They have added incentive to

　　The great thing is that it can happen to just about anyone—especially if you use a little strategy to tip the odds in your favor. They have added incentive to court retu guests by giving them upgrades.. Book with the website Room 77, a hotel search engine that scans prices and availability through numerous online travel agencies and automatically contacts the hotel you choose to request a room that matches your preferences (room views, higher or lower floors, distance from the elevator, and moreBe a loyalty-program member. Look for new hotels.July 18, 2013 When we’re checking into a hotel, few things make us feel more special or appreciated than a room upgrade. Here, four ways to maximize your chances of scoring better accommodations.. Jennifer Flowers is an Associate Editor at Travel + Leisure and part of the Trip Doctor news team. Check in later in the day, when hotels have a better sense of their open inventory for the night. Find her on Twitter at

　　One from Le Meurice, in Paris, is for grocery lists (olive oil, cumin, dishwashing liquid: check); one from Blantyre, in the Berkshires, is for expenses (the column of numbers jotted down on it no longer means anything to me, but must have been crucial once). But the Marriott in Panama City? That’s for special occasions. At most recent count, I have 20 or so knocking around in a drawer, and as a rule I use the more distinguished notepads for the most routine notes. And even if it doesn’t cost anything (except the price of a room, or a Campari in the lobby), it’s exclusive. Working out who did or didn’t walk the dog is that much more entertaining when it’s scribbled on a creamy notepad from the Hay-Adams, the discreet D.May 12, 2011 If you travel light, a hotel notepad is an ideal memento—slim, utilitarian, free. hotel where the Obamas stayed before moving in to the White House.. In fact, I rarely use the pad from the Ritz Paris or Chateau Marmont because I fear it would come across as showing off.C. The more obscure, the better. Important messages are Sightseeing Lifts Factory saved for notepads from Sea Ranch Lodge, a 1970’s masterpiece on the Califoia coast, or the Locao, an aging hotel in Rome with a birdcage elevator and a bar that always feels like dusk. The only way to get a hotel notepad is to find yourself at that hotel