You may or may not use a shower cap in your daily life, but when you’re dealing with hotel stays you should absolutely make use of the disposable ones that you find in your room. Plastic shower caps serve multiple purposes for traveling. One way of utilizing them is to use one to cover your remote control. They likely don’t get sanitized after each stay, so who knows what kinds of germs are lurking on them.
You can also use them to wrap your shoes before packing them, so they don’t get dirt on the rest of your belongings.
Key Power
These days, almost every hotel uses electronic key cards. Gone are the days of using actual, metal keys that you stick in and turn to open the door. The key cards are very convenient and easy to carry around in your wallet. But you’ve got to be careful about storing them around your phone or other electronics because they can actually drain the power and deactivate the key.
You can avoid any loss of power by keeping your hotel key in a separate pocket of your pants or purse. And always ask the hotel for an extra, just to be on the safe side.
Ask the Front Desk
Hotels will go above and beyond to keep their guests happy. After all, they’re in the hospitality business and their main objective is to keep you happy and comfortable. But this doesn’t just mean a clean room and friendly customer service. If you get to your hotel and realize you’ve forgotten something necessary – you can almost guarantee that the front desk will help.
And even more than just necessities, sometimes they’ll have things you may not expect them to have – like different types of electronics, etc. So, before you panic and run out to buy a new one, check with the front desk staff to see if they’ve got any on hand!
Makeshift Dining Table
If you’ve got multiple kids and there isn’t a table or desk in your hotel room large enough for them to all sit at, try this hack to make dinner time a breeze on your vacation. You will always find an ironing board in your hotel’s closet, so set it up at the end of your bed and cover it with a towel to protect the top. This trick is great for a few reasons.
Your kids will love it because the end of the bed is usually right in front of the television, and you’ll love it because it’s easy to set and clean up. You can’t beat a hack that makes your life as a parent easier!
Tip Your Staff
Tipping on services is customary in the United States, although it’s easier to remember to tip some service providers than others. For instance, everyone knows you’re supposed to tip a pizza delivery driver or a server in a restaurant, but some may not think about tipping a hairstylist, etc. And, while the person working at the front desk of your hotel is probably making a great hourly rate, if you want them to really go above and beyond to accommodate you during your stay – slip them a $50 or so when you check-in.
In many cases, they will upgrade you, and in the best cases – they’ll upgrade you and won’t accept your tip (although most will.)