been placed on out of order or not used at all. Out of order is when a manager or someone else just takes a room out of inventory and only uses it as a last resort. And the manager was like, oh my gosh. You're absolutely right. We're so sorry. And I had booked in on points, and I got all my points back. So it does pay to be nice. It does pay to ask, but do not do not expect that just because you are nice or you're there before check-in or you check-in late or any of those other things that an upgrade is awaiting you because I will be honest. It's pretty rare.

And with that, that is all the listener questions I have for today, all my comments, my celebrity stories, I promise there are plenty more where that comes from. So please Instagram me, direct message me, add yourself to my Facebook group, All these links will be in the show notes because I would love to answer your question on a future episode. If you like, -- what you're hearing from me. I would love it if you would leave a review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. Until next time, I will see you real soon.