Traveling is a wonderful pleasure that most of us enjoy, but no matter what hotel you stay in, it never seems exactly like home. Whether you travel for business or pleasure, one thing is commonly acknowledged: hotel stays are not inexpensive.
Indeed, according to certain news sites, the average cost of a hotel stay is rising. It costs an average of $180.12 per night in non-populated cities. If you wish to stay in a hotel in New York, be prepared to pay a premium (average daily rate: $392.95).
Going out to dinner every night at places like Darden’s Olive Garden, paying for laundry service, or replacing exploding toiletries can all add up. You might be shocked to hear that there are techniques that might save you both time and money.
1. Make a DIY Humidifier
Materials Needed: Wet flannel
Estimated Savings: $20*
Dry air in a hot hotel room isn’t exactly the finest part of a trip, especially if you’re staying somewhere dusty. Humidifiers are a lovely luxury hotel amenity, but if you’re traveling on a budget, you might not be able to afford 5-star accommodations.
Dry air at hotels is a widespread issue, and many individuals report having allergies or dry eyes as a result. The air conditioning unit is frequently to blame for part of the dryness, but we have a hack that will assist change the AC unit from a source of concern to a source of relief.
However, if you have a fan or an AC unit nearby, you may construct your humidifier for less than a dollar. All you have to do is place a moist flannel in front of the unit. You’ll have adequately moistened air in less than a second, saving you money on a travel-size humidifier from Amazon.
2. Create Your Custom Nightstand
Materials Needed: A shirt
Estimated Savings: $85*
Nightstands should be typical pieces of furniture in any quality hotel, yet they aren’t always present. Some low-cost accommodations lack nightstands entirely. This is especially true if you’re residing in a dorm, so where would you store your belongings?
You don’t have to tuck your Apple iPhone beneath your pillow just to have it slip to the floor throughout the night. All you have to do is be creative by folding a t-shirt onto a mattress corner to create an immediate, easy-to-reach slot for all your electronics.
Make careful to fold the shirt such that a pocket forms in the corner of the mattress. Tighten the edges to prevent your phone from falling out throughout the night. This is also a wonderful spot to keep vehicle keys, wallets, hotel keys, and anything else that would be extremely inconvenient if misplaced.
3. Get Better Sleep
Materials Needed: A hanger
Estimated Savings: $25*
Some people can sleep peacefully for hours in the brightest sunshine, but for the majority of us regular humans, darkness is required to obtain some shut-eye. Nothing beats dealing with obstinate curtains in the middle of a business trip.
Though hotels frequently invest in blackout curtains, what good are they if they don’t completely close? Hotels are typically located in densely populated areas. Or, at the very least, bright lights in the parking lot glare into your room. We have a solution to that infamously vexing challenge.
Unless you’re fortunate enough to have heavy curtains that seal as standard, you may be all too familiar with the agony of this conflict. What if we told you there’s a gadget in most hotel rooms that can help you out? Take a hanger, clip the curtains together, and you’ll have a room dark enough to binge-watch Netflix in no time.
4. Use a “Clean” Remote
Materials Needed: A sandwich bag
Estimated Savings: Priceless
Every tourist understands that cleanliness is second only to godliness, yet no matter how hard certain inns and motels try, there’s no getting around the reality that hundreds of others have used the room before you. Even the greatest cleaning crew on the planet might miss a spot.
You’d be surprised what bacteria lights can detect in a hotel room. According to USA Today, the first and most evident germ-infested location is the hotel light switch. The University of Houston examined hotel room surfaces and discovered that the main light switch was the dirtiest, typically carrying a lot of germs and bacteria.
Surprisingly, one of the most germ-infested areas in a hotel is the TV remote. Bacteria can seep between the buttons, but you’re unlikely to obtain a brand-new control. Instead, purchase a pack of sandwich bags from Walmart and place one over the remote to keep it germ-free.
5. Don’t Worry If You Forget Your Bottle Opener
Materials Needed: A fire door
Estimated Savings: $5*
If you aren’t at a location with a free minibar or its kitchen with tools, you might want to get a six-pack and carry it back to your hotel. After all, who can afford mini-bar prices? There’s only one stumbling barrier between you and that delicious warm beer: you didn’t bring a bottle opener.
Fortunately for you, hotel doors double as massive bottle openers. Simply use the arm at the top of the door to pry that cap up and you’ll be on your way in no time. Your most important decision now is what to watch on Amazon Prime with your laptop and sporadic connection.
If you’re still having trouble with this hack, Delish has come up with several alternatives, such as using a metal fork or spoon, keys, lighter, tree branch, or even a ring (though hopefully nothing too expensive or easy to damage, depending on how stubborn your bottle is).
6. Make Additional Table Space
Materials Needed: An ironing board
Estimated Savings: $76*
We’ve all seen celebrities’ extravagant suites on social media. There are him and hers sinks in the bathrooms, a separate dressing room, and a living space larger than your flat. Unfortunately for us, ordinary mortals, normal hotel rooms are a touch limited on counter space unless we’re ready to pay through the nose.
However, most of them have ironing boards in the closet for when we want to be fancy and wrinkle-free. If you’re not a lover of ironing, you can still open it up and use it as a folding table. Instagram, take that!
If you travel frequently and need your clothing ironed—business travelers, take note—you may consider acquiring your ironing board for personal use. Perilla’s tiny 12″ x 30″ ironing board is $14.99 on Amazon. If you can’t find your hotel’s board, this portable one will suffice.
7. Use the Coffee Machine as a Ramen Noodle Cooker
Materials Needed: A coffee machine
Estimated Savings: $30*
A coffee maker in your hotel room is a lovely little extra. It’s not quite a freebie mini-bar, but it’s a great way to start the day. They have various applications, as it turns out. If you don’t want to go out to dinner and spend a small sum, go to your neighborhood supermarket and get a package of ramen.
Unpeel the lid, place it beneath the coffee machine’s water stream, and presto! Instant, steaming hot meal that can’t be beaten. Darden’s Olive Garden doesn’t provide a three-course dinner, but beggars can’t be choosers.
The nicest part about ramen is how inexpensive it is. The typical packet costs only thirteen cents, which means you could potentially eat three meals a day for less than $143, though we strongly advise against it. (In comparison, the average American spends $6,372 per year on food.)
8. Say it’s Your Birthday at Check-In
Materials Needed: Confidence
Estimated Savings: $100+*
This hack is reserved for individuals who have a steely drive to pull it off. To get the most out of this technique, you should be able to lie like a politician. If you mention your birthday at check-in, you could get a free upgrade.
Although it may not always work, this method has served travelers well for decades. Some hotels may be aware of this tactic and simply grin and nod, whilst others would devour it and cheerfully offer you a little birthday present. This may be a hotel upgrade, a free supper, or a complimentary bottle of champagne.
You shouldn’t use this approach if you’re staying at a hotel more than once a year. And, if you’re required to show your driver’s license at check-in, you’ll almost certainly be caught the moment the hotel checks your information to what you’ve just claimed.
9. Room Service Leftovers Solution
Materials Needed: A shower cap
Estimated Savings: $10*
Keeping food fresh in a hotel room is a difficult task. After all, you don’t have a complete kitchen full of Tupperware at your disposal. If you overate at the complimentary breakfast buffet and want to save some for later, search in the restroom. You might be surprised.
A clean shower cap may replace any decent Tupperware. All you have to do is place it on top of the dish and you’ve got yourself some delicious leftovers. It’s a fantastic technique that has yet to gain popularity. Why bother buying any portable Tupperware from Amazon?
Another option for a “cover” is to preserve your leftovers in a clean dry-cleaning bag in the closet. Of course, this hack isn’t meant to last forever, and you’ll probably discover that you need to consume your leftovers soon to keep them from spoiling.
10. Create Your Makeshift Stove
Materials Needed: An iron
Estimated Savings: $10*
Accommodation at some hotels may appear to be simple, but if you look closely at what’s in the room with you, you might be shocked to realize that everything you need is right there. Didn’t believe you’d be able to prepare a hot supper in a Holiday Inn economy room? Consider again.
If you have an iron, you have the secret to a delectable egg sandwich. Grab a dozen from Walmart, bust one open with a hot iron and a piece of tin foil, and feel your pride return to caveman levels. You have nothing on the first hunter-gatherer.
Of course, you’ll need tinfoil because frying an egg directly on the iron’s surface may be a little germy and difficult to remove. Not to add that if the iron couldn’t be cleaned by the hotel personnel, you’d be on the hook for the replacement cost.
11. Make Your Ice Bucket Cooler
Materials Needed: Bucket and ice
Estimated Savings: $30*
Why bother with a portable cooler when you have a bucket and some ice, right? If you’re traveling with children, a cooler may seem like a sensible item to carry, especially if you’re headed to the beach. A good one, on the other hand, will cost you between $20 and $30
All of your issues will be answered if your hotel room has a bucket and an ice machine in the corridor. This novel device can be used to store everything from your Kroger haul to your pricey vending machine bottle of Coke.
Are you unsure where the ice machine is? No worries. Simply call the front desk. If you don’t feel like talking to others, simply leave your room and go in a different route. Every floor has an ice machine, and they are nearly usually marked with visible signage.
12. Smart Step Stool Solution
Materials Needed: An upturned bin
Estimated Savings: $15*
Traveling with little children is sometimes more difficult than traveling with fully-fledged adults, mostly because you cannot possibly pack everything they use at home. Step stools are commonplace in many families with children since they allow them to reach sinks and toilets. They are rarely available in hotels.
Purchasing a travel one will cost you a few bucks and take up valuable suitcase space, but before you rush to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, pause and reflect. If your hotel room includes a bin, you may utilize it in the same way by turning it upside down.
Just make sure you don’t have a lot of trash to dispose of so the bin isn’t overlooked. If you run out of room at the hotel, take your trash and dispose of it in a communal room. Alternatively, put dry garbage in the closet in the dry cleaning bag until you can go to the dumpster.
13. Improvised Smartphone Speakers
Materials Needed: An empty mug
Estimated Savings: $20-$50*
If you don’t want to sit in silence in your room in the evening, or if you just want the sound to carry a bit further, travel speakers are a lifesaver. A good pair, on the other hand, can cost a lot of money. If you don’t use them frequently, don’t waste your money on them.
You only need an empty mug! Simply place your phone into the cup and expect to be astounded. The ceramic form functions as a sonic amplifier, resolving all of your issues in one fell stroke. Just don’t be shocked if the sound quality isn’t as fantastic as it might be. It is, after all, only a mug.
If the cup trick isn’t cutting it for you and you need cheap speakers on the road, there are small, portable speakers on Amazon for about $40. Alternatively, you may connect your iPhone to your computer and play it from there, as the speakers on your laptop may be louder.
14. Pack Dirty Shoes
Materials Needed: A shower cap
Estimated Savings: $30*
Packing for a trip is one thing; packing to return home is quite another, especially if you’ve brought multiple pairs of shoes. It may seem obvious, but shoes may get filthy, so putting them back in your bag isn’t ideal. Shower hats can be handy here.
You may use the cap to wrap the shoes, allowing you to store them with your clothing without having to replace the garments themselves. It’s a new technique that can save you a significant amount of money in the long term.
Using the trash can liner from the hotel bin is another option to carry shoes without getting mud or dirt on your clothes. You may even utilize bags you picked up while shopping on the move. Finally, if you’re in a pinch, wrap the shoes with hotel toilet paper (it’s free after all).
15. Avoid Toiletries Leaking
Materials Needed: Plastic bags
Estimated Savings: $10+*
Hotels frequently give complimentary amenities so that visitors don’t have to bring large bottles of shampoo with them, but they aren’t always the best. Furthermore, if you are particular about the shampoo you use, it makes sense to carry your own. But that doesn’t imply they’re simple to carry.
Too many people have experienced opening their bags to find burst toiletries. It’s never a pleasant process, but you may save money on new shampoo and clothing by cutting a piece of a plastic bag and placing it beneath the lid. It serves as the seal you didn’t realize you needed.
To be fair, hotel soaps and shampoos have increased in quality over the years. Hotels are now partnering with companies such as Biovida, Malin + Goetz, and even L’Occitane. Hilton Hotels now employs Peter Thomas Roth shampoo, conditioner, and body wash, which is a significant upgrade from its former low-cost brand.
16. Reheat Pizza Without Leaving Your Room
Materials Needed: Hairdryer and iron
Estimated Savings: $30*
Have you even lived if you haven’t ordered takeout to your hotel room? The only issue is that if the pizza becomes cold, there may not be a microwave nearby to reheat it. That doesn’t mean you should sob into your cold pepperoni. It just means you must be inventive.
Don’t spend $30 on a new heated pizza the next day; instead, purchase the iron and hairdryer. The iron heats the foundation, while the hairdryer revitalizes the toppings. They’re a fantastic crew that every tourist should be aware of.
Consider phoning the front desk if you can’t live without the iron and hairdryer and need a microwave to heat your wonderful, cheese slices. According to TripAdvisor, many hotels allow you to use the front desk microwave if you’re in a pinch. It can’t hurt to inquire.
17. DIY Sock Dryer
Materials Needed: A hairdryer
Estimated Savings: $10*
Laundry is a necessary evil when you’re gone for an extended period. Going to the laundry and spending all of your change on washing and drying can get expensive, so some travelers prefer to get creative with their drying process.
If you love clean socks but want to save money, bring your laundry back to the hotel room and set up a makeshift line with a hairdryer. You may speed up the process by turning on the dryer. You’ll be up there with great innovators like Apple’s Steve Jobs once you’ve completed this task.
If you want to dry your clothing slowly, you can put them on the hotel’s heating unit. If, on the other hand, you want to steam-dry your clothes and press the creases out of them, you can always hang them up in the bathroom while having a hot, soothing shower.
18. A DIY Food Boiler In a Pinch
Materials Needed: A kettle
Estimated Savings: $50*
Unless we have a full AirBNB to ourselves, most of us don’t think about boiling food when on vacation. Making your hotdogs in a double room at the Hilton doesn’t seem feasible, but that may be because we haven’t given it enough attention.
In truth, you only need boiling water. Every hotel room includes a kettle, so put your corn and hotdogs in there and prepare to eat. We wouldn’t say this is completely risk-free, but we’ll leave that up to you to decide.
When you think about it, if you can get this boiling water method to work, it opens up a whole new world of food-choosing options for you. The world is your oyster when it comes to spaghetti, macaroni and cheese, and frozen veggies. When you consider that the typical meal out is $13 (excluding drinks and appetizers), this is a steal.
19. Use The Iron To Make Grilled Cheese
Materials Needed: Foil, bread, cheese, cooking oil, hotel iron
Estimated Savings: $1-$2 when compared with a restaurant-bought grilled cheese*
When YouTubers like @CrazyRussianHacker found this exploit, they were overjoyed. It’s odd why you’d want to cook a grilled cheese sandwich using a hotel iron, especially given the iron has been used on people’s clothes and who knows what else.
If the craving for grilled cheese is too strong, a hotel iron might be used to produce this delectable sandwich. Just be sure to fully clean it before and after. You may use the iron in the same manner that you would a griddle, but be sure to coat it with cooking grease first so the sandwich doesn’t cling, burn, and set off the hotel’s fire alarms.
20. No Toothbrush Holder? No Problem
Materials Needed: Foam cup
Estimated Savings: $5*
Travel toothbrush holders are fantastic innovations, but only the most organized travelers consider purchasing one. The rest of us arrive completely unprepared. If you’re staying in a shared bathroom, the thought of leaving your toothbrush on the counter may be enough to drive you fleeing on the first night.
Pick up a styrofoam cup, upturn it, and make a hole instead of reserving a one-way ticket out of there. You’ll have your toothbrush holder in no time, and all the other visitors will be jealous.
Dentists give some advice for avoiding the toothbrush dread that is germs developing on the brush. The top three strategies to protect your toothbrush from getting gross are to completely rinse it after each use, to keep it dry, and to keep it upright (rather than lying it down).
