Most of us don’t travel as much as we’d like to. There’s work and life and budget and we somehow only manage to squeeze in a single week of traveling in a year. Well, since it doesn’t happen that often, here are some key tips on how to milk your hotel time while it lasts.
Netflix on the go
Let’s face it: some hotels have really terrible cable options. And of course, movies you can rent for $10 or something crazy like that. But none of those things matter in the digital age when you can simply hook your laptop up to a TV via an HDMI cable and stream anything you want from Netflix or Hulu, etc.
The moral of this story is: make sure to pack your HDMI cable whenever you’re going on a trip. You don’t want to get stuck in a never-ending loop of country music videos and golf games on the few channels you’re able to find on a hotel TV. Those TVs will usually also have a USB port you can use to charge your phone!
Book directly through the location
While some travel sites advertise that they offer the lowest fees you’ll find, you have to keep in mind that the majority of those sites, along with travel agents, etc., are taking a cut of the transaction fees, so it actually makes it more expensive to go through a third party booking site.
Ask the front desk/concierge, call the hotel directly, or visit their official website and look for the “deals” section to find the best prices. Sometimes, there will be deals listed that third-party sites weren’t even made aware of yet.
Coffee maker Ramen
Sometimes your hotel stay doesn’t leave much room for other expenses, like takeout. Also, your room may not have a stocked kitchenette with got a microwave, etc. But even if you don’t have access to cooking equipment, you can still make your own food in your room.
Use your coffee maker to boil the water necessary to make pre-made noodle cups, rice cups, or any kind of instant meal that just needs hot water to cook. If you bring along a hotplate as well, the sky is the limit.
Steam wrinkles
If you find yourself with wrinkly clothes and not an ironing board in sight, don’t worry. There’s still something you can do to get the wrinkles out.
Hang the garments over your shower rack, shut the bathroom door, and run the hot water (or simply take a hot shower). Just like a steam press, the steam will whip your clothes back into shape.
DIY facial
Can’t afford a session at the hotel spa? No worries, just stay in and do it yourself. Right next to your complimentary coffee supplies are little packets of sugar. You can just use these as a facial scrub.
Just add it to some lotion (you can get that from the hotel too) and gently rub your face. Your skin will be as smooth as ever, and all completely for free.