Hotel Travel Hacks – From a Flight Attendant

So I’ve been living out of hotels now for about 3 years, I don’t have much of a choice since I’m a Flight Attendant. That being said, I’ve had to get pretty smart & come up with lots of hotel travel hacks to make myself as comfy and safe as possible away from home.

The only thing getting me through my work day is knowing that I have a nice king size bed waiting in a quiet room & the ability to have Doordash deliver guilty pleasure food for me to eat in bed instead of standing in a nasty galley while people bug me. (Want to help me not starve, click that link next time you get food delivered. You get food, I get food, what have we got to lose here?)

Yeah I know I just totally ruined your glamorous thoughts of how a flight attendant enjoys their layover. Don’t worry I have fun layovers to0 where I go see Wicked in London or take a tour of the Sourdough bread factory in San Francisco or go bar hopping in New York City. That’s fun and all but you have to remember I’ve spent all day traveling around the world in an airplane with germy people and practicing that good ol southern hospitality at 30,000 feet up.

Most nights I just want to be left alone. Just like you. I want to binge watch Netflix, eat a bowl of Mac n cheese, and sleep for 10 hours before I wake up the next day and do it all over again. Anyway, I’m getting a bit off topic…here’s all my tips, tricks, hacks and advice!

First things first before you get all comfy.

• Do a walkthrough of your room before you get settled. Check under the bed, in the shower, behind curtains, in the closet. Make sure nothing sketchy is going on & that nobody is hiding in your room. 
• Check the bed. Pull away the pillows and blankets just to make sure it’s both clean and there are no bugs. 
• Use both locks on the door. This will both keep you safe from anyone, including employees and stalkers, and also from the awkward double booked room or wrong key assigned issues. You don’t want anyone walking in on you whether they were trying to or not. 

At this point you’re probably thinking I’m paranoid and watch too many shows about Serial Killers. You’re not wrong. 

• If you ask for anything brought to your room always either 1. Bring it into the room yourself or 2. Stand at the door with the door open while the employee brings it in. (Ex: Microwave, fridge, room service…) 
• Don’t use the luggage stand they attract bed bugs. I usually neatly set aside all the info booklets and put my luggage on the table so it’s away from the carpet and bedding and any dark corners. 
• Use Sani wipes to wipe off door handles, light switches, and remotes. I don’t need to tell you what could be all over that remote. 

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Hotel Hacks to get Comfy

• Before you pick your bed or side of the bed, notice where the A/C unit is and make sure, if possible, it’s not blowing straight at your face all night. 
• Use the hangers with the clips on them to seal your curtains closed. Most will do this on their own but I’ve had to do this several times, especially if you wanna take a nap during the day. 
• If you like to Netflix & chill (who doesn’t?!) then bring your firestick or other streaming device. 90% of TVs it’ll be pretty easy to hook up. Just make sure you have all the WiFi info on hand. 
• Unless you’re like a normal person who eats at the table, my advice is to eat on one bed & sleep in the other. It’s a flight attendant thing. Nobody wants to sleep with their crumbs.

Eco Friendly Hotel Hacks – Just because you’re staying in a hotel doesn’t mean you should be wasteful 

• Use shampoo as handsoap instead of wasting the whole bar of soap, especially if you’re just staying for the night. Or even better bring your own soap. 
• Buy reusable & refillable containers instead of constantly shopping in the travel section. Plus then you’ll be able to use your own products and avoid getting allergic reactions to anything new or god forbid use the mediocre hotel products that I think purposely make your hair frizz up.
• Buy products that aren’t in liquid form, even if it’s just to use while traveling. There are shampoo bars, bite toothpaste…
• Try not to use every single towel. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean you have to use it. 

Let’s be courteous:

Yes it is great that in a hotel you get the convenience of someone coming in and picking up after you. However, don’t get greedy and leave a huge mess for them to clean up. This is especially true if you’re just there for the night and/or you don’t leave a tip. 

• Group together all your trash, don’t leave it scattered all over the room. 
• I always throw any used towels on the floor in a pile 
• Bath bombs are full of all kinds of things now. I can’t do too much about some sparkles all over the tub but if there are loose flower petals I do my best to clean up the tub. Also always keep a bath bomb in your bag. You never know when you’re gonna have a nice tub. 

Hotel Rewards

• If you’re traveling a lot it’s better to stick with buying your accommodations (flights, car rentals, hotels) from the same companies every time. Unless you find a really good deal somewhere else, it will benefits you in the long run because you’ll start earring points or rewards from those companies that will turn into discounts later. In order for this to benefit you though you need to sign up for their rewards programs.
• Another option is to sign up for a good travel credit card. I use my Hilton rewards card to buy everything all month (groceries, gas, coffee…you name it!) and I get tons of points this way and end up earning free stays!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my hotel travel hacks! Stay safe!

-The Hoppy Flight Attendant

Learn what not to do when you board an aircraft in my post “What Not To Do On An Airplane”

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