Woman Shares How Her Mom Gets Free Snacks & Gift Baskets From Hotels By Simply... Asking For Them
Speak up and get those snacks!
Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels Julia Baird, a fashion and beauty influencer based in Canada, often travels for work. While a work trip is still work, there are still ways she can enjoy herself while away from home, with a bit of help from her mom.
The influencer shared how her mom gets free gift baskets from hotels just by asking for them.
“Every time I’m traveling, my mom calls the hotel to do something special for me, even if it’s, like, not a special occasion,” Baird said from her hotel room in Vancouver, Canada, during a work trip.
“My mom called the hotel and had them put together a little gift basket,” she said.
When she checked into the hotel, Baird found a surprise waiting for her: a basket full of snacks, “literally from my mom, for free!”
The gift basket included a bottle of San Pelligrino, a bag of popcorn, and a few pieces of fruit to balance the snack spread.
“Not only did I get free snacks, but they also wrote me a little card,” she exclaimed.
Photo: cottonbro studio /Pexels
“If you or your mom isn’t calling the hotel, every single time you travel, you’re doing something wrong,” she concluded.
Sending a gift basket of snacks for a hotel stay is an example of a small but impactful way to make someone feel extra special.
Baird made a follow-up post, responding to a request to know exactly what her mother said when she called a hotel.
“First, I give them a phone call,” Baird’s mother explained. “I try to build a rapport with the person who answered the phone.”
She tells them about herself and to whom she wants to send a gift basket, noting that she then asks “If there is anything that they can do to help make the stay a little bit more special for the person.”
Baird gently pushed her mom for clarification, asking, “You don’t ask for anything specific. You just ask if they can do something?”
Her mom responded, “I just ask if they can do something.”
She elaborated slightly, saying that she sometimes tells the hotel employee she’s speaking to, “There’s an anniversary, or, for example, Valentine’s Day, and I’m not there, and I kind of miss my loved one if they could send something special.”
Photo: Zura Modebadze / Pexels
“So you just ask,” Baird concluded.
“Just ask,” her mom suggested before sharing her wise approach to the world: “You don’t get it if you don’t ask.”
Her mom’s script for getting free hotel snacks hinges upon one important conversational tactic: kindness.
It’s so simple that it almost seems like a trick: Just ask for what you want and see how the request lands.
Baird shared that she and her mom were in a hotel together, and they’d been given a bottle of prosecco and a box of “really adorable chocolates.” She asked her mom how she procured the bubbly and sweets.
“I said we were going to a candlelight concert, and we’re celebrating your engagement,” her mom explained.
Asking directly for what you want is often harder than it sounds. It requires having a clear idea of what you want, along with the confidence and drive to speak up and make the actual ask.
While asking someone to go out of their way to fulfill a request might make you feel vulnerable, all the person can say is yes or no. Asking for what you want doesn’t make you selfish or needy. It just means you’re human, and you want a little something extra to make your day brighter.
Whether it’s a free gift basket at a hotel or an extra beverage on a flight, you have the right to take up space, speak up, and ask for free stuff.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.