Some stay in hotels for work purposes, other might do it for leisure. These trips might be luxurious if you have the money, but the truth is that you don’t need a lot to enjoy a vacation.
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Lucky for you, we have gathered some awesome hotel hacks that will save you time, money, and make your stay at the local inn or chain hotel, much more pleasant. From blocking out terrible noises, to keeping your clothes fresh, let’s discover these amazing tricks!
1. KEY CARD TIP
Let’s begin with this annoying little quirk, which every traveller has to deal with at some point! While we understand that this is a necessary security measure, we can’t help but feel frustrated by it. In certain hotels, you have to put your key-card into a slot, in order to turn the lights on.
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Worry no more, since it turns out that this function actually works with any card. Just take your used metro card or anything else of the same size, stick it in the slot, and keep it in there for constant electricity access!
2. BOTTLE OPENER
Sometimes, you might feel like cracking open a cold one in your hotel room. But what if there is no bottle opener to be found? Sure, you can call housekeeping and request one but our solution is much more fun!
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Keep on enjoying your relaxing evening and take a closer look at the hotel door! As you can see in the image, you can use a door hinge as a makeshift bottle opener – like magic! You’ll question why you ever used regular openers in the first place!
3. NO MORE GERMS
Legend has it that the dirtiest thing in a hotel room is the remote control. Almost everything else tends to be cleaned and the bedsheets are changed, but this item remains the same.
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To avoid picking up any germs, it’s a good idea to cover it with a plastic bag or a shower cap from the bathroom. We don’t want you to think too much about how dirty remote controls might be, but we know the Germaphobe in us was very grateful for this hack.
4. NO MORE NOISE
You might be staying in a busy hotel, especially if you’re travelling during high season – in the summer for example – and, more often than not, the walls are too thin. People tend to be loud when they’re on holiday so this one is an essential!
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When confronted with a lot of noise, the smarter among us try to switch rooms but if that’s not possible, then the best you can do is ask for an extra towel and wedge it between the crack underneath the door. This will help significantly.
5. A HACK FOR THE DOOR
If you are travelling in a big group or have a lot of luggage, it can be tiresome having to travel back and forth, reopening your door every time – especially if you have the “great” keyless doors, which take about an hour to open!
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Luckily, if the door is near the closet, you can save yourself some time and use a hanger to hook the door to keep it open while you try to settle in. Just make sure no one walks into your room in the process!
6. DON’T TOUCH THE MINIBAR
Of course, people know that the minibar is far too overpriced. However, most folks have no idea that if they have a tiny bottle of whiskey or a pack of Pringles, they might get charged for that too.
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Some modern hotels have automated minibars that sense this, and they add it immediately to your bill, even if you return the item. Some of them might remove those charges if you can prove that you didn’t consume the products, but beware!
7. COMPLETE DARKNESS
When you are in an unfamiliar place, you might have trouble sleeping. It might be that you’re staying in a hotel in the city and the lights outside your bedroom window are too bright.
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Most of the time, it’s difficult to arrange the curtains so that there is no gap in between them. However, you just need to grab a coat-hanger from the closet and press the clips onto the curtains so that they are completely closed.
8. TAKE CONCIERGE RECOMMENDATIONS WITH A PINCH OF SALT
Take a look at any travel blog and they will rave about the hidden gems their hotel concierge recommended to them and while, of course, asking the staff for recommendations is a great way to experience the local colour, but they’ll often have a bias opinion.
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The hotel owner might actually own a restaurant or a bar in the area, and employees will always lure you towards them. It’s best to do your own research and then ask them about the places you’re interested in visiting.
9. STAY FOR A LONG TIME
Erin Bender from Travel with Bender, who has travelled to more than seventy countries has found a few sneaky ways to get the most out of hotels! He always uses this trick in order to guarantee a cheaper price for every vacation.
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He says that if you have to stay somewhere for more than a week, you can call the hotel in advance and ask for discounts. Apparently, it’s much better to keep one guest for longer, than to get a new one.
10. ADDING SOME HUMIDITY
While some people might hate humidity during their travels, anyone who has spent time in a hotel room probably knows that they are often very cold, which can feel a little claustrophobic and clinical.
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You can fiddle around with the thermostat, but an easier option to fix this is by using a suitcase rack and placing a damp towel on top. Now, just put the rack by the radiator so that you won’t shrivel like a raisin in the sun.
11. NEVER PUT YOUR BAGS ON THE BED
Unfortunately, bed bugs are a nightmare which can’t always be avoided when you spend a lot of time travelling. These critters are even worse than mosquitoes, and they can catch a ride back to your house through your luggage.
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Therefore, it’s best to keep your luggage by the bathroom. Then, check out the bed, the chairs, or the couch in the room. You might think that this only tends to happen at motels and such but expert travellers do this, even if they are staying at a 5-star hotel.
12. ASK THE FRONT DESK
We know we mentioned how you shouldn’t go running to the front desk for recommendations for everything, but there are times when a quick call to the concierge can sometimes solve any issues you might have.
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Some people tend to panic when it comes to packing, but you don’t need to worry if you forget something. Many hotels have everything you could possibly need, and not just free soap or shampoo! Many establishments have hair straighteners, and some even have video game consoles for children.
13. CALL IN ADVANCE
This one goes hand in hand with the last slide! Even if you don’t know the general manager, you should still give them a call in advance, especially if you are trying out a hotel for the first time.
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Be polite and explain to them the reasons for your choice to stay at their particular hotel, anything from the location, atmosphere, reputation etc and, if you’re lucky, you might get a better deal and a better experience overall when you check-in. Professional traveller Mick Richard who is the founder of Vagabondish.com, swears by this, “This works especially well with mom-and-pop hotels or smaller chains.”
14. DISCOVER A SECRET HOTEL ROOM
Forget the secret menus and get yourself a booking for a secret hotel room! You might be wondering what a secret hotel room is. Well, they are rooms sold at lower prices because the establishment doesn’t want them to be empty.
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However, the problem is that you might not know which hotel you would like to stay in. These places can offer discounts from 20% to 50%. You can check out LastMinute.com’s secret hotels and Hotwire’s hidden offers!
15. DON’T ABUSE ROOM SERVICE
It might be nice to get room service every once in a while, but unfortunately, if you are on a budget, then its something you should stay away from. This expensive treat is convenient, yes, but we recommend trying local food instead.
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You might have to get out of your comfy hotel robe for that but your wallet and tummy will be much happier, in the long run! If you really don’t want to leave, you might consider bringing some food with you, perhaps a couple of packets of ramen to have in your room. You can use the kettle provided to boil some water and have a midnight-snack or lunch ready for a pound or two!
16. TRANSFER THE MILES FOR YOUR REGULAR CREDIT CARD
The world of travel miles is a rather confusing one but once you get the hang of it, its perk after perk! Matt Kepnes, an American travel blogger and New York Times bestselling author, swears by them.
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He signs up for the bonuses at hotels but also recommends universal miles, especially travel rewards credit cards. That way, you can move your accumulated points to airline and hotel systems. “You can transfer those points to hotel loyalty programs and redeem them for free rooms.”
17. THE SHOWER CAP IS IMPORTANT
Showercaps actually have more uses than one – you can use the one provided by the hotel for a number of things, from covering your remote- remember that slide? to keeping your suitcase clean!
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If you forget to bring bags, you can keep your dirty shoes inside them to avoid damaging your clothes. They can also be used to cover the remote control if you’re afraid that it might be too dirty.
18. WARMING BUTTER
Everyone knows that the small little butter packets you get at a hotel are just too cold and hard to spread on your bread. Instead of waiting or eating your breakfast with cold butter, you can just put the packets on top of the toaster.
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While, of course, this isn’t absolutely necessary, it is still a small fix to an irritating problem. Time it to perfection so that when your bread pops, your butter will be perfect for use. We all need some butter on our toast in the morning.
19. TIP WITH A $20
This one isn’t for those trying to travel on a budget, but if you want the best hotel service, sometimes you can do that with just a bit of extra cash. Yep, a tip to the RIGHT person can drastically change your hotel experience.
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People that travel all the time recommend giving the front desk a $20 when you give them your driver’s license and you will probably be given an upgrade. Sometimes, they might reject the tip, but no harm no foul.
20. FIND PRICE GUARANTEES
Finding price guarantees is a basic trick that many people never fully take advantage of. You see the signs on every hotel website but when have you ever used this service? Well, it’s about time you do because it will save you some major cash!
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Each hotel chain has a different way of handling this service, some might like to actually match the lowest price you can find, while others will recompensate you through freebies or upgrades. Either way, it looks like a win-win to us.