So you’ve scored yourself some nifty little free hotel perks and upgrades – amazing! Just one problem, you’re not actually too sure what they all mean. You’re not the only one! There’s a lot of different hotel perks and upgrades out there, and sometimes they’re super obvious as to what they are. Other times? Not so much. That’s why we thought we’d put a little guide together to some of the most common free hotel perks and upgrades you might come across and what they mean.

From understanding Dine Around to what exactly Free Self Parking is all about, the answers are right here.

Free Upgrade to Half Board

This is a fairly common perk where hotels offer board bases beyond Bed & Breakfast – it simply means that you’ll go from B&B to Half Board at no extra cost. Nice one! If you’re not sure what Half Board means, just think of it as like a halfway point between B&B and All Inclusive – you’ll get breakfast, but you’ll also get one other meal, either lunch or dinner depending on the hotel you’re staying at. This extra meal is often in the form of a buffet, and you usually only get free drinks with breakfast. The rest of the time you’ll have to cough up.

Free upgrade to Half Board Dine Around

Now, this one is very similar to the one above, but comes with a bit more pizzazz. Usually found at larger resorts with a variety of dining options, Half Board Dine Around means you can use that extra meal but you don’t have to have it at the same restaurant every night – you have the option to ‘dine around’ at the resort’s other restaurants.

But there’s more! If you happen to be staying at, say, at one of the Jumeirah resorts in Dubai, Dine Around includes not just the restaurants at the resort you’re staying at, but the restaurants at their sister resorts across the city too.

Free Upgrade to All Inclusive

It’s the same again here, except you’re going top level now. Getting a free upgrade to All Inclusive means you’ll go from boring old B&B to Bolly on tap! Well, maybe not always. Depending on the resort you’re staying at, All Inclusive can include all sorts – from all of your meals to alcoholic (and non-alcoholic) bevs. Some resorts will only offer local alcoholic drinks, whilst others will offer top-shelf branded stuff at no extra cost.

All Inclusive can also include activities like watersports (usually only non-motorised) and even excursions if you’re extra lucky.

Kids Go Free

Some hotels (especially in mega family-friendly destinations like Orlando and Dubai) offer incredible perks like having kids stay for absolutely free. And it really means exactly that – bring the kids along at no extra cost.

Do note that perks like these do usually come with some T&Cs – usually in the form of an upper age limit. Make sure to check with your hotel if you’re unsure!

Free transfers

You’ll often get a perk like this in destinations like the Maldives where a transfer to get you from the airport to your resort is a requirement – a side-effect of them being on their own little private islands in the ocean!

But these transfers can be spenny, which is why scoring a free one is mega! Here at Netflights, we always include a transfer as part of your package as standard, but we’ll always let you know when you can nab an awesome perk like a free one, and we’ll also let you know what type of transfer it’ll be – sometimes it might be a speedboat transfer, sometimes a seaplane.

We’ve got a whole guide to transfers in the Maldives if you want the nitty gritty.

Free scheduled shuttle transportation

This one can trip people up! You’ll often spot it with one of our Orlando deals, as a mega convenient way to help get you to and from the parks, from Walt Disney World Resort to Universal (don’t forget their new park, Epic, opens this year!)

The key thing to remember here is that this is scheduled shuttle transportation – meaning there’s a free shuttle, but only on a specified timetable. Sadly, you can’t summon one as and when you need it!

Parking fee waived

This is a nifty perk if you’ve decided to use some car hire during your holiday, and is another one you’ll spot in a lot of our Orlando deals. It simply means that you won’t have to pay for parking when you arrive at your hotel or resort – easy!

Free self-parking

This one can leave people scratching their heads a bit. Despite its awkward name, free self-parking just means the same as above – you won’t have to pay for parking at your hotel or resort if you opt for some car hire. The difference here is that you have to park the car yourself, meaning you won’t be able to get a valet to do it for you.

Food and beverages credit

If you’ve scored some food and beverages credit, great! Think of it as like a taste of All Inclusive – you get a certain amount of resort or hotel credit that you can use on food and drink during your stay. But unlike All Inclusive, this’ll be a finite amount and won’t be renewed once you use it all up – choose wisely!

Free dinner

This is exactly like it says on the tin or, well, your hotel booking. But there is one thing to make note of – a free dinner is usually just that, a free dinner. This is a one time perk during your stay, so again – choose wisely!

Kids eat free

Another mega popular perk in a bunch of our destinations, but especially in family-friendly Orlando and Dubai, kids eat free means just that – your kids get to eat for free! What’s not to like about that?

Of course, there’s a few T&Cs to be aware of – Kids eat free offers usually come with the caveat that an adult has to order a paid-for meal at the same time, the kids have to be under a certain age, and the kids will also usually have to order off the Kids Menu only. Always make sure to check what’s actually on offer with your hotel.

Resort credit

Who doesn’t love a bit of free cash? Well, with resort credit – whilst not actually cold hard cash – you get exactly that. This perk gives you a certain amount of credit to use towards loads of different things at your resort. This could be towards activities, at the gift shop, or even on a spa package. What we love about generic resort credit is that you can choose exactly where you want to use it.

Resort credit coupon sheet

Similar to the above, a resort credit coupon sheet gives you credit to spend in resort. But this time you’re a little more restricted in what you can use it on. For example, at Essence at the Fives Beach in Riviera Maya, Mexico, your coupon sheet comes with a food and beverages credit of $50, 2 spa credits of $50, 2 tour credits of $50, and so on.

You’ll still score some great discounts on loads of things during your stay, but it does mean you can’t pool all your credits into one area.

Spa credit

A mega popular perk for resorts in Dubai and the Maldives (those guys know a serious thing or two about spas), spa credit is credit that you can only use – you guessed it – at the spa.

Free Unlimited Access to Theme or Water Park

Now, this is one of our fave perks. If your resort or hotel has a waterpark attached, this means you get free unlimited access to it during your stay. An example would be Atlantis The Palm and Atlantis The Royal, two mega sister properties in Dubai. A stay here bags you free unlimited access to Aquaventure Waterpark – the biggest waterpark in the world.

But it doesn’t just have to one attached to your resort. Stay at certain Jumeirah resorts in Dubai, and you’ll get free unlimited access to Wild Wadi Waterpark.

Free Limited Access to Theme or Water Park

This is just like the above, but in this case it usually means you’ll only have access to a water or theme park for one day, instead of unlimited access as much as you like during your stay. Despite that, we still think it’s a great perk!

Free nights

Another one that means exactly what it says. If you’ve bagged a deal with free nights, it means you’ll be paying less for more holiday! Yes, please!

Stay 7, Pay 6

We’ve included this one as it’s basically exactly the same as above, it’s just a different way of saying it that you might see cropping up. You’ll stay for 7 nights, and only pay for 6 of ’em. Or 5, and only pay for 4. Or 14, and only pay for 13…you get the gist.

Resort fee capped

We feel like this perk flies under the radar but it comes in way more handy than you might think at first. Some resorts you stay at, especially in destinations like Las Vegas or Orlando, might charge a resort fee. This is a set fee per night, usually paid at your resort on arrival. It’s usually more or less, depending on your resort’s star rating.

But sometimes you can bag a capped resort fee, which means you won’t have to pay the resort fee for every night of your stay. This often comes in the form of offers like staying for 7 nights, but only paying the resort fee for 5 nights. Things like resort fees can add up quickly, so this is another nifty little perk you don’t wanna miss.

All offers mentioned are correct at time of publishing but may be subject to change at any time.