Are you someone who travels frequently? Are you wondering how to live in a hotel room while you’re out there experiencing life to the fullest? If you’re a heavy traveler or perhaps live a gypsy lifestyle, then you’ll enjoy these tips for living in a hotel room.
Last summer when health hit the fan and it appears most of that was due to stress, we made a lifestyle change. This lifestyle change is one in which I’m sure many are talking behind our backs about, or judging us about while others are supportive and proud for us to be giving the kids such a unique experience in life as well as making a change to help my health get a bit better. This lifestyle change has involved us camping for the summer season, in a tent to traveling all over New England and staying in hotels.
The joy of this lifestyle change is that you can actually spend just about the same money as you spend in a rental property, with the prices of rental units these days, as you do “living in a hotel”. Now mind you, obviously, this lifestyle change isn’t something we’re doing forever but when life gives you lemons, well, you know what to do.
Obviously you whine on social media about it, right? No. Wrong. You make the best of the card you’ve been dealt and you do so with a grateful heart and open mind.
We’ve stayed in some lower-end hotels that left me feeling a little uneasy to a middle-grade hotel to a suite that made us feel as if we’re at home again. With that being said, here are some of our tried and true tips for living in a hotel room.
5 Tips For Living in a Hotel Room
Keep Eye on Deals
Knowing that the weeknights are cheaper than weekends is an important part of living in a hotel room. Hotels.com has some pretty awesome promo codes, discounts and they have a rewards program where you stay 10 nights in an eligible hotel and receive a night free. The free night is basically an average of those 10 nights total cost.
Pick a Big Room
When you opt to live in a hotel room for any period of time, it’s important that you select a room that’s big enough for whoever is traveling with you. If you’re traveling alone, then it’s easier to find deals for hotels, but traveling with others means a suite or a room with more than one bed will work best. Many times you can choose between 2 double beds, 2 queen beds, or a single king bed.
Be Friendly
One of the best tips we’ve heard online is that some hotel locations may actually give you some good deals as well as treat you nice if you’re friendly. Frequently visitors at a smaller chain hotel may get room upgrades without added costs, special treatment from the housekeepers or simply have a better stay overall. Be friendly to all who work at these hotels, they deal with the public more than you do, and the public isn’t always so kind to humans.
Bring Snacks & Water
There was a recent crisis regarding hotel water causing illness, so we don’t drink hotel water. It doesn’t usually taste good anyways and quite often you can smell the chlorine in it. We always packed some snacks, microwaveable meals, and paper plates, utensils and bowls to bring along with us for every hotel stay.
Be Familiar with Emergency Exits
Lastly, it’s important that you stay up to date with the emergency exit plan for the hotel. Whether living in a hotel for two nights, a week or a month, one must know where to exit in case of a fire and where to meet the others staying in the hotel to be checked off as safe. We had one time where workers accidentally set off the fire alarms and had to venture out barefoot in our pajamas but we knew the procedure so all was calm and fine.
At the end of the day, there are far more people than you realize living in a hotel. We’ve seen quite a few people at one location over our New England travel time continuously stay at a Vermont hotel due to its location for getting to the local hospitals.