FOXNews.com: Hotel confidential: Secrets to scoring hotel freebies

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Hotel confidential: Secrets to scoring hotel freebies Dec 7th 2012, 12:57 Traveling during the holidays can be a stressful endeavor. Whether you're shacked up with relatives or settled in at a hotel, staying in an unfamiliar room never feels quite as comfortable as your own home does. For years hotels have gone through the ringer trying to please and accommodate guests. Maids will fold your toilet paper corners while front desk agents turn into your personal alarm clock. What else could you possibly ask for? What about a room upgrade? How about some free movie rentals and mini bar beverages? Wouldn't an early check-in with a complimentary cotton robe be nice? But's let not ask what a hotel staffer can do you for, rather what you can for them to avoid getting a gift you didn't ask for.  If you ever wondered how to get some of these extra hotel perks, you may want to pick up Jacob Tomsky's new book this holiday season. Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group) takes a candid look into the world of hotels, offering insightful and yet unexpected advice on how to get the most out of your hotel stay. Tomsky, a 10-year hotel veteran quickly climbed the hotel ranks holding name tags as a valet, a housekeeping supervisor and a front desk agent. In his book he gifts his readers with some valuable tricks of the trade he learned along the way.   Like many things in life, money talks, and in the hotel world, tips can make or break your stay. If you want the chance to get the well sought after room upgrade Tomsky says slipping the front desk agent a bill when checking in could do the trick. Simply wrap a bill ( $20 or $50) around the credit card you're going to use and hand to the agent when your checking in. Tomsky says there's no reason to be nervous, "it's not a drug deal and no agent will pocket the money and just say thank you. Asking for an upgrade might guarantee you're not going to get one but I gave some lady at the front desk $20 and she really took care of me, gave me a corner suite, it was great," Tomsky told FoxNews.com. Other Tomsky "tips" to enhance your stay: The Valet: Give $1-2 dollars for each time they pull around or park your car. It's always better not to stiff that valet before they skid off with your vehicle, plus giving them a few bucks beforehand might keep you in their mind before they skid away with your ride. "Before handing over your keys it's also a good idea to walk around your car to note any pre-existing marks or scratches," Tomsky said. The Bellman: It's standard to give about $2 per bag that he/she is bringing up to your room. You can always turn down their help but you can get some pretty good information from the bellman. "They're often born and raised in the city or town you're staying in and can give you some really great advice on what local restaurants and places to check out," Tomsky told FoxNews.com. "Plus the bellmen know what all the rooms in the hotel are like so if you get to your room and you're not overly excited about it they're right there to tell you about the better rooms to ask for." The Maid: Nothing less than $5, but you can give $10-20 upfront if you're staying for a few days. "If you happen to see a maid with her cart in the hallway stop and see if you can grab some extra shampoo or lotion, slip them a few dollars and ask if they can send up whatever else they can. Depending on the level of the hotel, they'll have closets stocked with amenities to take advantage of; slippers, shoe horns, lint rollers and all sorts of travel sized items," Tomsky said. The Concierge: For something like directions around $2-3 will suffice, but if their getting you reservations at a popular restaurant you should give about $10-20. Even in the era of the Internet and smart phones, concierges still have firsthand experience with the best places in town. "You can try calling for a table yourself, but they're the ones that will have good connections and real pull to get you that reservation," Tomsky told FoxNews.com. Extra Freebies: Tomsky says the overstocked and overpriced mini bar charges are the most disputed on any bill. Although it's hard to believe in a world where most mini bars have become censored, he insists that all you have to do is tell the front desk you 'never touched the minibar' and they will wipe away the charges. "It would be a weird desk agent to say 'you sure you didn't have these?' That's a terrible stance to take," Tomsky said. Apparently free movie rentals are also easy to score. "Once you've finished watching your movie just call down to the front desk and tell them the movie just froze in the middle or it turned off suddenly," Tomsky told FoxNews.com. "Usually there is a subscription fee that they pay for the hotel as a total so they're not losing any money." Lastly, the luxurious and cozy bathroom robes. Of course they sell them for an outrageous amount in the hotel gift shop but Tomsky says you can take one home for free. "They're supposed to have robes preset in each room but you can call up and tell them your room is missing a robe. In the time it takes someone to come up and deliver you another one, you can stash the extra robe right into your suitcase." Tomsky told FoxNews.com.

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