Hotel or Rental Stay?

Hotel or Rental Stay?

by | Feb 7, 2021 | 0 comments

When considering travel plans, they are many options for where to stay. Many people have a preference due to budget, availability, and risk, to name a few. As I mentioned on a previous blog post, travelers need to prioritize their likes and dislikes, research their options, and determine their value.

Hotels often outrank rentals due to the experience of hospitality and luxury accommodations if that is their specialty. If these are not priorities for you as a traveler, then a rental may be a better choice.

When it comes to a preference for amenities, hotels are usually a better choice. They provide lean sheets and towels every day as well as cleaning services upon request.

Rentals offer more privacy as there usually will not be as many people on the property, and you will probably know beforehand exactly how many people are occupying the property.

Although a hotel and rental both offer benefits. A hotel stay is usually in a more public environment and may provide more safety consideration. It usually is a private residence with a rental, and you may not know the owner or how they handle cleanliness or guest bookings.With a hotel stay, rules are more in your favor than a rental visit. Hotel stays are pretty standard, and regulations are often uniform. With a rental, you are subject to the owner’s rules, and they may vary depending on the owner. For example, refunds due to cancellations are much easier to negotiate than with a private individual.

Rentals tend to be more budget-friendly, especially if you are sharing the costs with a group. A traveler may book a single rental with accommodations for up to six or more guests, whereas a hotel might require a booking of two rooms or more to house the same amount of people.

Finally, the issue of transparency is more evident with a hotel than a rental. Rentals are usually private property and subject to the likes and dislikes of the owner. Although you can experience racism and bias with both accommodations, there is more recourse with a public property like a hotel rather than a private rental.

What would be your choice and why? I’d like to know.

Staycation tips.

Staycation tips.

by | Jan 7, 2021 | 0 comments

Being a frequent traveler, COVID left me mentally exhausted.  I was living on an island state and Singapore, took the lockdown seriously.  The missed travel opportunities left me consumed with lockdown exhaustion, so when Singapore came up with the idea of a staycation, I was immediately on board.  Here are my five tips for making your staycation a pleasure.

1. A big bed! You’ll be spending plenty of time in bed so enjoy the pleasure of a nice large bed. The hotel will make your bed every day, and you’ll feel pampered sleeping in a freshly made bed during your stay.

2. A room with a view.  Staying in is part and parcel of the staycation so try to have a room with a view.  The higher the floor of the hotel, the more you will enjoy the view. Some hotels limit guests at the pool, gym, restaurants, and most public spaces in the hotel. While I understood this safety measure, it can restrict your hotel’s enjoyment, so having a nice view can make a big difference.

3. In-room service.  Dining out can be a big part of your travel plans, and dining in during a staycation was a guilt-free pleasure.  Even if it’s one meal a day, it can make your stay feel more like a travel experience and a way to pamper yourself.

4. A bathtub.  A bubble bath can be another indulging experience.  You will want to soak in the tub as long as you desire, so first, make sure the tub is clean.  Since you’re on a staycation, taking liquids such as bathtub cleaner with you only makes sense. Take your favorite bath oils, scents, or even floral petals like roses. The best part is you don’t have to clean the tub!

5. A night out.  Even though all restaurants are not open, some will be.  Make a reservation well in advance at a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try.  I was pleasantly surprised to get a reservation at a Michelin star restaurant that previously had a six-month waiting list. There was plenty of social distancing at the restaurant. I just told the chef my preference, let him do the cooking and deciding. It was indeed a dining-by-design experience.

Have you taken a staycation? It is well worth the splurge and can maybe relieve your travel angst.  Not to mention no airline tickets! I’d love to hear your thoughts.

5 Covid friendly hotel stay tips.

5 Covid friendly hotel stay tips.

by | Dec 16, 2020 | 0 comments

Having flown as a career for over 20 years I have stayed in many hotel rooms and so the experience has taught me a lot about what to look out for in terms of cleanliness.

1. Check the hotel sheets. No one wants to sleep on possible dirty covid sheets. I can’t tell you how many different times I have gone into a hotel room just dying to shower and get into bed and found that the sheets have not been changed. If you do this when you first get into the hotel room, there is plenty of opportunity for the hotel to fix the issue before you are ready to go to bed.

2. Make sure the sheets are visibly dirty before you check out of the hotel and prevent any possible Covid spread. I think it’s just a matter of kindness to the next guest and just plain hygienic. Don’t feel bad as the hotel should automatically be doing this anyhow. I always wiped the bottom of my shoe across the sheets before I checked out.

3.Place a face towel or hand towel on the bathroom counter to place all your items on. Especially in this time of covid you do not want to transfer any germs to your face or hands. It’s also a visual reminder of anything placed on the counter and it helps in not forgetting items like jewelry in the bathroom.

4. Take an extra washcloth and wipe the toilet seats down. I think we all assume that the hotel room has been cleaned thoroughly but my experience has shown that the toilet seat is often overlooked.

5. Treat hotel room floors like airplane bathrooms and never assume it’s just water. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve passed through hotel corridors and seen the remains of a hotel room party gone wild. Let’s face it, the hotel does not have the manpower or capability to thoroughly clean hotel room floors, nor do they often have time between checkouts. Covid can be easily spread through bodily fluids.

I hope my tips have been helpful, check back in for more of my lived travel experience.

5 must have items that stay in my carry-on.

5 must have items that stay in my carry-on.

by | Dec 10, 2020 | 0 comments

As an avid world traveler who has done this both professionally and personally, my carry-on is always semi-packed. Here are my tips and advice on the 5 items I consider must-haves and should always be in my carry on.

1. A lingerie organizer bag (details on another blog post). The one I use has two sides, one for clean underwear and the other for dirty. You never want to get them confused!

2. An electronic organizer bag (blog post coming). With people being so connected it is so inconvenient to lose connectivity and most hotels do not provide enough power outlets for the technology we use in our daily lives.

3. A toothbrush which in my opinion is even more needed than the electronic organizer. Many people pack this in their suitcase but with the chances of your luggage being lost, I like to always have this at hand.

4. A medicine bag with items like Tums, ibuprofen, cold medicine, etc. I tend to also have eye masks, face masks, prescription medications, band-aids, Neosporin, alcohol pads, and such (more on another post).

5. Finally I always have a small makeup bag with the basics like mascara, lip moisturizer, lipstick, makeup remover cloths, toner, and face moisturizer. These are always found at beauty supply stores and pharmacies in travel sizes.

You make have other priorities for your carry-on. If so, what are they? I’d love to find out.

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