There's no reason to pay more for a single bed than it does for two beds. That's the single traveler tax in full effect!
Recently, on an overnight vacation, I noticed the Hyatt I was staying at was listing king bed rooms at slightly higher price than for rooms that had two double beds. I wanted a king bed, but decided to lock in the cheapest room available anyways, knowing I could get an upgrade by simply asking the staff to change the room type. Sometimes the quickest and easiest way to get an upgrade is asking for a different number of beds in the room.
At the very least, it will enable travelers to lock in the lowest rate for a hotel room, since the hotel reception has full discretion to switch it up however they like when you check in.
(Always be extra, extra nice checking in.)
Here's the quick script to use during check-in:
Hi! I didn't realize that when I made the booking that I booked a room with two beds.1 Is it possible to get a room with one bed instead?
[For best efficacy, follow this up with a smile.]
For the record, this is going to work a lot better at major hotel chains like Hyatt or IHG where there is a lot of inventory (read: hotel rooms) available.
For solo travelers, most staff understand this is pretty much a no-brainer. No single traveler needs two beds! For couples willing to take the risk, or sleep in separate beds, there's still a high chance of it working since most people understand couples want to sleep together.
(Though, the second bed can always be used as a luggage rack. Many years ago, whenever an ex and I would run into this situation, we would assign one bed as the "clean bed," the one we'd sleep in, and the other one as the "dirty bed," the one dirty clothes got piled on. No, not like that. Thank you.)
End result? How about an Atrium View King room for you? In other words, a quick $20 in savings.
