7 Smart Hotel Hacks to Make the Most of Your Hotel Stay

Traveling constantly and staying at various hotels has taught me a lot of tips and tricks. Necessity makes up come up with hacks to make your life easier, you learn some from other people’s experiences. Here are some of the hotel hacks that have helped make my stay better.

1. Get a Complete Blackout

Most hotels have blackout blinds or curtains but one irritating fact about these curtains is that there usually is a thin gap between both curtains that will let in a sliver of light which will keep on constantly disturbing you.

To get rid of this problem, you can use a trouser hanger with clips to keep the curtains together and the lights out. There are hangers in the wardrobe, pick out the trouser hangers and simply nail the curtains together by using the two clips on it.

2. Making the Room Smell Good

If your room doesn’t smell as good as you would like it too, there’s a quick fix for it. If you are driving your car to the hotel, you would most probably have car freshener, you can easily clip those to the air conditioning vent in your room. Voila! Your room will start smelling just the way you like.

3. Cancel Out the Noise

Not all hotels provide you with peace. If there is a family with kids staying on your floor, then it can be a bit of an issue. Sometimes, being moved to a different room isn’t an option. This is a great hack for your home as well – to block that little sliver of light peeking from under the door and also the noise. Just roll up an extra towel and wedge it into the crack by the door and you are good to go.

4. Connect Netflix to the Hotel Room TV

When visiting different countries, watching your favorite shows can be a bit tricky. If your hotel room has a flat-screen TV with an HDMI port and your room has wifi, then you can hook Netflix directly to the TV from your device. Remember to bring the HDMI cable so you can get everything connected.

5. DIY Surround System

Being a fan of packing light, I always look for ways to minimize my luggage. Carrying as few electronics as I can is usually the goal. Speakers are one such luxury you can do without. But, you can still have the effect by this DIY option. Just place your phone in an empty glass or mug to amplify the sound.

6. Chargers to Spare

Even though you made a list of everything, chances are you still forgot to bring your charger. Chargers are one of the most forgotten items. If you did then don’t worry, there are two things you can do. If you have the USB cable then you can use the USB port on the TV to charge your phone.

Don’t sweat if you don’t have that either, just ask the reception desk if they have a charger that supports your phone. More often than not the answer is going to be yes. A lot of people forget chargers at hotels too, so someone’s loss becomes someone’s gain.

7. Charge Your Devices When You Are Not In the Room

Most hotels require a key card to be inserted in the slot by the door to turn on the power in the room. This is to save wastage of electricity when the room is not being used. But, if you want to charge your devices while you are away doing touristy things or for whatever reason, then you will need the power to stay on when you leave.

So, for that ask for an extra key card when you check-in. That way, you can have one in the slot to keep the power on. You can also throw in any other card in the slot for it to work.