We all have our routines in life. If you’re a frequent hotel guest, odds are that there are some habits that you’ve picked up over the years, whether logical or not. In this post, I thought it would be fun to share some of my habits when staying at a hotel. I think some of these make sense, while others might be a little strange.
I’ll share mine below, in no particular order, and I’d love for OMAAT readers to share their habits in the comments section, to see how they compare…
Check room inventory just prior to arriving
Obviously everyone wants to have as nice of a hotel stay as possible, and in that regard, it’s worth doing a little research before checking in. Shortly before arriving at a hotel, I’ll always check what room I’ve been assigned, assuming I’m staying at a hotel group that makes that information available through its app (obviously this doesn’t work for independent properties, or smaller hotel groups).
I also check what rooms are still for sale, just to get a general sense of whether I should ask about the possibility of a room upgrade, what would be realistic, etc.
Enter the room slowly, and make a noise
When you check into a hotel room, you expect that it will be empty and properly serviced. However, sometimes mistakes happen. I remember several years ago entering my hotel room for the first time after a long flight, only to find the room occupied.
Ever since, I open the door very slowly when first entering the room, and maybe say “hello” or something along those lines, to make sure there’s no one in there. Fortunately it hasn’t been an issue since, but the one experience was enough to traumatize me. 😉
Take a picture of the hotel room number
When you check into a hotel, you’ll typically give your key in an envelope that has the room number written on it. As soon as I get to my room, I take a picture of the room number (either the placard by the door, or the key envelope), and then discard the envelope.
Why do I get rid of the envelope with the room number? Well, it’s easy enough to lose a room key, and the last thing you want to do is have someone else with not only your room key, but also your room number.
Check alarm clocks immediately
As much as housekeeping does a good job cleaning rooms at most places, all too often they don’t seem to check if alarm clocks have been turned off. So I always check clocks to make sure that they’re not set. Then again, given that I get up unpleasantly early no matter where I am, alarm clocks typically don’t actually wake me up, but they do startle me.
I’m hardly the most tech savvy person on earth, but I’m kind of amazed that people still use in-room alarm clocks, given that anyone’s phone can function as an alarm. They are slowly being phased out at many hotels, which I frankly don’t mind.
Check the air conditioning, shower, and Wi-Fi
When you arrive in your hotel room, you hope that everything is functioning as promised. However, all too often that’s not the case. So the first thing I’ll do when I get to a hotel room is checking the air conditioning, shower, and Wi-Fi, to make sure that they’re all working correctly.
You don’t want to find out that the air conditioning isn’t working late at night when you go to bed, and when there may be no rooms you can be moved to. Similarly, you don’t want to only find out the shower is having issues when you’re rushed in the morning prior to departing. While hotel Wi-Fi has come a long way over the years, not all areas of the hotel have the same signal strength, so I also try to check that ASAP.
Use the deadbolt whenever in the room
Without exception, I always use the deadbolt when I’m in the room. This is just a basic safety protocol, since there are all kinds of people who may otherwise be able to access your room. So whether it’s the day or the middle of the night, I always have the deadbolt in use.
All too often we hear stories of rooms being broken into (including while occupied), and in a vast majority of situations, that could be prevented by simply using the deadbolt.
Use the “do not disturb” sign when in the room
I realize some people will disagree with me on this, but I almost always have the “do not disturb” sign on when I’m in the room. When it comes to hotel housekeeping, my strategy is to just let the hotel know when I’m leaving the room so that it can be serviced, rather than having housekeeping constantly checking to see if it’s a good time for my room to be cleaned.
The only time I won’t use the “do not disturb” sign is if I just arrived, and if I’m expecting there might be a welcome amenity delivered, or something along those lines.
Check the closet and under the bed
I admit that this falls into the “strange” category. Once I arrive in a hotel room, I always check both the closets and under the bed. I recognize that this is probably entirely irrational, but you’ve gotta make sure there are no ghosts or other weird spirits there. I’m totally serious, by the way (well, about checking… I’m not sure why I do so, though).
I know other people look for hidden cameras and other things, but that’s not something I do, personally.
Never slam hotel room doors
This is more of a “golden rule” policy of mine than anything else, but it’s something I do religiously. When staying in a hotel, it’s easy to assume (or hope?) that sound insulation is good. Often it isn’t. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been woken up by other people in nearby rooms closing their doors loudly in the middle of the night.
So whenever I exit my room, I always try to close the door manually and quietly, rather than just letting it slam. This also serves another purpose, so I can make sure that the door is closed correctly. Similarly, I try to keep my voice down in the hallway.
Use the gym to get free water
I drink a lot of water. I’m not a water diva, and I’m happy to drink tap water anywhere that it’s safe to do so. That being said, sometimes I end up in places where it’s not safe, and then you find that a hotel only gives you a couple of bottles per day.
While some hotels are happy to send up more water complimentary, others aren’t. Regardless, my approach is to typically just go to the hotel gym to get water, since it’s almost always readily available there.
Consider tipping housekeeping
The topic of tipping hotel housekeeping is controversial. I’m not trying to open that whole can of worms, but rather am sharing that tipping housekeeping is part of my hotel routine. Admittedly it depends on where I’m traveling to, but it’s something I try to do in the United States, since I know what economic conditions are like for housekeepers, and what our general tipping culture is like.
The reality is that hotel housekeepers are among the hardest working and lowest paid employees at hotels. While the bellmen are often tipped simply for briefly handling luggage or opening a door, housekeepers do a lot more for guests, but aren’t rewarded as often. I guess it comes down to “out of sight, out of mind.”
While I don’t travel with much cash, I try to bring some small amounts of money with me to tip hotel housekeeping, as a gesture of appreciation for the hard work they do.
Bottom line
We all have our habits in life, so I figured it would be fun to share some of my habits when staying at hotels, and compare those to others. I think some of these make perfect sense, while others perhaps border on paranoia. Then again, who doesn’t have some strange rituals?
What are your hotel habits, and how do they compare to mine?
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