Suite Talking Level 2: Gettin' Saucy

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4 minutes and 48 seconds

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🐠 There’s a TikTok trend going around talking about the benefits of flying with a fishing vest to avoid carrying any extra baggage. Read more about it here.

Good morning from Kuala Lumpur, the “city of angels” as it were. Or maybe I’m getting it confused with another city… I don’t know. Who cares.

We’ve got bigger fish to fry, so let’s get cooking:

🏨 Suite Talking Level 2: Gettin’ Saucy
🌎 Where in the World Wednesday
🖼️ Meme

🏨 Suite Talking Level 2: Gettin’ Saucy

One of my favorite travel hacks of all time has to be the art of “suite talking.” I know many of you love this hack as well.

It’s easy and doesn’t require any points, miles, credit card, elite status, or anything. Just good ol’ fashioned human interaction…

… although, as an introvert, I realize that can be scary.

You can read my full newsletter on the subject if you want more detail, but “suite talking” is essentially when you use your human skills to talk yourself into a free upgrade when staying at hotels.

It’s awesome, and something I use ALL the time.

But what happens when you bust out your fancy new suite-talking skills only to be shut down like an engine on an Air Canada flight after it inevitably gets canceled?

(That was a devastating burn, btw)

Should you give up and accept your assigned hotel room like some “normal” traveler?

You could… but also, don’t.

Because that’s exactly when you bust out Suite Talking Level 2: Gettin’ Saucy.

As the name would suggest, you do need to get a little more saucy with this method. The gloves will have to come off, and it can definitely be a little more uncomfortable… but it works.

Let me explain:

Earlier today, I checked into my hotel here in Kuala Lumpur. I used my own advice and messaged the hotel ahead of time on the Marriott app, asking for a suite upgrade. 👇

As expected, I got a response along the lines of, “Wow, hey Mike. We’ll upgrade you IMMEDIATELY to our best suite. But only because you’re so cool. And handsome.”

And by that, I mean I actually got this…

Devastating.

But I eventually got on my plane to Kuala Lumpur and kept my fingers crossed for an upgrade on arrival.

When I arrived at my hotel, the staff told me that they couldn’t upgrade me because they didn’t have any upgraded rooms available.

Okay, that’s all well and good. Hotels get sold out all the time, and that’s a totally legitimate reason.

…unless they’re LYING. 👿

You see, I had anticipated this response. So before entering the hotel, I ran some searches for the same hotel on the same dates to see what showed up.

As it turns out, they had a whole slew of upgraded rooms available for my stay dates 👇

I showed them this on the Marriott app and said something like, “Oh, that’s weird, because online it shows you have (insert room types here) available.”

After an (extremely) awkward 30 seconds or so, the front desk staff looked up and said, “As fate would have it, an upgraded studio room JUST opened up!”

Wow. What are the odds?? 😑

Now, I’m in a lovely room for my stay. I have more space, a better view, a full couch, and I’m a happy boy.

But why would they lie like this in the first place? If you’re an elite member and they have rooms, why wouldn’t they just upgrade you?

Well, to be frank, they want MORE MONEY. You see, if they keep that upgraded room free, someone could still book it at the last minute at a high price instead of giving it to you for free.

To be fair, even when you see that a room type is available, it still doesn’t automatically mean it’s “available.”

Maybe they’ve already promised the upgrade to another elite member who hasn’t checked in yet, so you’re seeing it in the search even though there really is no legitimate room free. This is totally possible, and you shouldn’t assume they’re lying to you.

That’s why if I resort to this tactic, I always search for MULTIPLE rooms on my exact stay dates.

If I run this search for more than just a single room and see upgraded rooms and suites show up, I know for a fact that they have at least that number of rooms free, rather than just one that may have been promised to someone already.

Even then, there’s no guarantee that this will work. Which brings me to some very important points to keep in mind when using this:

I joke about “getting saucy,” but in reality, you need to maintain a respectful demeanor when doing this.
There are all kinds of reasons that, even when you see a whole bunch of rooms available, they won’t give it to you. You simply don’t know everything that goes on behind the scenes.
For this reason, don’t push too hard. If they say no even after getting to this point, just accept there’s probably a reasonable explanation for it.

This travel hack falls into the category of being assertive to get the benefits you’re entitled to. But as I said, you need to be respectful 👍

🌎 Where in the World Wednesday

Today, we’re heading to another fabulous Scandinavian city… no way!

You’re close… It’s actually Oslo, Norway 😉 And per usual, it’s all thanks to our favorite travel app, FareDrop (love you ❤️).

A $380 ticket is a pretty sweet deal, especially since this destination is one of the most expensive countries in the world.

I still often think about the $8 latte I had there once…

So yeah, she may be pricey, but Oslo is still definitely worth a visit. Here are a few reasons why 👇

For how compact and walkable (yay!) the city is, it’s stuffed to the brim with unique museums—one of my favorites is The Fram Museum which looks into the history and science of polar exploration.

If you’re there in the summer, you’ll see people jumping off the docks into Oslo’s harbor, and if you’re there in the absolute dead of winter, you’ll still see crazy tourists and locals alike leaping into the ice-covered sea (usually from their steamy saunas).

And there are a crap ton of saunas that line the harbor there. Like a lot.

But hey, they come with a view of Oslo’s iconic opera house, which you should also visit.

Are you a foodie? Try pickled herring—the local delicacy. Or head to the Mathallen food market to find dozens of stalls waiting to offer you all sorts of goodies 😊

Convinced yet?? If you want access to more cheap flights just like this one, sign up for FareDrop now!