Budget holiday tips for hotels: How to save money at a hotel

Jul 23, 2023

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There are many ways to get your moneys worth at a hotel, if you prepare. Photo / Sarah Pollok

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Working as a travel journalist, you get to stay in some unbelievably stunning places, from sprawling Bali villas and chic Tokyo skyscrapers to coastal golf resorts and hotels in the centre of Auckland city.

Yet, try as I might, I can never quite shake my thrifty traveller tendencies, forged over years of travelling on a shoestring as a teenager.

All to say, I’m something of a pro when it comes to getting my money’s worth, whether you’re staying at a shoebox hostel or a star-studded suite.

Here are some well-earned tips for making your hotel room work for you.

While talking to Kiwi actress Kimberley Crossman about travel tips and tricks, she dropped a piece of wisdom I always think of when entering a hotel room: you can move the furniture.

“I move furniture in hotel rooms all the time,” she said. “People think that you can’t move furniture but you totally can!”

The idea seems stupidly obvious yet, before our chat, I had never really considered moving furniture to make a space more comfortable. Since then, I’ve pulled side tables into other rooms, moved flat-screen televisions off desks and shoved settees to the corner of a room, to make it more comfortable, even just for two days.

The only common sense rule is: you must be able to move it back without causing any damage to the room or furniture.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve surprised travel friends by sitting down at breakfast, lunch or dinner with something that wasn’t at the buffet or exactly on the menu. How? Simply by asking.

Now, I never expect accommodations to be made (which would be a big “Karen” move). Rather, there’s no harm in asking for small changes to a dish or items one could expect to be on hand in a kitchen.

Last month, while in the Gold Coast, I had the best-smashed avo on toast at a buffet but the following morning there were no avos to be seen. So, I popped my head over the counter and asked if they had any - sure enough, the delivery of avos just arrived and the chef quickly chopped one up.

Similarly, after a string of decadent meals in Boston, I ordered room service and asked for a big salad. While it wasn’t on the room service menu, they were all too happy to pull one together.

Of all the travel essentials I pack, there is one item I don’t typically tell people about, but has been beyond helpful: a Tupperware container.

I reason it like this; I don’t have the biggest stomach and can probably put away half of what an average hotel guest can. So, when there is a buffet breakfast involved, I think it’s only fair to take a little bit to go. Plus, the waste involved in buffet fare is typically quite high.

On a recent trip, aware I was heading straight to an airport for a day of flying, I ate breakfast, then assembled an epic sandwich from the buffet items. Did I get the odd stare or two from my travel group? Perhaps ... but it was worth it at midday when they forked out for an expensive and disappointing airport lunch.

Nothing beats a deep, comfortable sleep in a high-quality hotel bed. However, this luxury is wasted if a beam of morning sun hits you at 6 am or the vibrant city lights buzz late into the night. While I don’t go as far as to travel with a clip or safety pin, if the hotel curtains don’t fully close, I do check to see if their coat hangers come with metal clips.

Typically used to hang items like skirts, they also do a great job at holding curtains closed. The key? Don’t just clip the curtains together (as light will still come through) but cross one curtain over the other, then clip it in place.

This, with a bathroom towel tucked against the gap in the front door, can help keep the light out for a deeper sleep.

This one always brings to mind the scene in Friends where Ross’ suitcase bursts open in the lobby and hundreds of questionably “free’” items spill out onto the floor. Now, I’m not saying to raid the cleaning cart but there is no shame in storing up what you’re entitled to at a hotel in the way of amenities.

As a traveller with thick, long hair, hiding the shampoos and conditioners so they are replaced daily is something of a necessity. However, I’ll do the same with any nice teas, coffee, pens (one always needs a pen while travelling), soaps or toothpaste.

Whether you take the remote controller batteries and lightbulbs like Ross did in Friends, is up to you.

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