Patience Comes With Perks

One time, I was travelling with my wife and our four-year-old. We had booked a room with two queen beds and a sofa bed. We got to the hotel about an hour before check-in time, and my status with the hotel meant I could ask for early check-in (up to two hours early).

Employee: “I’m sorry, but your room isn’t available yet.”

Me: “No problem. We’ll go to the park and be back in an hour or so.”

When we got back, the manager had upgraded us to a two-bedroom suite — one king bed and two full beds — for the weekend, at no extra charge.

That was two years ago, and we’ve made a point of staying at that hotel any time we visit family in that town.