For some people, the idea of getting stuck in a hotel for days, weeks, or even months sounds like a pretty cool advantage. You have a comfortable hotel room, free wi-fi, a stunning view from your window or balcony, and high-end amenities within your reach. But business travelers who got stuck in hotel rooms during the peak of the coronavirus outbreak may beg to differ.
You’ll feel extremely lonely and homesick. You’ll crave normality and long to be with your family and friends. You’ll feel anxious about the uncertainty. Will you have enough money and resources to tide you over?
For some reason or another, you might find yourself stuck in a hotel room. It can be during a three-month-long business trip or due to your nomad lifestyle both for leisure and income purposes. It can be due to another worldwide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of the new COVID-19 variant. Or it can be during a zombie apocalypse. You’ll never know.
But if you happen to find yourself stuck in a hotel that’s far from home, we recommend 8 tips to survive and make it out alive (and sane).
1. Make yourself at home: Book a hotel designed for extended stays
If you’re a business traveler, a travel blogger, or anyone who expects to stay in a hotel for longer periods, it’s a must to book a property designed for such reasons. Think about more space and more homey furniture and equipment.
It’s good if you’re staying in a more spacious hotel or a serviced apartment with a fully-equipped kitchen. You can buy fresh produce and cook them in a decent pan on a decent stove.
Accommodation properties for longer stays also tend to be more spacious, with designated living rooms and dining spaces for feeling more like home.
2. Secure your food-buying options
Are there nearby grocery stores you can access by foot? Or can you have ready-to-eat food and groceries delivered if the unfortunate situation forced you to stay on the hotel premises? Can you ask the hotel staff to buy necessities on your behalf?
Securing food to tide you over is the first step. Make the most out of your money by going for essential grocery items, like staples (bread, rice, oats), fruits and vegetables, healthy soups, canned or vacuum-sealed goods, and instant meals that can be cooked using hot water and microwave.
3. Use your hotel appliances for cooking meals
Don’t have a fully-equipped kitchen for cooking tasty meals? Let’s see if you can make the most out of your available in-room amenities.
If you have a mini-fridge, an electric kettle or coffee maker, a microwave oven, and iron, we believe you can survive:
- Fridge: Obviously, a fridge is a holy grail for survival modes. Store beverages, meats, fresh produce, and cooked meals to be reheated for later.
- Microwave: You can cook decent, healthy meals using a microwave, like oatmeals, corn on cob, fish, baked potato, and even risotto.
- Electric Kettle: Aside from making coffee and cooking cup noodles, oatmeals, soups, and other “just add hot water” meals, you can use an electric kettle to boil eggs,
- Iron: Make a cheese sandwich, wrap it in a foil, and iron both sides for about 30 seconds, and voila! You have a hot and toasted grilled cheese sandwich.
4. Have a good mix of to-cook food and ready-to-eat food
Assume the worst: a power outage. So that means you can’t use your electric appliances to make your meals. With this, it’s good to have granola bars, handy snacks, canned goods, and other ready-to-eat meals in your pantry.
5. Just ask for the things you need
Remember that you’re never alone. You can always go down or call the hotel staff to ask for a couple of things that will help you feel better. See if they have complimentary stuff you can use. You can also ask for extras, like a DVD player to help break the monotony, reading lamps to make the hotel room extra cozy, or extra pillows to make your stay more comfortable.
6. Get some exercise
Find the time to move around and exercise. You can use your hotel’s fitness center, jog around the vicinity, or just take the stairs instead of using the elevator. You may also look for workouts that you can do in your hotel room that don’t require any gym equipment.
7. Soak up as much outdoor scene as possible
Living in a hotel for months, with nothing to see but your walls and bed and couch, can truly take a toll on your physical and mental health. Whenever possible, find time to walk around and see as much of the outside world as possible. You can take a stroll around parks and establishments within walking distance, or just around the landscapes of your hotel. Breathe in some fresh air and get your feet moving.
8. Stay connected with people who matter
This pandemic has made us realize that it’s possible to connect with people even without physical touch. While you can’t be with them physically to embrace them or share meals with them, you can always reach out to them using video conferencing apps.
Call your family and friends. Spend a couple of minutes and hours, sharing stories virtually. Share even the smallest details about your day and listen to theirs. This way, you’ll feel less isolated and far away.
Author Bio: Carmina Natividad is a free-spirited writer who loves exploring the great outdoors. She loves traveling, eating, taking food and streetscape photographs, and simply enjoying new experiences and writing about them. To know more about hotels and travel blogs, you may visit PREMIER SUITES Reading.
