8 Things To Do When You Check Into Your Hotel Room

I have a family member who is traveling to a hotel by herself for the first time and I highlighted a few things to make sure her trip goes smoothly. Most people will do these things instinctively but there are a few that we will miss from time to time I want to make sure that people are safe out there.

When checking into a hotel room, you should do the following things as soon as you reach your room:

Room Safety -- Check to make sure the room is safe. Basically, you are looking to see if anyone is hiding in the room, say under the bed or in the bathroom. You should also make sure that the locks on the door to the room work.

Bed Bugs – Most people think that bed bugs are a thing of the pass but I can assure you that if you do get a bed bug infestation, it will ruin both you trip and create massive headaches once you get home. Jus remember that you do not know who slept in your room before you and where that person was traveling. Do yourself a favor and check the bed to see if there are any bed bugs. 

Sanitize – Staying with the concept that you do not know anything about the prior people who were in your room, you should sanitize as many surfaces as you can. Pay particular attention to all high touch items like the TV Remote, Phone and the like. I know some people who will put the TV Remote in a plastic bag to avoid touching it. A container of disinfecting wipes will be your friend.

Alarm Clock -- Check to see if the alarm clock is set. A few years ago, I checked into a hotel and the alarm went off at 4:30 am. I guess the prior traveler had to get up early for some reason. I can tell you that it ruined my night’s sleep. Don’t let this happen to you.

Lock and Deadbolt the Door -- When you are in your room, lock and deadbolt the door. You do not want any unwanted visitors at any time of day. Hotels have a lot of people coming and going. I have had a couple of instances in which the front desk assigned another person to my room so they had a room key that allowed them into my room. This can be very disconcerting and potentially dangerous. There is no reason to let you guard down and allow someone else into your room. 

Decorative Pillows -- Remove all Decorative Pillows and Throw Blankets from the bed and store in a convenient place. These pillows and blankets are not clean. How could they be? The cleaning staff is not spending any more time than necessary cleaning your room. These pillows and blankets are placed on your bed for purely aesthetic reasons. At the least, these pillows will be filled with dust so just remove them.

Inspect the Room – Check everything out in the room like the lights, tv and phone to make sure they are working. Also, you can see if anything is damaged. If something is not working or damaged, the time to tell the hotel is right when you check in as opposed to when you check out. You would hate to be charged for damaging something that was already an issue when you checked in.

Secure Your Belongings – Place your valuables in a safe or other designated area. At times, you can be rushed to meet some people so you may forget to put your computer, tablet or other valuables when you are leaving your room. While the hotel room safe is not the most secure place in the hotel, why make it even easier for someone to rob you?

Simple words of advice that you may make your trip go smoothly and then you can have an enjoyable time.

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