If you spend a sizeable part of the year in hotel rooms, you should learn to maximize on your experiences in small and big ways. Hotels can be fun, but there is still room to turn the experience into something even better. Our group travel service has deal with numerous travelers and here are a few tips we have gathered on how to make your hotel experience much better.

Loyalty Pays

Like most organizations, hotels will have a loyalty program. With every stay at their hotel, you can earn several loyalty points that you can then redeem at a later date of your choosing. You can choose to use these points to upgrade to a better room or even redeem them for several free nights. Additionally, some hotels have been known to have complimentary happy hours and special receptions areas particularly reserved for persons on the loyalty program.

Take for example the Hilton Hotel; there are four ranks in their loyalty program, ranging from ‘Membership’ status to ‘Diamond’ status. Members are guaranteed complimentary internet, room discounts, and late check-outs whenever occupancy allows. On the other hand, program members with a Diamond status receive all the aforementioned benefits on top of accelerated loyalty point accumulation, complimentary room upgrades, complimentary food and beverages, free movie rentals, and more. So when you’re doing hotels, look for those with loyalty programs and remember loyalty pays.

Kindness Is a Currency

Remember the old proverb: ‘Attract more bees with honey.’

With our hectic schedules and high-speed lifestyles, it’s easy to forget that the person behind the desk is a person just like you, trying to do the best that they can. However, most people don’t remember that; most people assume that these people are put there to serve them, and they are, but they overlook the fact that these persons are not machines; they are human beings with feelings. The people behind the desks have seen their fair share of rude and unkind guests, and if you approach them differently with a bit of kindness and courtesy, it goes a long way in making their day. Remember, hotel front line servicemen and women hold a certain amount of discretion in granting your requests, and if you were respectful to them, they would be inclined to making your stay at the hotel as comfortable as can be.

Don’t be Afraid to Ask

Change doesn’t come by itself, it is influenced, ask Gandhi. Many people don’t realize that, as a guest of the hotel, you are actually a very valuable person; without you, there would be no business to run, this is especially so during low seasons. So when you’re booking a hotel don’t shy away from making inquiries on a possible upgrade, access to hotel facilities, discounted prices, free benefits, and so forth. Most of the time, if occupancy allows, hotels are inclined to accommodate your requests, because they want you to come back and keep coming back.