How to Make a Hotel Room Look Like Home
If you are traveling for work, chances are good that you will treat at least a few hotel rooms as “home”.
Hotel rooms can be great, but if you use them for a long period of time, then there are a few things you can do to make life in this hotel room a little more homey. Travel + Leisure has detailed some great this week, and as someone who travels a lot in person, I also have a few of my own to try.
Obviously, what makes you feel at home will vary from person to person, but here are a few ideas to get you started:
Unpack
This was an offer from T + L, but I already do it regularly. Once in your hotel room, you plan to stay there for a short time, unpack your bag and use the included chest of drawers. You don’t live on a suitcase at home, do you? Putting things in drawers can make the space feel more homely right after leaving the gate.
Buy snacks
You will inevitably return to this room tired and possibly hungry. Get yourself solid and swing, buy your local grocery store or convenience store for familiar snacks to have on hand when you do. If your hotel room has a refrigerator or microwave, then you obviously have more options than others.
I am personally a fan of grabbing a pound of grapes or other fruits when I go somewhere, and something like chips to have on hand, as well as some bottled water and a couple of Diet Coke. There is nothing worse than returning exhausted and hungry, not having something to eat. It’s an easy (and cheap compared to room service) way to succeed.
Give up literature
Hotel rooms are littered with tons of papers. Instead of browsing spa and room service brochures all week, grab them and hotel magazines and put them in your desk drawer for the week. You will feel much less like a hotel if you don’t watch ads and travel magazines all week.
Bring Alex
If you’re used to using something like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, throw a Dot or Home mini in your travel bag. Getting this morning news or being able to ask questions on the go can make a hotel feel more normal.
Pack your Chromecast
If you see something at home in the midst of a binge, don’t let your hotel stay slow you down. Take your Chromecast or Fire TV Stick with you to stream this movie or show to your hotel TV while you’re out of town.
Read the Travel + Leisure post for more ideas and don’t forget to share your own tips to make your hotel feel like home in the comments.