He added that this is more likely to work in smaller boutique hotels rather than larger chains.
But he also says even just asking can make a difference.
Mr Callery continued: “Being polite but direct about what you want often yields results.
“Start off by asking about paid upgrade options.
“Once the receptionist has explained them, nicely mention your budget constraints.
“They will often give you a free upgrade to compromise.”
“Ask the receptionist if any complimentary upgrades are available today rather than demanding one.”
Even if you didn’t succeed on the first day, you might be able to get an upgrade later in your trip if you are staying longer than one night.
He explained: “Night audits show which high-end rooms won’t be filled, and thus can sometimes unlock a mid-stay upgrade.”
Other methods that he recommends is telling them if its a special occasion such as birthdays and anniversaries, as that can also lead to upgrades.
Just don’t try and lie, as you could be caught out.
Another lie not to tell is being a influencer or content creator if you’re not, as he warned “they hear this every day and it is easily checked”.
Mr Callery ended by saying: “Reception staff really want you to have a great stay.
“A friendly approach and understanding of how the hotel works often results in courtesy perks, which add value to your visit without affecting your budget.”
If you’re looking to change your body shape, we’ve got you covered.
Here, Laura Hoggins, a personal trainer and author, takes you through your new workout plan.
Your New Workout
Include a few compound movements in each workout, which work multiple muscles and joints at once. Do eight to 12 reps in each set.
“Women should lift heavy enough that the last two to three reps of a set are challenging but doable with good form,” says Laura.
You can use dumbbells or a barbell for these exercises:
SQUATS
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Squat position, from how you start and in the squat itselfCredit: Getty
Hold a dumbbell in each hand, letting them hang at your sides. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, and core tight.
Initiate the squat by pushing your hips back, as if you are reaching for a chair behind you.
Bend your knees and lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor (or as low as you can comfortably go while keeping your back straight and chest up). Keep the dumbbells close to your sides.
Push through your heels and the middle of your feet to powerfully drive back up to the starting position.
At the top, fully straighten your legs and squeeze your glutes for a complete repetition.
Try a goblet squat with one, heavier dumbbell held at the chest, or with a barbell on your upper back/neck.
DEADLIFTS
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Here’s how to do the barbell deadliftCredit: Getty
Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Bend over and grip the bar with your hands just outside your shins.
With the bar still on the floor, bend your knees until your shins touch the bar. The bar should be going across the mid-foot. Keep your hips low, chest up, and back straight. Take a big breath and brace your core.
Drive through your heels, pushing the floor away. Stand up by extending your knees and hips simultaneously. Keep the bar in contact with your body (dragging it up your shins).
Finish the lift by standing tall. Squeeze your glutes together and lock your hips and knees.
To lower the bar again, hinge at your hips first, keeping your back straight, and allow the bar to descend down your thighs. Once the bar passes your knees, bend your knees to lower it to the floor with control.
BENCH PRESS
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Bench chest press with a barbellCredit: Getty
In the gym, set up a barbell on a rack with a flat bench underneath it. Lie on the bench and, planting your feet firmly on the floor, grab the bar with an overhand grip slightly wider than shoulder-width.
Squeeze your shoulder blades back and down (like you’re pinching a pencil between them). Arch your upper back slightly and drive your feet into the floor to lock in your entire body.
Take a deep breath and push the bar straight up and off the rack. Move it forward until it is balanced directly over your shoulders. This is your starting position (see illustration above).
Slowly lower the bar to your mid-chest, just below your collarbone. Keep your elbows tucked to a 45-to-70-degree angle from your body (avoid flaring them out wide).
When the bar lightly touches your chest, press it forcefully up and slightly back (not straight up) until your arms are fully extended over your shoulders. Exhale, and then repeat the movement for the next rep.
The 5 best exercise swaps for when you can’t be bothered to go to the gym
Try with dumbbells if you are at home or are new to the exercise and want more flexibility or range of motion, for example.
BENT OVER ROWS
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Bent over rows – bring the elbows up to your ribsCredit: Getty
Stand with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing each other (neutral grip). Bend your knees slightly, then hinge at your hips so your torso is close to a 45-degree angle to the floor.
Keep your back straight, chest up, and core tight. Let the dumbbells hang straight down, just below your knees.
Lead the movement by pulling your elbows up and back towards the ceiling, drawing the dumbbells toward the sides of your chest/lower rib cage.
At the top of the movement, squeeze your back muscles together (imagine pinching a pencil between your shoulder blades).
Slowly lower the dumbbells back to the starting position with your arms fully extended, maintaining the bent-over posture for all repetitions.
Try with a barbell too.
OVERHEAD PRESS WITH SQUAT
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The overhead press stepsCredit: Getty
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a dumbbell in each hand by your sides (palms facing inward). Keep your chest up and core tight.
Initiate the squat by pushing your hips back, as if you are sitting down into a chair.
Bend your knees, keeping your back straight and the dumbbells hanging close to your body. Go down until your thighs are parallel to the floor, or as low as comfortable.
Push through your heels and the middle of your feet to drive your body back up to the starting position. Fully straighten your legs and squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement.
Add on a couple of accessory lifts, which target specific areas and work only one side of the body at a time.
Think biceps curls or single-leg glute bridges.
Short on time?
“I suggest pairing exercises together from opposite muscle groups (such as quads and hamstrings), or an upper and a lower exercise to get the biggest bang for your time spent in the gym,” says Laura.
THERE’S nothing like a lovely relaxing autumnal dog walk, but there are plenty of hidden dangers pet owners need to look out for, it turns out.
This comes as new research from dog walking insurance providers, Protectivity, reveals that the majority of pet insurance claims are linked to dog walking.
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Hidden dangers could lead to hefty vet billsCredit: Getty
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It’s importatn to keep your eyes on your dog during autumn walks, the pros saidCredit: Getty
Since these hazards can end up not only being dangerous for your pet, but costly when the vet bill arrives, it’s good to know what to avoid.
Luckily, Protectivity has partnered with three certified canine experts to share practical tips and advice to safeguard dogs on their autumn walk.
Ingesting slugs or snails
The damp weather that autumn brings can lead to an increase in slugs and snails that can carry lungworm larvae, a potentially fatal issue if left untreated.
Sadie Geoghegan-Dann, Canine Welfare Expert & Dog Trainer at Nervous Rex warned: “Having personally lost one of my own dogs to lungworm, I can’t emphasise enough how dangerous it is to let your dog play around with slugs and risk eating one.”
The expert added that lungworm can take hold very fast and can be fatal in no time if not spotted.
Terry Cuyler, Certified Dog Trainer and owner of Pawsitive Results Dog Training added: “My default solution to this problem is to train a good “drop it” command.
“Occasionally, despite our best intentions, a dog will grab something while we’re not able to intercept them. An effective ‘drop it’ guarantees that they’ll drop the object at once, and this can be a life-saver.”
Fallen fruits from apples, pears and plum trees
As autumn rolls around, fruit trees start to shed their sweet-smelling fruit and while it may seem enticing to dogs, fallen fruit can cause severe stomach upsets and present a choking hazard.
Dog owner, Shakira Sacks, from Leeds, explained how her four year old cocker spaniel, Autumn, had to receive medical treatment after ingesting a fallen plum on a walk.
Urgent warning for pet owners as contaminated dog food recalled after salmonella found with ‘do not use’ warning issued
Shakira said: “Being a cocker spaniel, Autumn is forever eating things she shouldn’t. Over the years, we’ve implemented lots of training commands but on a recent walk in our local park, she ate a fallen plum, including the stone.
“After speaking to our vet, they asked us to bring her in immediately and two hours of induced vomiting and a £350 bill later, Autumn was her happy self again.
“It was, however, a very scary experience and has made me even more hyper-vigilant of hazards that I wasn’t aware of previously. I had no idea that although plums are usually safe for dogs to eat, the stones can be toxic, as can the flesh when it’s mouldy.”
Acorns on the ground
The phrase ‘are acorns poisonous to dogs’ has been searched 7,000 times on Google in the UK in the last month alone, revealing the very real concern owners have.
Terry warned: “In my experience, one of autumn’s most underappreciated perils is the abundance of acorns. I have worked with dogs who have come to significant injury from eating them.”
Acorns contain tannins, the dog pro explained, which can cause stomach issues and even kidney damage in dogs. For smaller breeds they also pose as a chocking risk.
Fallen conkers
Conkers are another highly toxic risk for dogs on autumnal walks, with severe cases costing up to £2,000 in veterinary treatment.
Terry said: “I see this process repeat itself time and time again during autumnal walks. Dogs have an instinct to be attracted to conkers, acorns, and fallen fruits, as these trigger their hidden foraging instinct and carry scents of wild animals to them.”
He recommended looking out for key warning signs, like over-sniffing at ground level, sudden stops during walks, and that familiar head-down posture showing keen interest in something to eat.
But mostly, pet owners should be aware of the “freeze and stare” posture just before their strike and correct immediately with a high-reward treat and a ‘leave it’ command.”
Vet Dr. Rachel Siu reveals the 5 dogs she’d never own
By Marsha O’Mahony
HUSKY
Beautiful, intelligent, and super-active, like a Border Collie, a Husky is a working dog and likes to keep busy.
If you lead a sedentary life, then this guy is not for you, and you are not for him.
It should be no surprise that Huskies love the cold – look at that coat of fur. So, living in 110 degrees in Texas is pretty grim for these dogs.
DACHSHUND
Adorable, cute, funny, and they can be very expensive.
The basic physiology of these sausage dogs does them no favours. “Because of their long backs, they’re really prone to intervertebral disc disease,” said Dr. Rachel.
You would be wise to keep a pot of money aside just in case because back surgery is likely to be expensive.
GREAT DANE
These lolloping, loving, and gregarious dogs are “goofballs.”
But they have short lifespans, developing health issues early on in life. Prepare yourself for heartbreak.
DOODLE
These are the current “it” dog, they are everywhere. They can be mixed with pretty much any other breed.
Their popularity has soared in recent years, with pet owners attracted to their low maintenance and hypoallergenic qualities.
But this couldn’t be further from the truth, said our vet.
“These dogs are often mixed with shedding dogs so they do shed and they also need grooming very frequently,” she wrote.
Their temperament is unpredictable and she has seen some that are wonderful to work with and others who have serious behavioral problems.
BULLDOGS
These guys are adorable but they have serious respiratory problems. Genetics are not on the side of any brachycephalic dog.
“I just would not own them,” she said. “They’re just not a healthy breed. They struggle to breathe with their smooshed faces.”
Like the Dachshund, they also suffer from intervertebral disc disease.
CHEATING doesn’t necessarily happen on obvious apps like WhatsApp or Snapchat – as I pretty brutally found out.
In fact, red flags on your partner’s phone could be staring you right in the face without you even realising. But luckily, I know just the places to look – and most of them will surprise you.
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Some apps can be disguised by changing the icon to something completely differentCredit: Grindr
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Not all apps are obvious sources for cheating – even the Notes app can be misusedCredit: Jamie Harris / The Sun
And not all apps are necessarily hiding messages either – some point towards secret spending or unknown locations a love rat has been visiting.
Obviously I’m not advising you to go digging around on your other half’s phone.
Your first port of call should always be to speak with your partner about any concerns.
One night I noticed an extra calculator app on my ex’s iPhone (pretty telling because who really needs an extra calculator beyond the pre-installed one?).
As I feared, when I tapped the app it wasn’t a calculator at all, but a dating app – filled with countless messages with streams of other men, and not to mention the dreaded d**k pics too.
A determined cheater isn’t going to leave evidence on chat apps like WhatsApp or Instagram (texts can be easily deleted too), so here are some of the less obvious apps which might hide their dirty little secrets.
#1 Notes app
The humble Notes app on iPhone and Android may seem like the last place you expect to find cheating.
Surely that’s just where people jot down the odd password or their shopping list, right?
Well, not quite – little do most people realise, it can actually be used to secretly communicate with others.
You can share Notes with other people and both collaborate on them, meaning cheaters can essentially use it to write back and forth without arousing suspicion.
“Yes, this happened to one of my best friends. Her boyfriend’s Notes app was open on his laptop and that’s how she found out,” one person explained on TikTok.
Spotting the signs your partner is cheating
#2 Storage apps
Apps which store your pics and videos can be used to secretly message too, though it’s a lot more hassle.
However, storage apps are a great place to keep incriminating photos out of sight.
This is another problem I’ve been stung with by my ex, who kept a hidden stash of photos he’d got from secret flings on there.
Photos stored in the cloud are kept in a data centre, so you can easily log out and keep them away from being visible in normal photo gallery apps.
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Storage apps could hide photos you’re not meant to see…Credit: Getty
#3 Mapping apps
Mapping and navigation apps could also hold clues of cheating.
Whether you use Google Maps or Waze to drive around, all the places you’ve got directions too will be stored in the app.
Unknown places which are visited a lot could be a red flag.
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Cheaters forget that previous locations are stored in map and navigation appsCredit: Getty
#4 Wallet apps
Similar to mapping and navigation apps, the wallet apps on your phone may have signs your partner is up to no good.
Whether you’re using Apple Pay or Google Pay, you can see previous transactions – unlike standard banking apps that are heavily locked down.
This may reveal a fancy dinner out you weren’t aware of or even a big spend in a jewellery shop.
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Wallet apps may reveal some unexpected transactions…Credit: Getty
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