A booking site that’ll get you that room upgrade way before check-in
Most hotels currently don’t offer a paid upgrade at the moment for many reasons:
You booked your holiday way in advance. Flights. Check. Accommodation. Check. But now you think you could have done better on the accomm side of things – what with so many great deals all of a sudden on Agoda, and cool apartments available through AirBnB. So what’s an ardent traveller to do?
Try to score an upgrade at the hotel you’ve already booked, that’s what!
Globally, hotel occupancy is around 67% while occupancy for premium rooms and suites is generally much lower – in fact most hotels have premium rooms remaining empty for most of the year.
While most hotels don’t offer a paid upgrade – usually because the hotel is trying to fill their higher tier rooms at full price – now there’s a cool way to score an upgrade, even at the last minute.
Upgradus is a new website that allows hotels to offer upgrades direct to their guests in advance, particularly during the ‘silent period’ between booking and arrival. This allows the customer to spend time on full consideration of the offer in private, without the embarrassment of a public discussion at the check-in counter.
Customers simply log on, type in where and when they are staying, and then Upgradus gets to work. It contacts the hotel, lets them know a customer is interested, and if the hotel wants to offer a heavily discounted upgrade just before the stay because the room is still empty, they can. The customer can then choose to accept or decline the offer before they arrive, paying at the hotel as normal so that the process remains familiar – and everyone is happy.
“I often found myself thinking that there were even better rooms or suites above my budget that were empty, sometimes even the room next door.”
Says Guy Ratcliffe, CEO and Founder of Upgradus, “I have travelled regularly for both business and with family and, when the budget allows, I like to stay in interesting hotels with great rooms, especially when on vacation.
“However, I often found myself thinking that there were even better rooms or suites above my budget that were empty, sometimes even the room next door. An offer for a discounted upgrade to a better room or suite would have been appreciated and likely taken if the price was right.”
Globally, hotel occupancy is around 67% while occupancy for premium rooms and suites is generally much lower – in fact most hotels have premium rooms remaining empty for most of the year.
With Upgradus, hopefully these rooms will ultimately be filled. And preferably with your good company!
Antonino Tati
For more information visit www.upgradus.com.
CREAM MAGAZINE 
Feel free to leave a comment!