VEGAS MYTHS BUSTED: The $20 Room Upgrade Trick

Las Vegas Myths Busted: Tips for Upgrading Your Room for $20

Showing a handsome Andrew Jackson to the receptionist at the Riviera Hotel might have worked for your dad in 1995, but in 2023, it probably won't get you a room upgrade in Las Vegas.

Oh wait, but your best friend just last week told you this worked for him? Maybe that's how he "perceives" the situation.

When a guest asks if an upgrade is available, the front desk staff may offer three possible answers:

Sorry, we are fully booked.
Yes, for an additional $X per night.
Yes, we can provide this service for free.

When you walk up to that long shiny table, hold a $20 bill in your hand just like your dad did in 1995, even folding it neatly between the credit card and the ID you need to show Between the Cards — known as the “$20 Sandwich” — rarely yields the coveted answer #3.

Why it might not work

That's because in 2023 Las Vegas, every transaction will be videotaped in the front office. Although rules vary from hotel to hotel, front desk staff are generally frowned upon for bribing guests with benefits.

However, assuming you're lucky enough to get answer #3, you can free Mr. Jackson from your wallet once you're promised a room upgrade. In this case, this is a perfectly acceptable tip for the employee.

This also means that the $20 trick doesn't really work because you're free to be an idiot and screw up the agent and still get the upgrade.

"Instead of paying for an upgrade, you're thanking the receptionist for helping you make the most of your visit," explains Scott Roeben, founder of his own blog Vital Vegas people. “The reality is that employees will help when they can—often at the direction of a supervisor—with or without tips.

"Service will continue because Vegas is a service city."

If the $20 trick still works

If the front desk staff is less risk averse or doesn't plan to work in the hospitality industry, they can accept an upfront payment of $20. Even though hotels typically turn a blind eye and/or never monitor employee videos unless something obviously illegal is going on, this trick still works.

However, there is no accurate way to know this information in advance.

But according to Roeben, it's now the $40 trick anyway, "because $40 is the new $20, just like $5 is the new $1 for discounted drinks."

Why doesn't it work for too long

About 75% of hotels now offer self-check-in kiosks, according to automation trade publication Kiosk Marketplace. Similar to airline and car rental kiosks, guests can make reservations using their ID. When they pay with a credit or debit card, the kiosk spits out their room key.

What you can’t do at the kiosk is the $20/$40 trick. The machine offers paid upgrades, or free upgrades if enough higher-priced rooms are available and the customer has exceeded a set loyalty points threshold.

With the option to wait in line for 45 minutes to speak with an agent who may or may not grant a free upgrade, self-check-in kiosks have become the go-to check-in option, especially for younger (i.e. future) Vegas visitors.

What happens next

This trend is likely to continue until kiosks completely replace front desk staff’s jobs. Most likely, one employee will remain - similar to a self-checkout station in a supermarket - and will only work in that area to resolve customer issues using the machines.

Las Vegas Resorts, like all public companies that have to answer to shareholders, love it when they can get people off the books. The troubling demands for a living wage, health insurance, paid vacation, lunch and other work breaks are the second largest operating cost factor.

Their largest share is the monthly rent most Las Vegas resorts must pay to their business owners. And these costs cannot be eliminated.

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