"Full Of Free Water": 38 Hotel Hacks People Swear By That Others Don’t Know

Hotel manager pro tip - always ask the front desk if they have any vouchers for local events. Oftentimes we have stacks of free passes to hand out for various things. Doesn’t need to be a formal concierge, ask a desk agent.

My best hack for staying in hotels as a single woman is to travel with a small rubber door jam- put it under door so no one can get in - with or without a cardkey.

One thing I do in every hotel I stay at: make sure everything works and check for any damage or dirtiness before you unpack. For me this includes lights, faucets, plumbing, electronics and appliances, bedding.

If anything’s not working it’s easier to switch rooms if you have to, before you unpack all of your belongings.

Another one, the switch that you put your room key just has a physical switch, do anything that can fit in there will keep the power on. So, carry an old plastic card and leave that in the switch if you go out and want to keep the air conditioning on.

Idk if this is a hack but check every bed for bedbugs. Also don’t put your luggage on the floor or bed until you confirm it’s bug free. They latch on to anything.

Whenever I leave my room for the first time I use the stairs to get to the lobby/outside. This way if I need to evacuate I already know the way out.

Carry a bit of black tape wrapped onto a ballpoint pen to tear off little squares to cover all the annoying little lights on TVs, phones, smoke detectors, etc. if you need a dark room to sleep well.

I travel 95% of the year for work, mostly domestic. Don’t go anywhere without a travel router, it’s great because all my devices connect to it and then I only have one connection to the hotel wifi. It is also added security with a built in VPN. Tricky devices like Roku and game systems that are fussy with wifi splash pages are no longer an issue using a travel router.

I bring my Dohm (white noise machine) on every trip with me to drown out a lot of hotel noise.

If you forget your phone charger and there is not a USB port on the nightstand lamp, you can usually find one on the back of the TV. Helpful if you are in older hotels that haven't really updated the rooms much.

Also, don't buy expensive bottled water in the hotel. Just head down to the gym and take as many as you like from there. They usually have a refrigerator stocked full of free water in most hotel gyms.

Use those hangars with clips to clip the curtains together so no light gets in.

>If the elevator is far, when you take off your shoes point them towards the direction of the elevator.

I've tried this one and it doesn't work... I pointed my shoes in several directions, yet the elevator was no closer....

Use the ironing board as an extra shelf/table. If I’m in a room with a connecting door, I put the ironing board in front of it after checking the door is locked. Just in case.

When booking a hotel you aren't familiar with, pull it up on Google Maps to see if one side of the hotel has a better view. You can then use the Requests portion of the booking process to ask for a room facing North/South or on the river or pool or non-highway side.

Some hotels will also have property map with room numbers, and you can request an even or odd-number room to get a better view. For hotels I might use again, I note the numbers/number range for the better rooms. For instance, high numbered rooms are often further from the elevators or common areas.

It's usually a good idea for smaller hotels to request a room on a higher floor. It's no fun to open your windows and realize that everyone in the parking lot can see you. You are also less likely to be awakened by people loading or unloading or idling a vehicel 30 feet from your bed late at night or early in the morning.

Never use 3rd party websites for booking. I only use them for flight+hotel+car packages and even then it is a risk. Hotels will often match or discount your room if you ask: they would rather you book with them directly and you will thank them later.

-Former Chariot and Milton.

Do not use their drinking glasses for water unless they are disposable cups. They are never properly cleaned.

If you’re light sleeper- Ask for the room away from the elevator.

Do not use the electric kettle to make coffee or tea there are strange travelers that wash their socks and underwear in the actual kettle as it gets hot and sanitizes their clothes. Unless you're into that sort of thing.

When you go out for dinner, close the door on the do not disturb card, trapping it in the door. It looks like it’s just got jammed but it shows you if anyone has been in whilst you’re out.