QUESTION: I recently reserved a compact car through a major rental-car agency. I’m a member of its loyalty program, a perk of which is that it posts your name on a board with the parking-space number of the car assigned to you. You can then walk directly to your car instead of having to stop inside at the main counter.
Well, when I got to the space assigned to me, there was a giant (and I do mean giant) SUV instead of a compact car. I knew I would be doing a lot of city driving, including parallel parking on the street, plus I didn’t want to spend tons of money on gas, so I went inside and asked for a different car.
The agent made a big deal of this (“This guy wants to turn down an upgrade!”), and the other people waiting in line overheard. I heard a woman in line say, “Jeez — if I got upgraded, I’d be grateful.” Was I doing something wrong by declining the SUV?
ANSWER: Not at all. You always have the prerogative to decline an upgrade, and I think your reasons for doing so are perfectly valid. As long as you were polite, I wouldn’t worry about what she or the other customers in line thought of you.
Q: If you rent a beach house and find food in the kitchen cabinets, can you eat it?
A: If it’s there, I think it’s fair game — unless, of course, the rules of your rental say otherwise. Many rentals do stock basics like salt, pepper, sugar and coffee. “Should you eat it?” is a much more important question, though. I’ve found some pretty unappetizing-looking food in rentals (e.g., a half-eaten pint of ice cream, spices that had expired years ago, granola of unknown provenance), so I’d be picky about what you decide to consume.
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Email travel etiquette questions to Lesley Carlin at deartripadvisor@tripadvisor.com.
