What’s Your Hotel Routine?
Over one thousand hotel stays and I’ve just realized something — I am very predicable in my hotel routine. I bet you are too!
Enter hotel room … lug the bag onto the bed… unzip… call husband so I can multi-task … grab hangars from the closet… hang blouses with their respective jackets or sweaters… hang slacks and skirts… leave non-hangables in my suitcase… place shoes on closet floor… turn up temperature… lay towel on bathroom sink… remove toiletries from TSA-friendly bag and lay out on towel… stand toothbrush in glass near bathroom sink… place laptop on desk… plug in iPhone and Bluetooth headset… make cup of coffee… continue talking with husband.
That’s my typical routine when I check into a hotel. I may move up the ‘turn up temperature’ to the first item in the list if the room is freezing cold, but otherwise that’s my standard can-do-it-in-my-sleep routine.
Do you also follow the same old steps from the minute you dump your bags in a hotel room? (Where do you dump your bags, by the way? Just inside the door, on the bed?)
The TV goes on, closets and showers get checked out to make sure no one is hiding, bathroom amenities analyzed, the bed covers are pulled down – many ways that we make our temporary hotel room feel more comfortable. There are unpackers who want everything in drawers on and hangers immediately vs. others who unpack what they need only when they need it and are ok ironing.
When you’re on your laptop, do you sit at the desk or prop yourself up on lots of pillows in bed? I love working from a comfy bed, but I also like to use a mouse with my laptop so I usually end up sitting at the desk.
Do you leave the TV on to help you get to sleep at night or enjoy the silence? Do you leave a light on in the bathroom or keep the room dark? Ask for a wakeup call or use your own alarm?
The question I’ve wondered about so many times is what do you do with the pillow shams, pillow roll and extra pillows? Do you throw them on the floor (yuck!) or stack them on the unused side of the bed? I toss them into a chair if there is one, otherwise they go on the opposite side of the bed (though if my husband is traveling with me, he wouldn’t appreciate the pillows on top of his head!).
And what side of the bed do you sleep on? The same side as at home or do you jump to the other side and dare to be different?
As you can see, there are as many unique routines as there are hotel-stayers.
If you think you have routines for when you arrive into your hotel, just think about your routines when getting ready to leave your room! That’s a discussion for another day.
Just for fun, next time you’re out with a fellow traveler, compare your hotel routines. It would make for an interesting discussion of “Why do you do that?” (such as a female pilot’s initial task of putting tissue in the peephole to block anyone from looking in).
I know I’m not the only with a hotel regimen! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
One suggested change to your list:
After closing door, engage chain/bracket lock, and bolt the door.
I have been surprised on more than one occasion by housekeeping staff who burst into my room unannounced.
These measure will slow them down a bit. Perhaps they will actually knock, and ask permission 🙂
Best,
Dave
http://twitter.com/why4random
I have to ask, lug the bag onto the bed…does this mean you don’t want to use the provided luggage rack? I notice many hotels now have those end covers on the beds (not the same as the luggage mats that they have on cruise ships which I think are quite handy!) but they are always some satiny type material that slide right off.
First, I use my bags to prop open the door while I check the room. Assuming all is well, I roll it all in and immediately set up my computer turning on Twitter! What happens next depends on how long I am going to be there
(I am a flight attendant). If it’s not for any reasonable amount of time, I will simply lay my roller on the luggage rack and take out my toiletries. I hang up my uniform or get out new pieces to be ironed and place the worn ones in a bag from the closet placing it immediately in my bag. If it is too cold or too hot, I adjust the temperature and turn on the tv. If it’s really late, no tv so that I don’t get into anything interesting.
If I am there for a while, I will hang anything that needs to be hung, get ice and set up my office away from home for any blogging to be done.
Funny thing is that I sleep on the right side of the bed at home although I personally do not care. So, I usually sleep on the side by the alarm clock if it’s an early report or which ever side is closer to the television’s good view. It is comfortable to sit in bed on the computer but I find I am more productive if I work at the desk.
Don’t forget to always pull down the comforter and check for bed lice. Sounds gross but you never know! Pillows go on the chair or the other bed (I like two so that I have one to put my smaller bags on instead of the floor.
Happy travels!