Save for that one fancy-schmancy resort with a 7-star rating, hotels are generally graded on a five-star rating system. Granted, the rating systems aren’t consistent worldwide. (A project called “World Hotel Rating” [now defunct] was apparently trying to standardize global hotel ratings. But they were working on the system since at least 2009, and their website transitioned from “we’re in flux” to “nobody’s here”.)
Take Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands. It might be 5 stars on Google, four stars on Forbes Travel Guide, and three stars on Frommer’s—but between those ratings and the TripAdvisor reviews, you know it isn’t going to be a dump.
Despite the lack of consistency between raters, you’d still think that, in 2026, all but the cheapest flophouses would have these simple amenities:
The basics hotels still get wrong
Hydration stations
Some hotels include “2 free bottled waters” as part of their excuse for charging a resort fee. Gee…how nice of them. How about they skip the bottled water and install a hydration station? Granted, this is ‘newer’ tech. But they’re not THAT expensive either.
At the rate hotels give away bottled water, a hydration station would pay for itself fast. And for those who neglected to bring a reusable water bottle with them, sell them in the gift shop! Win-win!
Happily, some hotels are starting to add hydration stations as part of their “green” initiative. But not nearly enough hotels are.
Blackout curtains
It’s hard enough to sleep in a hotel; the comfort of the mattress and pillow may not be great, you may not have as much control over the heat or A/C as you’d like (psst! Here’s how to override some of those electronic thermostats), and there could be unfamiliar noises outside your room. If you have a room from hell that’s exposed to the street lights, or if you’re trying to catch a quick nap during the daytime, wouldn’t it be awesome to know your room is going to have blackout curtains so at least the room can be dark? And sure, I bring an eye mask just in case, but when I have a room with blackout curtains and don’t need to wear it? It’s heavenly.
QR code to tip housekeeping
Hey, if Wyndham can do it, ALL hotel chains can do it.
Plugs/USB/USB-C ports by the bed
Nearly all of us live and die by our cell phones. When we travel, they act as our alarm clocks, telephones, flashlights and a source of a myriad of information that we’d like to have at our fingertips 24/7. And yet I still feel the need to bring a 10′ extension cord with me every time I travel because I have no idea if my hotel is going to offer me an easily accessible power source (USB-A, USB-C, even a regular outlet is OK) next to the bed so I can charge my phone and keep it near me overnight.
And while we’re at it, could we please have these on both sides of the bed? Sometimes there are two of us in the room, y’know?
Larger trash cans
If hotels are not going to offer daily housekeeping (or at least daily trash & tidy), it would be nice for them to provide trash cans that hold more than one day’s worth of garbage. At more than one hotel we’ve stayed in, there was a recycling can that could hold 2 soda bottles and was already full. After 3 days, there were a whole lot of bottles on the desk.
Decent Wi-Fi
It’s 2026, y’all. Wi-Fi isn’t THAT expensive. Why do I go to some hotels and my Wi-Fi speed just CRAWLS?
Full body mirrors
Need I say more?
Two suitcase stands and 2 chairs in double rooms
Granted, some solo travelers get a double room in order to have more space. Or maybe they like having a larger bed. But if a room is made to hold 2 people, would it hurt hotels to include 2 suitcase stands so one of us doesn’t have to leave our luggage on the floor, the desk or the sofa?
2 chairs would be nice too, so one of us doesn’t have to sit on the bed.
Motion sensor nightlights
Funny how hotels can afford motion-sensor thermostats but not motion-sensor nightlights, so if you have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, you don’t practically kill yourself while trying to navigate an unfamiliar room in the dark (although if that’s the case, they probably have blackout curtains. Yay)
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2 comments
Great list but parts come across as nice-to-have rather than something to be surprised about missing. For me the lack of a desk in these annoying “lifestyle” hotels that are tiny and try to drive you out of your room is a problem. They also don’t have room for a second suitcase stand, sometimes even lacking space for one. Nonetheless I do think the water stations are pretty low hanging fruit and would pay dividends to the hotel in the way of less trash for staff to shlep to the dumpster.
I’m a 300 nights per year in hotels dude and have been for the past 15 years. I have seen it all. Most of the above I concur with. Hydration Stations, especially in Asia and South America and most of the USA where you simply dO NOT drink the tap water. Lack of decent wi-fi does my head in. Although, now, compared to even 5 years ago, it has become much better. India was infamous for living in the dark ages, despite their tech business and economy, but has become better. As a Lifetime D with HH and a D with IHG, if I have slow wi-fi now, I kick up an almighty fuss and usually score myself a router in the room. I don’t agree though with the motion sensor lights, they do my head in. But, I can see how some folks do like to have them, usually old people ha ha! Thanks for the article.