When I picture staying at a hotel on vacation, I imagine the 5-star treatment – even though most of the time I’m only paying for 3.5 stars. Needless to say, reality often doesn’t line up with my idea of a dream vacation, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a total bust! Here are a few life hacks from well-seasoned travelers to make your hotel stay as easy and comfortable as possible!
1. Curtain Hack
Why is it that the huge, heavy hotel curtains never seem to close all the way? What’s even the point of having blackout curtains if the dang things still let a huge streak of light through? One clever traveler posted about his brilliant solution on Twitter.
He showed how he uses the hangers with the clips – the kind normally used to hang skirts and pants – to clamp the curtains closed in the middle. The great thing about this hack is that you can find those hangers right in the closet of your hotel room. Of course, you can use binder clips or other items to close the curtain as well.
2. Toothbrush hack
If you’re staying in a hotel for more than a few days, then you’ll probably want to unpack and get settled in a bit. No one wants to rummage through their luggage and dirty laundry to find toiletries, right?
That being said, there often isn’t a great place to store your toothbrush. Sure, you can keep it in your little travel case, but it can get kind of gross in there if you don’t store your toothbrush upright. Try this little hack instead!
Simply poke a hole in the bottom of a paper cup, making sure it’s big enough to fit your toothbrush. Then, just set the cup next to the sink and place your toothbrush in the makeshift holder!
3. Coffee Pot Hack
Unless you’re staying in an expensive hotel suite, chances are your room doesn’t have a lot of options for preparing food. Sure, you could go out to eat or order in, and you probably will a few times during your stay. However, that can really add up! If you’re looking to save a few bucks and dine in, you’re in luck!
The coffee maker in your hotel room can actually be used to make quite a few things. You’re not using it for coffee, of course. You’re just using the hot water made by the coffee machine. With hot water, you can make oatmeal, instant noodles, rice, and several other meals.
4. Phone Hack
Sometimes it’s the little things we end up missing when traveling – like connecting your phone to Bluetooth speakers or playing music on your smart TV. If you’re traveling and missing your tunes, have no fear!
Grab one of the ceramic mugs near the coffee maker and simply place your phone – speaker-end down – inside. The mug amplifies the sound without sacrificing audio quality. Brilliant!
5. Ironing Board Hack
As you can see from the photo above, ironing boards can be used for all sorts of things other than their intended purpose. Granted, the bookshelf idea isn’t exactly helpful in our situation, but I do have 2 ways you can use your ironing board that will make your life easier!
The chair and desk setups in most hotel rooms are notorious for being awful. Usually, the chair doesn’t match the desk height, or maybe there’s just no desk or chair to speak of! In any case, you can use the ironing board found in most hotel rooms as a makeshift desk. Since you can adjust the height, this flat surface works whether you’re sitting on the bed, in a chair, or if you want to have a standing desk! The other use is for a table – you know, so you can have a nice place to eat your coffee pot instant noodles.
What are some other hotel hacks? Let us know in the comments!