Sometimes it’s not the luxury—it’s the little things that turn a decent hotel stay into a great one.
You don’t need a five-star hotel to have a great stay.
Sometimes, it’s the smallest touches—the ones that cost the hotel next to nothing—that make all the difference between “meh” and “we’d stay here again in a heartbeat.”
Some people have a lot of money or points and can afford to consistently stay at 5 star hotels, and be pampered with every move. For the rest of us, staying at a hotel typically means you’re at the mercy of whoever is working. This means the smallest of things can make or break your stay. It could be the hotel staff leaving you an anniversary gift where you didn’t even know they knew when your anniversary was, or a series of mishaps and embarrassments that make you wonder if a hotel really was the same (nice) place you had stayed at 2 months earlier.
However there are a few things that cost the hotel nothing (or next to nothing) that can make your stay feel so much better, and put them above the rest of the pack:
Free early check in and late check out
When we arrived for our one night in London late last week, we arrived at our hotel a little bit before 2pm. Check-in wasn’t until 3pm but they let us have our room an hour early. Since our biggest goal at the time was to take a nap, we were thrilled. We’ve also had the opportunity to check out an hour or two late, here and there. And again, having the extra couple of hours, especially if we had a later flight, helps so much!
Of course, there was a time that early check in and late check out could potentially be yours, just for the asking. Nowadays, with so many hotels charging for early check in and late check out, it’s important to mention that some hotels really do still offer this for free – based on availability, of course.
Having extra pillows in the room, so you don’t have to ask
I don’t know how some people survive with just one pillow. I mean, I bring my own pillow with me 99% of the time and half of that is so I can use the hotel pillow between my ankles and knees. My husband consistently uses 2 pillows under his head and I have a friend who says she uses 6 pillows at night.
And then you’ve got hotels that give a double bed just 2 pillows.
So when you find the hotels that give you 4 bed pillows AND a few more in the closet? And then you don’t have to go down to the front desk to ask for more pillows? You seriously feel like you’ve won the hotel lottery.
Room upgrades without asking for them
Because you’re a Marriott Bonvoy member, Mrs. Smith, we’ve upgraded your room.
Pure gold.
The upgrade room doesn’t cost the hotel anything extra – it would just sit empty that night. But Marriott certainly just earned themselves a bigger fan.
Complimentary drinks
The first time we ever got a complementary drink upon check-in was at a Moxy in Arizona. Just like that room upgrade, the drink didn’t cost the hotel much. But it made the place feel special and to this day, I have a warm spot in my heart for the Moxy brand.
And it doesn’t even have to be free alcohol. Having a couple of free bottled waters in the room? It probably costs the hotelier a dollar. But when other hotels are charging $5 a bottle, that free water goes a long way in terms of good will (to say nothing of swaying a guest in their decision of where they’ll stay in the future).
Having an engaged, friendly staff
I get it – a job is a job. But when the person at the front desk is friendly and personable – or the housekeeping staff says “good morning” as you pass by, it makes a hotel stay that much more pleasant. I mean, we stayed at a crappy Candlewood Suites for YEARS simply because of friendliness of the front desk staff.
None of these things are expensive. In many cases, they cost the hotel little to nothing at all.
But they’re the kinds of touches guests remember.
Because at the end of the day, most travelers don’t expect perfection—they just want to feel comfortable, appreciated, and maybe just a little taken care of.
And it’s often the smallest gestures that make that happen.
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