Hotel Hacks From Professional Travelers That Will Blow Your Mind

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Whenever you travel, the hotel you stay in is essential. It can help make or break your trip. Whether it is for business, pleasure, or both, the experience should be a positive one. To get the most out of a hotel stay, pay attention to these tips and hacks.

Use Your Hotel Room Door As A Bottle Opener

Packing a bottle opener may cause you problems at the airport. The good news is you may not have to. At the top of your hotel room door is likely a hinge you can use to open bottles with.

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Relaxing in your room after a long day, you can crack open a bottle of beer and enjoy your night.

 Turn Your Sink Into A Refrigerator

Most hotel rooms include a refrigerator and a freezer. If yours doesn’t, you can still keep your drinks cold. All you have to do is bring a bucket. Use the hotel’s ice machine and fill the bucket to make your own freezer in the bathroom sink.

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If you don’t need it that night, you can even turn your bathtub into a huge freezer.

 A Wet Towel Equals A Cool Room

Hotel room air conditioners don’t always work well. There is an easy way to keep your room cool. Put a damp towel close to the air conditioner. When the water in the towel evaporates, it is released into the air.

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If there is no air conditioner, but the damp towel in front of an open window. Either way, your room will be a comfortable temperature.

 Use A Hanger To Block Sunlight

You may want your hotel room dark and cozy. When you pull the curtains, there’s usually a gap. You can close this using a hanger from your room’s closet.

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Most hotels have hangers with pants clip. The clip is also great at keeping heavy curtains closed.

 Be Your Own Doorman

Keeping your hotel room door open while you bring luggage in and out can be a hassle. You can avoid this by making use of a hanger in the closet.

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Attach the hanger to the top lock, and the door will stay open. In hotels with no baggage carrier, this can be the best solution. Before you know it, your belongings will be safe in your room.

Make Your Room Smell Like Home

Hotel rooms may seem stuffy. You may be longing for the scents of home. When you do, take a car air freshener and clip it to your air conditioner.

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Turn on the air conditioner, and the room will take on the air freshener’s scent. If you tend to get homesick, this is a great way to avoid that.

Fill Your Water Bottle At The Gym

Buying bottled water can become expensive. You can save money by using the hotel’s gym. Before you leave for the day, fill your water bottle to the top.

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The hotel won’t have a problem with it, and you’ll enjoy the convenience of always having a full bottle.

 Create A Makeshift Nightstand

Most hotel room beds have a nightstand next to them. If yours doesn’t, you can make your own. The fitted sheet on your bed will have a few folds. You can use one of them to create a small pocket.

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This pocket can hold items such as eyeglasses, phone, and the TV remote.

 Use The Provided Shower Caps Creatively

In your hotel bathroom is likely a box of plastic shower caps. They have many more uses than keeping your hair dry in the shower. You can also store your dirty shoes in one. This prevents your other items from getting dirty.

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They can also be used to cover the remote for your room’s TV. If you are concerned about germs, this is one way to protect yourself.

 Leave The Nail File Home

Everyone needs a nail file sometimes. If you forget to pack yours,  you don’t necessarily need to buy a new one. Instead, ask the front desk for matchbooks.

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Ignore the matches and use the matchbook as a nail file. Part one would strike the match on has the same consistency as a nail file.

Give Yourself Some Peace And Quiet

You may need complete silence to sleep. This isn’t always easy to get to a hotel. You can help block out noise in the hallway. Take a rolled-up towel and place it in front of the door crack. Not only will it keep out light, it will muffle sounds right outside your room.

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You may also want to consider sleeping with earplugs. However, this is not recommended if you have to hear an alarm or wake up call.

Phone Chargers Are Sometimes Available

It is easy to overlook something when packing. If you forget your phone charger, let the front desk know. Sometimes they will have chargers previous guests accidentally left behind.

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If they do, and you ask nicely, you may be able to borrow one. Just be sure to give it back when you check out.

Multitask During Breakfast

If you have limited time for breakfast, multitask. While you are toasting bread, you can thaw out a pack of butter. Place it on top of the toaster.

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By the time it is ready, your butter will be soft and ready to spread.

Use A Hair Dryer On Wet Clothes

If you have wet clothes, dry them quickly. All you have to do is use the hairdryer in your hotel room.

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A blast of hot air will have your clothes dry and wrinkle-free in no time. This saves you time and money on dry cleaning.

Childproof The Room With Duct Tape

When traveling with young children, safety is important. Hotel rooms aren’t always ideal for them.

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Using a roll of duct tape, you can childproof the room. Outlets can be covered and area rugs can be taped to the floor.

 Keep Lights On All Day

It is easy to keep the overhead light on in your room while you are not there. Most hotels require you to keep your room key in the slot to keep your lights on.

When checking in, ask for an extra key card. You can take one with you when you leave for the day. The other card can be left in the slot. This way your lights stay on without any problems.

Request A Corner Room

Getting a corner room at any hotel is easy. Smaller rooms can be stressful if you suffer from claustrophobia. Corner rooms are always more spacious than others.

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By asking for one when you book the room, you may be pleasantly surprised. In addition to more space, you are likely to have multiple windows.

Drink Plenty of Juice

At the hotel breakfast bar, juice cups are usually small. If you want to avoid refilling your cup repeatedly, use an empty coffee cup.

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These are bigger than the cups designated for juice.

Use Hotel Facilities After Check Out

You may find you have extra time between checkout and going home. This extra time can often be spent in the hotel gym, spa or pool. Many hotels allow guests who have just checked out to use their facilities for a while.

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This lets you enjoy the last hours of your getaway before you part your destination of choice.

Don’t Pay For Hotel Wi-Fi

While some hotels offer free Wi-Fi to guests, this isn’t always the case. Even if they don’t, you may not have to pay for it. Using your mobile phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot allows you to connect without paying the hotel for it.

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As long as you have unlimited Wi-Fi, this is likely your best option. Otherwise, most hotels have a business center where you can access the Internet for free.  This makes paying for in room Wi-Fi pointless.

Iron Clothes Without A Board

When you are staying in a hotel, you may not want to iron. To keep your clothes wrinkle-free is easy. Use the wooden hangers in your hotel room closet. Hang the clothes in your bathroom that need to be ironed. While you are showering, the steam from the hot water will iron them naturally.

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This saves you money on using the hotel’s laundry/dry cleaning services. By the time you are done showering, your clothes will be wrinkle-free.

In-Room Movies May Be Refundable

Watching a rental movie in your room often incurs charges. However, you may be able to get compensated for regular rentals.

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The key is to avoid asking for compensation until checkout. When you do, they may be willing to refund you the movie charges. As long as you wait, it can’t hurt to ask.

Use Your TV With Your Laptop

When you’ve had a long day, you want to unwind. Sometimes there is nothing good on TV. This doesn’t mean you have to be bored. Hook your laptop up to the hotel room TV and watch whatever you want. Whether you watch Netflix on the TV or something else, you’ll have control of your viewing experience.

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All you need for this is an HDMI Cable. This allows you to easily connect your laptop to a bigger screen.

Fog Proof Your Mirror

During a hot shower, your bathroom mirror may become fogged up. You can avoid this by using bar soap. Just rub the soap onto the mirror.

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Then get in the shower; no matter how much steam is in the room, you will still be able to use the mirror properly.

Try Price Matching

When booking a hotel, you have many options. Often the way to get the best rate is to get hotels to price match. Book a reservation at a particular hotel. Then call others in the area and ask if they can do better. Many will offer a lower rate to get your business.

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The key is to speak to someone at the hotel’s front desk. These are the people most likely to give you a good deal on a hotel room.

Put Memberships To Work

Sometimes a specific membership will help you score a hotel room at a discount. This includes groups like AARP and AAA.

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Depending on what you do for a living, you may qualify for a particular discount. Most hotels offer one to those in certain professions who are traveling for business.

Make Use of Concierge Services

Every good hotel provides concierge services. Many guests don’t take advantage of this. Not doing so can be a mistake. There is no one better to make local recommendations. They can direct you towards a taxi company they trust.

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Staff will also recommend specific sites and restaurants to visit. Also, they will make reservations for you. Theatre tickets can be purchased through concierge services. All of these services are offered to you for free.

Customize Your Pillows

You may find that the pillows on your bed are too full. To prevent a stiff neck and sleepless nights, customize your pillows. Remove the bulky pillow and replace it with a rolled-up towel or some clothes.

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The pillows will be a lot more comfortable for your stay.

Bidding Sites Offer Travel Discounts

Hotel bidding sites such as HotWire and Priceline can be the best way to book an affordable room. The only catch is that you can’t choose the hotel you stay in.

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The price you are willing to pay dictates the hotel you are booked at. If you can take the risk, you can book hotel rooms across the country for less.

Avoid Paying Fess For Canceling Your Room

Sometimes travel plains get derailed. This can cause you to incur cancellation fees. To avoid those fees, you have to do the smart thing. Contact the hotel and delay your check-in by a week or two. The next day you can call up the hotel and cancel.

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By moving your check-in date, you give yourself more time. This allows you to cancel without penalty.

Explore The Local Businesses

Staying in a new town gives you an excuse to explore. There may be a Burger King near your hotel. But Burger King is available almost everywhere.

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Enhance your hotel stay by frequenting businesses in the neighborhood. You can always ask hotel employees for nearby recommendations. Most are happy to offer their opinion.

Make Friends With Hotel Staff

Concierge staff aren’t the only ones that are helpful. Utilize the hotel staff to get whatever you need or want during your stay.

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The friendlier you are with them, the more helpful they will be. Making friends with the staff will help you get everything from extra towels to hot coffee and more.

Don’t Ignore The Guest Letter

More elegant hotels will often leave a guest letter in your room. When you check-in, take the time to read it. These letters do more than welcome you. They also give you insider tips into what’s happening during your stay.

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This can include information about hotel events and promotions. Reading it will provide you with an edge over guests that ignore the letter.

Create Your Own Speaker System

You may want to listen to music on your phone. An easy way to amplify it is to put your phone in a mug or glass cup.

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This acts as a speaker and will allow you to hear your music as clearly as you would at home

Get A Credit Card That Helps You Save

Certain hotel chains will give you rewards for having specific credit cards. This often means you get access to special rates other travelers can’t take. Cards are good for any brand of hotels that are associated with each other. Depending on where you are traveling in the world, you may get an American Express or Visa that gives you lots of advantages. Worldwide chains such as Hilton and Starwood offer their own credit cards. Obtaining one will help you save money if you travel a lot.

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One of the ways is by signing up for credit cards that offer hotel bonuses. In some cases, you may even be able to score a free hotel stay with a specific chain. When beginning to travel, this can be useful for the long-term. Universal credit cards will often let you earn travel points that you can also apply to hotel stays.

All of these tips and tricks make the hotel stays more pleasant. No one likes being away from home for long. By following these tips, you will be able to enjoy your time at the hotel.

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The more of these tips you use, the more welcome and at home, you will likely feel. Staying in hotels can be a fun experience when you make the most of it. These tips will help you do just that.