wedding freebies?

[filthiestfis]

I have always wondered when it is somebody's birthday or they just got married, if they announce it to the airline they are flying with or let the hotel they are staying at know about it, they get something for free like a bottle of bubbly.

I have always wondered if this was complimentary by the airline/hotel or the person making the arrangement was paying for the gesture?

[redcrx]

its entirely up to the hotel or airline if they wish to make a gesture or not and to deliberately tell them its your birthday or aniiversary seems like yorue out to get something.

A friend of my sisters is a travel agent and when we booked a holiday once she knew it was our wedding anniv and mustve said something. When we got to hotel our first meal had a complimentary bottle of wine for our anniv (that day)

My birthday was whilst we were away and the waiters brought out a tiny birthday cake for me too and free wine that night.

It wasnt a cheap hotel though and whenever Ive been away on my birthday since i havnt been offered anything else for free

[coccinelle]

It's a commercial gesture - if they make you feel good you'll spend more money. Picking up on birthdays is quite easy as your date of birth's on the passport but sometimes hotels ask you if your holiday is in celebration of something, so they can make some kind of gesture. Apparently, if you say at check out that it's your first flight you usually get a complimentary glass of champagne but this is only with flights which give you a seat number.

[kira000]

Sorry Coccinelle, Whoever told you that they gave bubbly if you said it was your first flight was talking b'locks.
I worked on checkin for a very reputable full service airline, and never once did that happen based on what a checkin agent said..

Very occassionally we will upgrade someone on honeymoon, or on their birthday or anniversary, but only if the airline actually needs to upgrade someone anyway (i.e there arent enough seats on economy) and are looking for who to do it to, and it says "honeymoon" etc in the system.

But bear in mind, the checkin agent gets people asking for upgrades for some reason or the other, ALL the time Honeymoon, birthday, broken leg, feeling sick, funeral,bad back, important work trip, cold, anniversary, you name it, they have heard it (and so did i!), so if they really did give out booze and upgrades on demand, then all the airlines would have club cabins full of upgradees and would have been bust for years! And when you have been asked for a free u/g for the 20th time in one day, really, its very annoying, and most likely to have the opposite effect!

Best thing with airlines, is be really nice and chatty to the agent, and CASUALLY drop in the fact that its your birthday, honeymoon etc, i.e. we are so excited about this trip, its our honeymoon and we've never been to Bali before... And DONT mention an upgrade at all. It might work, or it might not, but its more likely than a blatant blag!

Hotels are different, i have been given a bottle of wine and/or a cake several times when away celebrating birthdays, whe they have seen the birthday in one or other of mine or OHs passport, or if i emailed ahead to tell them.

[pinktwink]

have been away for my birthday twice and got a cake by the hotel. was in Dubai last week and went to Burj al arab for afternoon tea just after boyfriends birthday, they came out with a seperste birthday cake singing to him.

[SizzleSquid]

hotels dont usually give freebies unless your on honeymoon-most hotels will then include a complementary wine and or a bowl of fruit etc in your hotel room-but nothing more-and ceratinly not on birthdays. (and you have to show marriage cert at reception) everyday is someones birthday so why would they give out freeboes for birthdays? ive never heard of it

[coccinelle]

kira, I know a few people travelling with Air France on their first flight being offered a glass of bubbly, mind you they were long flights. Don't know if they still do it.