People often make themselves at home when staying in hotel rooms. Sometimes, that may be as harmless as kicking off shoes and getting cozy on the couch. Other times, people make choices that are questionable, to say the least. Here are ten things to do or avoid doing to ensure a cheaper, better, or more hygienic stay.
1. Stealing from Hotel Rooms
It’s not unheard of for people to harmlessly take an extra bottle of shampoo or bar of soap. However, in many instances, people have tried leaving hotel rooms with much more important things like towels and robes, dishes, wall art, televisions, and even nightstands. Unfortunately, when these items go missing, it’s hard not to notice. As a result, hotels will typically charge the damages to whatever card they have on file for the missing items.
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2. Leaving Items for Others to Steal
Although it’s rare, there are instances in which things get stolen from guests out of their hotel rooms. Therefore, it’s a good idea to keep valuables safely tucked away in luggage or in the safe provided by the hotel, rather than on the nightstand or bathroom counter.
3. How to Use the Safe in Hotel Rooms
As previously mentioned using the safe often provided in hotel rooms is great way to secure valuables like jewelry or your passport. However, most people are hesitant to use the safe because they may forget to check them before leaving. Thereby forgetting important documents or family heirlooms. A great solution is to put a shoe in the safe. Sounds weird, but it’s less likely that you’ll walk out of hotel rooms wearing only one shoe, so noticing a missing shoe will remind you to check the safe for it, and all other valuables before checking out.
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4. Don’t Use the Luggage Rack
Hotel rooms usually have a rack to put your luggage on. It could be wood, or metal, but if it’s wood you’re better of using the bathroom floor to store your luggage. It seems incredibly counterintuitive because bathrooms are one of the least sanitary rooms in homes or hotel rooms. However, lice and bed bugs, or other creepy crawlies, prefer to hide out in and eat wood. Whereas, they’re known to steer clear of the tile often found in the bathrooms of hotel rooms. However, it’s important to make sure the bathroom floor is clean first. Alternatively, while it may seem excessive, traveling with a disposable trash bag can also help create a barrier between your luggage and any undesirable critters.
5. Don’t Share Personal Information
It goes without saying all hotel rooms in the same hotel share the same WiFi. Therefore, sending classified, personal, or private information over the hotel’s WiFi increases the risk that the information may be accessible to people who shouldn’t have access to that information. Try, instead, using your phone to create a mobile hotspot.
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6. Don’t Wait to Check Hotel Rooms
The first thing most people do when entering hotel rooms is to check for bedbugs or anything else that may be unsanitary, unhygienic, or require additional attention. Alternatively, checking for filth isn’t the only thing that should be part of that ritual. Upon entering hotel rooms, it is a great time to assess further whether the pillows are comfortable, if the A/C, heater, or fan works properly, or whether or not there are enough blankets. The sooner you know these things, the sooner the front desk or housekeeping can be alerted and tend to these needs.
7. Pack Supplies for Hotel Rooms
Although packing can already feel pretty overwhelming, bringing your own blankets and towels are a great hack for ensuring a hygienic stay because sheets get changed between guests, but that’s not true of everything; for example, towels that appear not to have been touched by the last guest, are often left in hotel rooms for the next guest. The same is sometimes true of comforters. They’re often not changed between guests unless they’re visibly stained or dirty. Furthermore, this is also true of things that aren’t removable, like couch cushion covers or decorative pillows.
8. Cooking with Care
Although there are trends on social media that encourage cooking using things like electric kettles or hot plates, it’s important to note they can become fire hazards. Furthermore, cooking in these smaller appliances can damage them, possibly costing you more money when the damage has been discovered when maintenance or housekeeping comes through the hotel rooms for inspection. Therefore, cooking meals should only be done in adequate spaces like a kitchen or kitchenette.
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9. Think of Other Guests
Most buildings with hotel rooms, much like apartments, are stacked one on top of the other. That means that most of the time guests on lower levels can hear every step taken or every chair that scrapes across the floor. Stepping lightly, lifting furniture rather than scooting it, and being careful not to make too much noise at odd hours ensures every guest, including yourself, will likely have a more peaceful and relaxing time. Also, for those staying in hotel rooms with in-room laundry, don’t do it in the middle of the night if there are guests below you. Furthermore, something to consider regarding “odd hours” is that many guests arrive at different times, coming from different places. Therefore, someone may be napping at a strange time of day to combat their jet lag or get a little rest after a long day of travel.
10. Leaving a Mess
Although hotel rooms are maintained by a staff of housekeepers and maintenance workers, they are still people. People who deserve to be treated with some respect, decency, and consideration. As such, leaving behind huge messes or damaged property is a good way to leave a negative impression on those who are responsible for overseeing the hotel rooms. In other words, going out of your way to leave a mess or cause destruction may not only become costly to you but also create more work and stress for those who already give their all every day to tackle their duties.
These and other tips help to ensure you get the most out of hotel rooms while simultaneously making you a courteous guest to other guests and to those who run hotels.
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Sources
- “The disgusting reason you should never use the luggage rack in your hotel room.” The Sun. Karim Camara. November 19, 2023.
- “20 Things You Probably Shouldn’t Be Doing in a Hotel Room.” Reader’s Digest. Elizabeth Heath. November 22, 2023.
- “Things you may not know about hotel rooms, but should.” Travel News. Michael Forrest Jones. September 11, 2015.