By: Matt Meltzer
Credit: Shutterstock (edited)
Making bad decisions is as much a part of traveling as packing your suitcase and losing followers on Instagram (really, we get it, you're having fun on vacation). When you're visiting a place you know nothing about, you're bound to get some stuff wrong. But that doesn't mean every decision you make has to be a bad one.
And to help ensure that you at least have a smooth stay at your hotel, here are 16 decisions you should absolutely avoid.
Not tipping the bellman.
The good people at Head and Shoulders taught us long ago that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Looking cheap from the get-go pretty much ensures that nobody on staff is gonna come rushing to your beck and call. Obviously, they're still gonna take care of you -- they're paid professionals -- but don't be surprised if room service takes forever and there's no chocolate on your pillow.
Credit: Pixabay
Getting one room key.
Because you will 100 percent misplace it within 15 minutes of checking in. "Wait, I swear I put it right here on the desk! Where did it go?!?" Having to return to the front desk for a new one is only slightly more embarrassing than finding an "in-room feature" on your bill. Also, how you are gonna get into your room if you give your only key to that woman you met in the hotel bar? That happens in real life, right?
Assuming you can check in early.
Because if it's a hotel that anyone wants to stay at, your room is probably still dirty. The best they'll do is let you check your bags at the front desk. Which is fine, just make sure you packed a change of clothes near the top or you'll be smelling like an airplane until 4:00 p.m.
Ordering room service, at all.
The novelty of getting whatever you want on demand is lost when you realize you just spent $18 for a Diet Coke.
Credit: Flickr/zachd_1
Throwing a late night "get together."
Because you're actually as quiet at 3:00 a.m. as you are funny.
Leaving anything incriminating out in the open.
Unless you left an envelope with hush money for the maids (also known as: a tip), you can pretty much ensure whatever dirty little secret you left on the nightstand is now a picture being examined by hotel management. Don't believe us: watch this video.
Going to the "fitness center" early in the morning.
You'd be surprised how many business travelers like to start their day with a vigorous half hour on an elliptical machine from 1999 and 15 sets of lat pulldowns.
Credit: Shutterstock
Leaving the "Do Not Disturb" sign up.
That extra hour of sleep you got isn't quite as special when you forget to take down that sign and are still sleeping on the same sheets you spilled Jaeger all over the night before.
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