Travel Tip: Long Stays

Staying at a hotel for several weeks but going home on the weekend?  Most hotels will allow you to check a bag in their storage.  This is great so you dont have to lug your hairdryer, extra shoes, or whatever back and forth.  Especially if you know you wont use it at home.  

You can also send your clothes out to be laundered so they are ready for your return after the weekend.

P.S. Inform (tip) the hotel concierge or management staff and your bag will most likely show up in your hotel room before you do :)

Travel Tips For Women

Some tips I've picked up from others and some tips I've had to learn the hard way.

Packing

•  Luggage tag - Clearly label your luggage with your name and address.  If possible use your work address or a PO Box instead of your home address.  You should also have a luggage tag that is unique so you can identify find your black suitcase among the other hundreds of black suitcases.  I have 3 tags on my bag, 1 that tells my airline status, 1 for my address, and this one for uniqueness 

• Makeup Kit - I have duplicate makeup kits, one for home and one that never leaves my suitcase.  The contents of both makeup bags are identical and its one less thing I have to remember.

• Power Cords - Like my makeup kit, I have doubles of all my power cords that never leave my suitcase.  I even have a second cord for my laptop that stays in my laptop bag.  If I'm working from home I simply take my laptop out and plug it into the cord I keep at home.

Hotel

• Room Keys - Always get 2 keys for your hotel room.  There is no reason to announce to the entire lobby that you are staying alone.

• Check-in - When you check in, ask that they just point to your room number instead of announcing it to everyone in listening distance.  Most hotels do this, but I learned this tip from the couple of hotels that didn't.  Nothing like the hotel clerk saying loudly in a crowded lobby "Here you go Ms. Smith, here is your one key, you are in room 316"

• Rewards Club - Even if you don't travel weekly, you should still sign up for your favorite hotel rewards.  The points do add up, but its really the perks that I like, late check-out, guaranteed room reservations, snacks, etc...

Fun on the Road

• Postcard - A tradition I started with my family when I travel is, no matter where I go, I always send a postcard home and it has to be postmarked from the place I'm visiting.  Usually the first I do when I get off the plane is hit the gift shop and buy a postcard then mail it from the hotel (they  can meter it).

• Explore - Don't be one of those travelers that only sees the hotel lobby and client sites.  Go out and explore the town.  Even small towns have something to see.  Ask the hotel clerk/concierge what to see.  Most of my travel is in the US, so my personal tour guide is 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz