Especially if traveling on a budget, hotel rooms can sometimes be hit or miss. Maybe the hotel room is subpar, and you wish you had spent a little extra money for your stay. Maybe you were given the last available room, which just so happens to be the worst one. But don’t worry, we have some genius hotel hacks to improve your stay!
Your hotel room really has a big impact on the overall success of your vacation, so make sure you make it as good as possible!
Once you get to your hotel room, there are a few things you need to make sure you do. You can read this list in our things to do immediately after entering your hotel room.
You might also be interested in reading more about the grossest places in your hotel room, and how to clean them.
Whether you are in a budget hotel or a luxury hotel, you will find many of these tips useful during your next trip! Continue reading for more on genius hotel hacks to improve your stay!
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
1. Hotel Hacks to Save Money on Food
Our first tip on genius hotel hacks to improve your stay, naturally, involves food! When getting to your hotel room, especially if it is late at night and you are starving, you might make a mad dash to the room service menu.
Room service is an awesome perk of staying in a hotel room, but can be pricy at times. This is a great budget travel tip to save you hundreds, room service is not the way to go! Unless, of course, you don’t care about spending $8 on some french fries.
Instead of room service, you have a couple of options:
First, you can order food from the hotel restaurant and pick up the food when its ready, and bring it to your room. This can save you some hidden room service charges, as well as tips. And, you won’t have to leave the hotel!
Second, there are so many food delivery service apps out there now. If you are new to the area, skip the boring hotel food and order delivery from a local restaurant! The food will most likely be better, and cheaper!
Third, many hotels seem to have some kind of restaurant within walking distance. If you feel up to it after a long day of traveling, take a walk to the restaurant and get yourself a nice meal! Plus, your body will thank you for the walk if you have been cramped up in an airplane or car all day!
Room doesn’t have a refrigerator? Check out this travel mini fridge– you can even use it in the car for a road trip!
2. Hotel Hacks for Families
The ironing board in the hotel room closet is overlooked often but it can be very useful, especially if you have children or many people staying in the same room. You can use the ironing board for many things:
- Extra counter space in the bathroom
- A surface to eat on if there is no more room
- Children can use it as a surface to color or play on
- An extra surface to place clothes on
Simply ask hotel staff for an extra sheet to lay on top of the ironing board, and now you have a new table with multiple uses!
PS. Have some bored kids with you? Check out these awesome travel games for kids to help keep them busy!
3. Hotel Meal Hacks
This is an awesome tip on our list of genius hotel hacks to improve your stay. Who says coffee makers are just for making coffee?
Use the coffee maker to make food like ramen noodles or oatmeal! Here is a list of all the foods you can make in the coffee maker!
Simply run the coffee maker once through (without coffee grounds, obviously) to make sure it is cleaned out thoroughly. Then run it again and use the hot water to make your meal!
This is a great tip for saving money on meals while on vacation.
You can also get this portable, collapsible, electric kettle, to bring with you anywhere!
4. Hotel Hacks for Sleeping
You may have heard this one already, but its a good one!
Why is it that the curtains in hotel rooms always seem to leave a little gap, just enough for the sunlight to shine on your face in the morning?!
Use the clips from the hangers in the closet to keep the curtains together and block the sunlight from coming in!
You can also use hair clips, bobby pins, or clothespins.
Still not dark enough, or clips not doing the trick? Try this old but tested and true product for getting great sleep, no matter where you are!
5. Hotel Hacks for Smelly Room
Sometimes no matter how much hotel staff cleans rooms, there is still a certain smell. Maybe a smoker was in there the night before you, or someone who was sweating hard at the gym.
Whatever the case, there is no reason you should be left with a stench!
Use one of those car vent air fresheners and place it in the heater/AC vent. Ta-da! A fresh smelling room once again!
You can also place a dryer sheet over the vent and secure with a clip (hair clip, bobby pin, a clip from a hanger). This will freshen up your room as well!
6. Hotel Door Hacks
Hotel hallways can sometimes be noisy with late-night party-goers and travelers. The door also lets in a lot of light into your room from the hallway.
A simple tip to avoid some noise and light is to place a towel under the door to block the light and noise!
Don’t let the noisy tourists and light keep you awake!
Simply take a towel from the hotel bathroom (they give you more than enough anyway) or one from the pool or gym.
7. Hotel Hacks for Safety
Another genius hotel hack to improve your stay is to always keep the do not disturb sign on your door, especially if you are in a sketchy hotel.
For one, do you really need room service every day? Many hotels now encourage guests to partake in the “green” option of opting out of hotel room service, in order to conserve water and energy.
Additionally, leaving the room service tag on your door can indicate to other guests that you are not in the room, which could lead to theft. If you are worried about theft in your hotel, leave the do not disturb sign on your door as an added precaution.
Still don’t feel safe? You can get this portable door lock that easily fits in any hotel door for added security! Plus, it is small enough to fit in any travel bag.
8. Hotel Bathroom Hacks
Most hotels have free travel-sized toiletry items. My favorite is when they have cotton balls (or you can ask for some at the front desk)
Spray a little bit of perfume on the cotton ball, and keep in your purse.
Traveling can leave you a sweaty hot mess, especially if you are somewhere warm, If you need to freshen up later, you can take the cotton ball and apply some fresh perfume!
Check out these other beauty hacks for travelers!
9. Hotel Cleaning Hacks
Studies have found that the remote is among the grossest places in your hotel room. If you are intrigued by this you might like our post of the most unsanitary parts of airplanes!
Forgot to pack sanitizing wipes? Place a bag around the remote: a zip lock bag, a garbage bag, whatever you have! If you can’t find a bag, use the shower cap from the bathroom. You can also use the shower cap to hold your shoes so they don’t get your clothes dirty in your suitcase. You can also use the bag from the ice bucket to cover the remote.
Don’t let a silly remote get you sick on your vacation! Also, clean the door handles if you can, and try not to touch the comforter!
10. How to Fix Dry Air in a Hotel Room
Our last tip on the most genius hotel hacks to improve your stay is how to make your own humidifier!
Sometimes, especially in higher elevations or during the wintertime, the air in hotel rooms can be very dry. This can make your skin crack, your hair frizz, or your nose bleed, and no one wants that on vacation!
Simply dampen a towel, and place over the heat/AC vent. This should bring some moisture back into the air!
All this too much of a hassle? Check out this travel humidifier! It is USB chargeable and small enough to fit in any small suitcase!
Smart Hotel Hacks to Improve your Vacation
Thank you for reading genius hotel hacks to improve your stay! What are your best hotel-related tips? We would love to hear! Leave a comment below, we would love to hear from you!
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Deepak Singh
Thursday 24th of December 2020
I read your article thanks for sharing wonderful blog. I really happy.
Deepak Singh
Thursday 24th of December 2020
I read your article thanks for sharing wonderful blog.
Joe Hall
Monday 23rd of November 2020
I never realized that by simply using the "do not disturb" sign, you can save a lot of water and other supplies. My brother is trying to make a lot of hotel plans ahead of time this year. He wants to make sure that he is prepared so they have a really good family trip without any hiccups.
Joe Hall
Monday 23rd of November 2020
I never realized that by simply using the "do not disturb" sign, you can save a lot of water and other supplies. My brother is trying to make a lot of hotel plans ahead of time this year. He wants to make sure that he is prepared so they have a really good family trip without any hiccups.
Steve Jones
Tuesday 7th of July 2020
It's good to learn that you should opt-out of hotel room service to help save water and energy. My wife and I are going on vacation soon and we were wondering how we could stay environmentally friendly while out of town. I'll be sure to tell her that we should opt-out of room service when staying at a hotel.