International Hotel Travel Tips

Practical Hotel Travel Tips

Hotel Security
Concerned about security in a single story motel? Keep your car keys on the night stand and park your car near your room. If someone is trying to break in, just press the panic button on the remote key and the car's alarm will chase the intruder away.

Keep the door to your room locked at all times. If you are inside the room, turn the dead bolt and fasten the security chain.

Use the safe provided in the room to store small valuable items you are leaving in the room. If no safe is supplied, check with the front desk. Large hotels often have locked storage available for your use. Don't leave cash, travelers checks, expensive electronics, and jewelry in your room.

When entering or leaving the hotel after dark, use the main entrance.

Concerned about Bed Bugs?
With the recent rise in bed bug incidents, take some inspection precautions to make your hotel stay uneventful. Peel back the bedsheets and check the mattress, running your fingers along the upper and lower seams. Make sure to check the mattress tag, bed bugs often hide there. Check for tiny black spots (excrement) that are smaller than poppy seeds. You may also see translucent light brown skins or, in the case of an infestation. Check the bedside table. Look for signs of bed bugs in the drawers and along the wall on the side of the bed that is less likely to be disturbed by cleaning staff and guests. Elevate suitcases and keep them off the floor, like on a luggage stand. When you pack to leave, inspect your luggage carefully first, and inspect every item as you pack to help detect any bugs or their signs. Laundering most cloth items with typical hot water and detergent followed by drying on low heat for at least 20 minutes should kill all bed bugs in or on such items. Sealing freshly-laundered items inside a plastic bag should help keep any more bed bugs from getting in those items later to hide.

Returning to the same Hotel?
Ask the housekeepers what the best rooms are. If the room is empty, they'll show it to you. Write down the room number and request it for your next stay.

Rent a car with a license plate from the same sate you are driving
Request a same state license plate from the rental car company as police are more apt to give a traffic ticket to a driver from out of state.

Use local Rental car companies
Don't be reluctant to use the local rental car companies in the countries you are visiting. Often times they may be more convenient and faster in getting your car.

Need an extra plastic bag for a wet swim suit or dirty laundry?
Look under the plastic bag in the trash can. Hotel house-keepers sometimes leave extra linings there.

Use an Altoids can to take hotel sized soap with you
It will keep wet soap from messing up your travel kit.

Traveling with a pet
Some hotels put people with a pet in a smoking room. If you have an allergic reactions, request a non-smoking room.

Traveling with a lot of devices that need charging?
Take along a power strip to plug in your electrical equipment to keep them all together to avoid leaving them behind, especially on international travel where you would need only one outlet adapter and voltage converter.

Tipping Hotel Staff
Tipping at American Hotels is more generous than overseas. A housekeeper typically y gets between $2 to $5 per night. A $2 to $3 tip is more common for a moderate hotel or smaller room, while $5 is acceptable for luxury accommodations. $1 or $2 is appropriate when service staff comes to your room to render an additional service such as delivering a toiletry item to your room.

On international locations, check with the hotel to learn about the local custom of tipping hotel staff. For example, tipping a housekeeper in Europe or Japan is not a common practice, while tipping a housekeeper in Latin America is greatly appreciated. Always tip in the local currency.