Here’s a travel tip that may seem really minor, or even obvious, but it’s something that changed my family vacation life almost as much earning and redeeming points.
Before my wife and I had kids I never really needed to leave the room before she got up in the morning, so how do I stay quiet leaving a hotel room early in the morning simply wasn’t something that I’d considered.
Now the most important thing I have in a hotel room is space. I can do a suite (thanks Hyatt Globalist status!) or connecting rooms (but even where they’re guaranteed by a hotel, that doesn’t mean they’ll be honored).
I usually get up first in the morning and work for a bit, catch up on email, and read. I can go without coffee when I first get up. I don’t like making in-room coffee, because those machines gross me out and because if the coffee itself isn’t great I want just a drop of half and half in it (and never powdered or shelf-stable creamer).
And this is why you check the hotel coffeemaker before you use it…. from r/trashy
Once my wife is up, I’ll go to a coffee shop – in the hotel, down the street, or even a Starbucks. But I want to leave the room as quietly as possible. Depending on the room configuration, my daughter might be in our living room on a sofa bed and I’ll have to walk past her to leave. Hotel room doors are loud when they close. I don’t want to wake my daughter leaving the room as the door slams and locks.
Did you know that you can close a hotel room door in near-silence? Just use your key to unlock the door before closing it.
When you unlock the door it will close without slamming. Now you leave your room quietly. Use this whenever you leave, if you don’t like the loud slam reverberating down the hall.
Once I started doing this a few years ago, I stopped waking my daughter up when I headed out for coffee. It’s such a small thing, but possibly non-obvious, so seemed worth mentioning.
Alright , finally something useful from thought leader
Equally thoughtful for those guests sharing the hallway; not just roomies. One of my pet peeves when I traveled 48 weeks a years was the inconsiderate hotel guest; departing their room at the “crack of jack”, allowing their door to slam; disturbing everyone on the floor. I intentionally left my room with a respectful, with a soft/gentle close. Appreciate the additional tip.
So , be sure to bring your room key . Don’t lock yourself out and Don’t forget your money for the coffee . Don’t forget a stout cane to defend yourself if you are in Cairo , for example .
“Ironing board and coffee maker”….Hotels, Please Don’t include these in your amenities.
Thanks Gary my wife will appreciate this.
Hotel door-slamming contests (they can’t all be accidental) are one of the worst parts of traveling for me. Management seems to encourage it, in too many I can tell when the cleaning service has started, they pull out the silver-colored thing on the door that prevents it from being opened from the outside … and slam the door on it … to keep it open for cleaning. A bang at least every 30 seconds, loud enough to hear on floors upper and lower. I’m sure somebody has invented a bang-less door … I’d be willing to pay extra for a hotel with them!
I understand that hotels have slamming doors for liability reasons, to keep the morons from leaving their room door ajar. But common decency dictates that you close your door gently AT ALL HOURS OF THE DAY. Of course, hotel staff can’t be bothered, but at least there can be some hours of peace at a hotel. If we all did this, the nappers, the late sleepers, the babies and their parents would all be much happier.
Interesting tip I never thought of and I’ll have to try it. Though in the case of my wife, I want to make as much noise as possible because it usually takes her 2-3 hours of wakeup efforts from me, until about 45 minutes before the end of breakfast when I announce I’m going down without her and then finally she reluctantly crawls out of bed, calls me an a$$hole, and starts to get ready so we can make it down 5 minutes before they start cleaning up.
Screw the wife and kids, If I’m awake they need to be too. Especially the kids, they should be awake by 05:00 splitting wood, shoveling snow or delivering newspapers. We have too many soft kids in this country that are allowed to sleep until 09:00 and then greeted by Mom with a nice big bowl of Coco Puffs while lounging their fat blubbery bodies on the sofa playing video games. No wonder the Chinese are kicking our butts.
Those slamming doors are one of my top reasons for choosing an Airbnb where available. Along with screaming children, drunkards in hallways, waiting for elevators, and loud tvs in adjoining rooms with paper thin walls.
My bigger complaint is those who feel a discussion using an “outside voice” in a hallway is ever appropriate. A hushed “inside voice” is OK if absolutely necessary. I appreciate the recommendation to not be part of my number two pet peeve: noisy door shutting.
Someone mentioned all hours of the day and night. That is key. Guests at any time should not be disturbed by preventable noise issues. Some travelers don’t arrive to the the hotel until like 1 am and by the time they get to sleep…8 hours of sleep leads to waking up at 10 am for example. . It takes less effort to shut a door quietly in the morning than it is to slam. Not enough sleep can ruin a person’s trip or contribute to them being sleepy drivers or not as alert on the road. Yes the outside voices used in the hallways by both guests and staff is rediculousness. I wonder if there ever was a point in history, such as the 1960s or before that most people practiced common courtesy. The same goes for apartment buildings..I had a neighbor who went out 5 or more times throughout the night to smoke , all night, and shut the door hard. I would like to stay at air B and B’s but am weary of them ..the key combos I question if they always get changed in between guests…and some of the owners I don’t trust either. I travel alone. At least the hotels I stay in have cameras in the hallways…and keys are required for us of the elevator.