During A Hotel Stay
There are various things that one needs to be aware of while staying at a hotel. From what to do with your luggage, security, the quality of the room, bed, items to check and maintain. It is always best to contact the front desk, housekeeping, or Customer Service if something is working, broken, missing, or your expectations are not being met.
Luggage: Does one carry their own luggage or have the bellhop take care of it. It just comes down to convenience or luggage security, save money and do it yourself. Some hotels will stack luggage out in the open and let you know it will be taken to your room after a short period of it. They want you to relax and let them take care everything. The only problem is that they may leave your luggage out in the open unattended for anyone to take. Unless the luggage is checked and locked behind a door, someone should always stay with the luggage.
Tipping: During a stay tipping is expected in various forms for being helpful:
- Bellhop: $1 per bag
- Housekeeping: $1 per person, per night. Include a note (Thank you!). A simple note goes a long way! By doing so, one may find an extra pillow, mints, or extra really nice high quality toiletries (shampoo/conditioner/lotion) and beauty products.
- Valet: When you are allowed to drive (and self-park with or without a valet present with you), a generous $10 tip to the valet, valet manager or supervisor, each time the vehicle is used. Otherwise, 2-5 dollars is okay depending on their service and treatment.
- Concierge: It is best to strike a relationship with the hotel concierge, they are a fantastic resource and often take real pride in their work to gain as much helpful information as possible. If they go above and beyond or make a fantastic recommendation, it is always nice to bring back a small gift, such as an inexpensive bottle of wine, or a treat from the place they recommended.
Security: Always think about security during your stay.
- Securing items - ALWAYS use a safe when in the room. Take valuables with you.
- Privacy "Do Not Disturb" door hanger: Hanging the "Privacy" sign on the door when your are in or out of the room. If out and someone wants to break into the room, they won't know if anyone is really the room or not, and hopefully just move to the next room.
- Leave a light and TV on. If there is light coming from under the door and a potential theif hears the TV, they may move on to another room.
- Close curtains and lock balcony doors.
Mark Sheets: Mark on the corner of a sheet with a small marker just to see how many times housekeeping changes the sheet, or if they ever do. If it doesn't meet your expectations, place a call or leave a note (with a tip) to housekeeping and they should replace the sheets.
Wash Glasses: Wash EVERY drinking glass in hot water before they are used. There is a strong chance that housekeeping will not replace glasses or wash them with hot water after the previous guests.
Use travel tooth brushes: Use travel tooth brushes that fold or close. When closed there are holes in the caps so they dry out, and they are safe from housekeeping dropping them while cleaning, touching the brush, or putting them on something filled with bacteria while they clean the counters.
Remote Controls, Phones, Bedspread: YUCK! Are suppose to be the worst for containing all kinds of bacteria.
- Remote Controls: Take a handy wipe or will put it in a plastic bag.
- Phone: Try to avoid it at all cost or wipe it down.
- Bedspread: In many cases these rarely gets washed. It is the first thing that should be taken off the bed. Put it in the closet or on the luggage bench/holder. In the thank you note to housekeeping ask not to put the bedspread back on the bed.
Air Conditioning: Make sure it works! Test it, set it, leave it. In many cases the vents can be easily adjusted, just get on a chair and adjust the vent to direct the air where it works best for you.
Alarm Clock: Previous guests just love setting the alarm clocks to go off in the early morning. Check the alarm clock first thing to make sure the alarm is turned off.
Room Service: It is always expensive and they almost always add a service charge and gratuity onto the bill in advance. Check the bill when it arrives. There is ALWAYS a line for "Tip / Gratuity" that is blank. Do not pay twice for gratuity, be aware of what is on your bill.
Too Much Light: Have you ever been bothered by too much light coming into the room, or shines through the curtains and hits you right in the face when your trying to sleep. One way to close off all the sunlight is to grab a hanger from the closet (that has the pant clips) and clip the curtains closed.
Stronger Coffee: It is no secret that coffee in hotel rooms is some of the weakest coffee around, but since they usually give you 2 filters for the machines, you might as well use both of them on your single cup. This will provide you with the strongest without causing issues to the machine. If you see housekeeping in halls, ask for extras, they should be gracious enough to give you extras.
WAKING UP: Waking up after an exhausting previous day or night can be one of the hardest things to do. The best method is to use Room Service, but here is a list of ways to make sure you get up:
- Alarm clock - Doesn't work. There is a "sleep" button and you will not get up.
- Wake-up call - Doesn't work. The call only happens once and you go back to sleep.
- Room Service - Probably the best method of all. If you are having breakfast or the company is paying for your stay, order room service for the time you need to get up. When they knock, you have to get up to answer the door. If you don't answer, they cannot leave the tray outside, they will request that a phone call be made to your room. It is the best way to make sure you get up and out of bed.
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