Aria Deal- Pay extra for 2 Queen or take chance at check in?

So, I was offered a deal from Aria and my buddy and I are going to be going there for two nights. The first night is comped and there is a decent discount for the second night. However, I could only book the King room online. I called and tried to get it switched to a room w/ 2 Queens but the lady told me it would be an extra $70 since the 2 Queen room wasn't a part of the deal that was offered.

I thought about it for a bit and called back to pay the $70 but the guy on the phone this time told me that I could probably still get the 2 Queens without charge if I waited until check in, if there was availability. He told me that he used to work the front desk and it was something they routinely do.

$70 is definitely not significant but I'm a penny pincher by nature when it comes to stuff like this. Does anyone have any advice on this or any previous experience in a similar situation? Thanks!

 

A helpful tidbit to note is that Aria charges $50 (plus tax)... yes... per night, for a roll away. If your not comfy sleeping in the same bed with your travel companion, in the end, the difference is under $20 bucks. If it came down to that choice, I would say an extra $20 is worth having a real queen sized bed over a twin sized roll away.

 

What day you arriving?

 

Thursday

 

I dont know what airline you fly with but Southwest allows 2 checked bags. Have your buddy pack a twin air matress as a backup plan if possible. I bought a decent one with a motor built in for 20 dollars on amazon. I think it is 25 dollars now.

 

Pay the 70, unless you don’t mind possibly sleeping on a couch or roll away. I would pay it for the bed if it were my trip. I’m going to spend more in the first hour I am there than that for less than comfortable sleeping arrangements.

 

wait until you checkin - Thursday you have a good chance of getting 2 queens for no additional charge.

 

I agree with ron_ron, the Aria doesn't sell out that often because it has a lot of rooms. It's also a Thursday. The earlier you arrive the better chances too.

 

Wouldn't you be able to pay the $70 at checkin if you can't get it for free? It's not like there gonna be out of queen rooms on a Thursday

 

This is what I was considering. I guess I was worried they'd be sold out of Queen rooms

Not sure about that. If so, I'd have nothing to lose, really. However I don't know whether 1) They'd jack the price up the day of check in and 2) Whether they would be sold out of Queen rooms (which, based on some responses here, probably isn't very likely)

 

The odds that they would run out of queen rooms on an ordinary Thursday are vanishingly small, and if they did then paying the extra $70 wouldn't save you from having your reservation "adjusted" anyway. Paying extra in advance to secure a specific room type (or early check in) is for suckers; you're always subject to what they have available. So if your request is something they'll normally accommodate for free, it's best to just wait it out.

 

If you're not both 350 pounds, and neither of you is an incredible delicate sleeper, roll the dice and try to get it changed at check in.

Both because multi-bed rooms get more people 'sneaking in', and just because it is another way to sneak up prices for people who truly have a preference, MLIFE in particular seems to love doing this for pre-bookings. But unless it is near sold out on some of your nights, chances are pretty good you can get it changed. I like to resist all urges to volunteer more money for nothing.

 

My experience has been that most hotels run out of king rooms first not 2 queens. Arriving late, I have had to take 2 queens rather than my reserved king a number of times. They take the reservation but do not HOLD the reservation....yada yada.

 

hmm... true. but what do you mean by the "multi-bed rooms get more people sneaking in" part?

 

Hotels often increase the rate if more than double occupancy. So people often book a 2 bed room for "2" but have larger groups stay there. I'm assuming that is one of the factors in MLIFE in particular doing this.

Just an assumption

 

OH i see. Yea I just assumed that's why the Queen rooms were more expensive than the Kings. Pretty sure if you filter based on how many people are staying to '4', the Queen room is listed as a choice. So yea, probably caught on to that

 

Save the 70 bucks and take your chances. If you get stuck with the king room, so be it, and share a bed. I've shared a bed with my Vegas buddy many times. No biggie.

 

Also, use the room rates on the main aria website to determine how busy or close to being sold out, to make a better informed decision. I would just wait til check in regardless, especially if arriving before noon and don't mind waiting for your room to be available for a few hours.

 

Unless you get a miserable check-in attendant, you should be fine. Rooms aren't assigned until check-in. Most people I know get bumped from a king to two queens.

 

I had this exact same scenario at Aria. I had a "comped" king room from playing the MyVegas game. I called ahead and asked about changing it to 2 queen beds, but because that was what the offer specified they couldn't change it on the reservation. They also suggested to just wait until check-in and request 2 queens. Well, that sure didn't work. Yes, they had queens available, but at a cost. So after the resort fee, the parking fee and the "upgrade" to queen beds (I think it was around $30), my comp room night ended up costing over $80. Great room and it'll take you a few days just to learn the electronics! Good Luck!

- Linda in TX