i feel like such a mark for not utilizing that $20 trick.
the most optimal time to do it is when staying by yourself on a weekday (monday to thursday). almost no vegas hotel is fully booked and they always have upgraded rooms available. the best rooms are king only, so if you need two queens, you're probably gonna be disappointed in your upgrade most of the time.
the most common upgrades are higher floor (which i hate) and better view (i rarely even open the windows), but every once in a while you strike gold and get the admiral suite or something badass.
Do you think slipping a $100 is 5x as successful/more valuable? What about starting at a suite level and then hoping to get something outrageous? I skimmed, but wanted to ask the expert.
I will say that I have used the tip $20 thing a few times in my life and it has been incred
-no reservation at a restaurant in Chicago with a party of 6 and got seated within 15 min
-got a reserved room at a hotel bar which normally was several hundred for $40 with two tips
yeah, cost of room, length of stay, day of week and property are all considerations. if you're staying in a standard room for five nights at bellagio, then $20 probably won't take you very far. but $60-$100 would. and if the tip is only 10%-ish the cost of your overall stay, i'd argue that's not a bad price to pay if the upgrade is good enough.
the other thing is that there's not huge risk to offering a big tip. if they can't give you something that they feel is commensurate with what you're giving them, then they'll probably just return it to you and let you know "that the best we can do unfortunately is just a view upgrade."
okay, now for a real tip, and apologies for anyone already aware of this. but if you ever stay at mirage, there's a VIP option that adds $100 to your reservation. this gives you access to the private lounge for check-in (saves you 30-60 mins during peak hours), and also access to unlimited beverages - soda, water, beer (bottled), wine and coffee. on our most recent trip, we booked four rooms under the same name - and all seven people in our reservation were able to access the lounge anytime from 9am to 10pm.
if you're in a group of 4-5 and plan to stay a few days, it's a great deal. it only takes three rounds of drinks to recover the cost you'd be paying at a casino bar; and just in general, it's centrally located so easy to stop in and grab a drink before a walk on the strip or for when you return.
more info about it here:
https://www.vegasmessageboard.com/forums/index.php?threads/mirage-vip-lounge.153617/