Online checkin versus upgrade offer?

[tiriavpo]

Looking at OLCI and have been offered a small diamond upgrade (king to premier king).

So a couple of basics on online check in:

If I don’t accept that room now could I lose it if I elect to check in at the hotel?

If I do accept it now do I lose the chance of a further upgrade between now and physical check in?

Basic questions late in the day but already mid-trip and searching the forums on a iPhone is not as easy.

[John]

Until you are ensconced in bed anything can happen.

To answer the questions directly: 1. Yes, but usually not. 2. No, but usually it doesn’t happen.

If you request a digital key then it makes it less likely they will change your room, and once you get a digital key you can enter the room so the hotel won’t change it. Furthermore, you can always ask for a further upgrade in person.

Without specifying the hotel it is hard to say what they will do. Read flyertalk / tripadvisor. If the hotel is approaching full occupancy and gets more bookings, they could upgrade you further, or they could downgrade you.

[tiriavpo]

Thanks – that all makes sense and pretty much what I was expecting. We have ended up in the room I picked at OLCI so who knows.

[BJ]

For the reasons outlined by John J have never used OLCI, and probably never will. It would take a spectacular upgrade offer to make me do it but to be honest I’ve never checked as I suspect it is only going to upgrade one category anyway. Perhaps my assumption is wrong but I still prefer to take my chances with reception. Large hotels are soulless enough without reducing human interactions further still.

[tiriavpo]

As an update – this is another hotel-specific thing.

For the first place, we ended up with the room I picked at OLCI and they insisted there were no other upgrade options even though I could see a better room available to book. That was Melbourne, where diamond breakfast is continental only, with option to upgrade to full, and barista coffees are extra.

Now in Sydney, where I looked more closely at the app messages. It showed an upgrade at OLCI but also clearly said that even if we picked it they would still try to upgrade further on arrival. There was possible further upgrade but not for the entire stay so kept the perfectly acceptable deluxe room. Breakfast is full option for free in the restaurant, but a bit of a zoo, or excellent ‘continental plus’ in the lounge. Full continental plus limited hot choice of eggs, bacon etc. Also afternoon tea and excellent canapés later.