Monday, October 8, 2012

Hotel Check-in Rituals, Revisited


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October 1, 2012 at 4:21 PM | by  Comments (0)
Earlier this summer, we polled all of you on your check-in rituals, meaning the very first things you do after closing the door behind you in a new hotel room. Your answers were awesome (and eye-opening), spanning everything from scoping out the minibar to crashing for a power nap.
Well, we decided to similarly poll the contributors of our brother site, Jaunted.com to see how the frequent flyers think and discovered that, though everyone loves to have a nice bed in a new city, even seasoned hotel sleepers such as ourselves like to stick to our rituals.
The answers:
Alex:
When I first enter a new hotel room, I usually change out of whatever clothes I'm already wearing (since I've likely spent the day traveling in them), hang up any pants or dress shirts in the closet, and slip into something cozy. Then I check the hotel's info binder to see what fun stuff there is to do. If it's the right time of day, I'll hit up the gym, or maybe look for a nice rooftop bar or lobby lounge to sit and have a drink before dinner. A full investigation of the shower/tub/toiletry situation will usually follow later in the evening.
Andy:
Remove any and all throw pillows and blankets from the bed. They sure do look lovely, but I don't like thinking about how often they're not cleaned. After that I'll typically either write down, or take a picture of, my hotel room number so I don't forget it when I leave.
Chanize:
The first thing I do is plug in all of my electronics and then start fighting with the AC/heat controls.
Christine:
The first thing I do when I check into a hotel room is wipe down as much as I can with Clorox wipes (remote, door handles, light switches, toilet, faucets) and the rest gets sprayed with Lysol. (On a side note, for some reason I think a can of Lysol somehow equals an explosive to the TSA because whenever I check a bag with a full size can of Lysol in it, it will get searched).
Cynthia:
I look for the outlets and plug in my iPhone or, even better, pop it onto the iHome dock (if there is one) and put on my Billie Holiday playlist. Then I unpack, pretty meticulously; I like to completely empty my suitcase if I'm staying more than one night.
John:
First, wash your hands! My first stop after dropping my bags and unzipping my case is to clean off the grime of travelling, whether that's a quick wash of my hands and face or a brief shower. Then it's over to the desk to unpack my power strip and get everything charging up -- laptop, phone, external battery, pocket wifi -- that I've been using en route.
Kyle:
After immediately dropping all luggage and bags all over the ground I always check out the view—or more times than not—the lack of view. You kind of get the layout of the room quickly, so then it’s off to the bathroom to check out the scene in there—want to make sure it’s all clean and whatnot. Finally—call me crazy—but I may or may not take a quick peak under the mattress for any creepy crawlies. Thankfully I’ve never yet made an unwanted discovery.
Mark:
Put all my bags in the nearest closet, pull out my camera and take photos (room + view) -- possibly shoot a quick 45 second video. Next I scour the room for outlets and plug in my laptop, phone and tablet. If I have a business meeting the day of arrival I will bring my dress shirt and sport coat into the bathroom, turn on the shower to hot, close the door then go answer email. 15 minutes later my biz attire is steamed to perfection!
Max:
Turn off the air conditioning. I hate it!. Then set up the power/wifi for the laptop so I can get connected. Only then I'll relax.
Rayme:
I check out the toiletries. For some reason, I love little mini and hotel branded stuff. I will also unpack and put some music on. Then go to read all the little stuff around e room so I don't miss anything. I always read the compendium to know what time things are and where to find the pool.
Rebecca F:
If I am traveling solo, I will tuck my luggage up against the closest wall, strip down to my unmentionables, jump in bed, turn on the TV for background noise and then turn to my smart phone to catch up on messages, Facebook, etc. I just can't ignore the call of a crisply made bed! If I am traveling with the kid and the husband, the clothes stay on and I go into 'everything has a place' mode, hanging up clothes, placing toiletry bags in the restroom, lining the bottom of the wardrobe with shoes, and more until each piece of luggage is empty. Not really an enjoyable task immediately after traveling, but I'd much rather do it then instead of when full fatigue sits in.
Rebecca W:
Put my bags in the closet or corner and take photos of the room. Then, I make a bee-line for the binder with the room and hotel info -- although these are becoming obsolete now. Sometimes they're on the TV menu or in-room iPad but some hotels seem to have forgotten them completely. Not cool. Once I have all the intel I need, I unpack and start planning my room service order.
[Photo: HotelChatter]

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